ABSTRACTS No. 63 - Page 226

called Badā'. The main drawback that opponents have posed is the conflict of this doctrine with the God's Knowledge.
Key Words: Badā', God's Knowledge, Act of God, the Will of God, Pre-destination (Qada wa Qadar), Prove, Disprove.
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Quiddity of the Column of Light

Rasool Razavi

Mohammad Taqi Shaker

Among the titles mentioned in some traditions, “column of light” (amud an-nur), is one of the ways of Imam's knowledge along with its characteristics and outcome. Kulayni in his book al-Kafi, in a chapter, and Safar in Basair al-Darjat, in several chapters, deal broadly with traditions of “column of light”. In this paper, the authors first view the arrangement of these traditions in hadith sources and philology of their key words. He then examines their history and chain of transmission. He finally, makes a conceptual analysis of this fact. Although the title seems novel, content and concept of the traditions of “column of light” - which indicates the Imam's awareness of the people's deeds – is not a new story. It is also visible in other verses and traditions of fariqayn (the Shia and Sunni). Importantly, these traditions consider Holy Spirit granted by Allah to the holy Imam as the origin of the Imam's awareness of the people's deeds and introduce the “column of light” as a device for its realization.
Key Words: Column of Light, the Imam's Knowledge, Holy Spirit, Angel.
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A Critical Analysis of Attributing the Heterogeneous Titles and Agnomens to Imam Mahdi

Hadi Hojjat

Use of titles, agnomen or non-famous attributes for Infallible Imams, peace be upon them, were common practices among Shia narrators who have enjoyed it more because of the dissimulation. Hence, some rijal scholars, authors of dirayah or hadith commentators spent part of their effort in such cases to identify the Infallible Imam. Meanwhile, the incidence of factors such as tashif and tahrif (slip of pen, misspelling, misplacement of diacritical marks etc.), lack of sufficient accuracy in document classification and existing evidences in text, lack of analysis of similar interpretations, and relying on the reports of their predecessors or undocumented fame which made it difficult to identify the extension of these titles and agnomens. To

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