The Department of Contemporary Jurisprudence

According to the news agency of the seminary, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, in a meeting with the respected head of the seminaries and head of the department of contemporary jurisprudence while commending the work accomplished and in the state of fulfillment by the seminary in the subject of contemporary jurisprudence, he deemed it necessary for attention to depth in the subjects and an intellectual presence of the office of contemporary jurisprudence.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the beginning of the meeting, Ayatollah Arafi, the respected head of the seminaries, appreciating the unfailing support of Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, discussed the seminary administration and ongoing programs while presenting intellectual works published by the office of contemporary jurisprudence, introduced the measures of this office. He said: ‘I do not begin any important task unless an accurate 5-year plan for it is known. The office of contemporary jurisprudence as well is amongst the collections who is continuing its activities within a determined 5-year plan. One of these measures is advanced contemporary jurisprudence lessons. Our emphasis is on this that the task must be in the heart of the seminary and it must move on the principle seminary methodology far from any form of pseudo-enlightenment thinking and based on independent seminary lessons. In subjectology as well, the emphasis of this collection is on utilising the seminary and university teachers, the final views in related subject should be identified and with the help of teachers and their students, they analyse it jurisprudentially of which outcome this year is a 9-volume book on ijtihad in contemporary jurisprudence and in the next year as well, the same number of new books will be published.’&nbsp;&nbsp;The respected head of the Islamic seminary, in continuation, while indicating towards the books ‘al-Fā’iq’ and its commentary which was authored based on a group-task and with the&nbsp;co-operation of well-known teachers of advanced jurisprudence, emphasized that ‘this book which is complementary to ‘Kifāyah’ generated an intellectual wave in the seminary and other books as well in the future will be added to seminary education system which will be complementary to ‘Makāsib’ in the subjects such as ‘legal entity’.’&nbsp;&nbsp;He considered one of the other tasks of the office of contemporary jurisprudence in the next year to be identifying and publishing books which in the last 100 years have been authored in Najaf and Qum on contemporary subjects.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:68.48%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/A_makarem1_a59cce64df_666d007f96.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Ayatollah Arafi proceeded on explaining the activities of the secretariat to support the research required by the society and the system – which was formed in the seminary research department. He, while mentioning this point that we have contacted different Government bodies and have collected their issues and principle needs and formed more than 20 intellectual committees with the respected research executive Hujjatul Islām wa al-Muslimīn Muqīmī Ḥājī. He added that today every ordinary student and teacher or seminary educational centre that possesses a strategic and operational research in accordance to the announced guidelines to solve problems of the Islamic system and society, from the stage of research to publication of the work will be supported and over the few months which have passed from the start of this scheme, more than 100 projects have begun which will be published by next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In continuation of this meeting, Hujjat al-Islam wa al-Muslimīn Esna Ashari, head of the department of contemporary jurisprudence of the seminary, by presenting a report of the activities carried out by the office, he indicated to the holding of introductory contemporary jurisprudence lessons and expressed: ‘Although these lessons began in the second half (of the school year) however 72 teachers and more than 1000 students participated in these lessons and it is anticipated&nbsp; that this number will increase two-fold in the next year. At present as well, with the presence of more that 200 teachers, approximately 4800 students in advance contemporary jurisprudence lessons and 2500 students in lessons of Al-Fā’iq (الفائق) are studying. These numbers show that 45% of students from their respective levels have studied contemporary issues in some form. This issue shows that a great action in the seminary and by the Grace of Allah, these measures will continue. The beauty of this task is that usually students and teachers in higher levels and advance lessons, alongside teaching and studying also research these new lessons in books and traditional fields of the seminary and thus they learn the traditional and common principles of ijtihad as well as traverse the path of ijtihad in new issues.’&nbsp;&nbsp;The office of contemporary jurisprudence added that the most welcomed amongst introductory contemporary jurisprudence books in this term were ‘Interest and Islamic banking’ (ربا و بانکداری اسلامی) and ‘Analysis of methods to elude interest’ (بررسی طرق فرار از ربا) by Ayatollah Makarem; ‘Governance in Islam’ by the Late Ayatollah Khalkhālī; ‘Our Economics’ (اقتصادنا) by Shahīd Ṣadr; ‘Jurisprudence of guardianship and governance’ (فقه الولایة و الحکومة) by Ayatollah Maẓahiri; Fiqh of cryptocurrencies’ (فقه رمزارزها) by Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Reza Modaressi.&nbsp;&nbsp;In this cordial meeting, which was held in the house of Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, while addressing the large welcoming for jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence (فقه و اصول) in the seminaries has correct provenance and it is on the basis that this science is the foundation of religious rulings; He said: ‘Important activities have begun in the seminaries. Especially activities which are carried out in the field of&nbsp;jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence which is significant, and you have taken a step in an important direction.’<figure class="image image_resized image-style-side" style="width:33.48%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/A_makarem2_3a3d5c44f5_75efc6c656.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;In continuation, by placing emphasis on&nbsp;giving priority to the more important affairs of society and system added: ‘Subjectology of new issues must take place with precision which is not an easy task in our time. He mentioned a few examples of such affairs and said the subject of money and the source of its origin and it’s generation today and with attention to complexity of this issue in the new world economic system must be analysed with precision. Similarly, the subject of cryptocurrencies as to whether they are money or commodities or the discussion of companies within their different forms and the types of investments on them; precise thematic (analysis) must take place on them. Similarly, the fundamental foundations of the rulings of these subjects must become clear. The issue of loan and borrowing and reprehensibility of taking a loan which is also mentioned in the writings of Imam (Khomeini) is one of these issues whereby people are entangled in these subjects and we cannot be indifferent or pay little attention in relation to these affairs and we must follow up on them seriously.’&nbsp;&nbsp;The head of the office of contemporary jurisprudence in affirming and emphasizing on the remarks of the great scholar, in a report expressed that in regards to subjectology, an extensive seminary and university team-building has been established from different scientific fields and serious attention is being given to interdisciplinary research and different thematic aspects such as money. Likewise, opinions of legislative groups are being taken into account and lengthy periods are being dedicated to thematic while sometimes last over a year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ayatollah Makarem, after this report expressed that ‘We are pleased that you have come till here and we will be pleased with the continuation of this path as well.’ At the end, the grand scholar emphasized to him that in addition to the detailed works of research which have been presented, an abstract and conclusion of intellectual works of the teachers in the subject of cryptocurrencies and all published works should also be sent to him so that he may study these conclusions within his limited time.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: I am pleased with the advancement and effects of the office of contemporary jurisprudence and an abstract of the intellectual works must be commissioned at the earliest.

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Full text of Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi’s meeting with the head of the seminaries and head of the office of contemporary jurisprudence

Contemporary Jurisprudence Education

&nbsp;According to the statistics presented from the first week of choosing the courses, the courses of al-Lahs and al-Laghahi and al-Faiq have been widely welcomed by the respected students, which is very surprising.Therefore, in order to avoid the problem of lack of classes, consultations are being held with specialized jurisprudence schools so that in these schools, free students will also be allowed to participate in these two courses.Until now, Imam Kazem’s specialized schools of jurisprudence, Saheb al-Amr and Imam Hassan’s school of knowledge, have agreed with this issue. Therefore, all respected students should pay attention when choosing al-Faiq and al-Lahs al-Laghahi courses, if the teaching place of the teacher they are interested in is announced in one of the schools, they can choose the course and attend his class.This matter is still being followed up and this request has been submitted to the other respected managers of jurisprudential centers to cooperate in this important matter and allow free students who apply for these two courses to attend their schools.

According to the statistics presented from the first week of choosing the courses, of al-Lahs al-Laghahi and al-Faiq have been widely welcomed by the respected students, which is very surprising. 

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Important notice in the selection of al-Laghahi and al-Faiq courses

Specialized Subjectology

These meetings were concise and were held in the presence of the Respected Dean and Respected Deputies of Research, Education and Student Affairs and teachers of Shiraz University, which is a regarded as a comprehensive and of the top universities of the country.&nbsp;Below are pictures presented in relation to the presence of the Respected Head of the Office of Contemporary Jurisprudence at Shiraz University.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:79.45%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/1_fars_a9f2149583_853b9a45cb.jpg"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:78.65%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/2_fars_b46b025b5f_0c9a1d50cb.jpg"></figure>In addition to this meeting, other meetings were held with the presence of&nbsp;Respected Head of the Office of Contemporary Jurisprudence with the Respected Head of the Islamic Seminary of Fars Province, Deputy Heads of Education and Research and administrators and teachers of Fars Province. Below are pictures presented from these meetings:<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:78.55%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/3_fars_90d9238d1e_fd903090e3.jpg"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:78.07%;"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/4_fars_30522f0bf9_39f6bf6489.jpg"></figure>Presence of the Head of the Office of Contemporary Jurisprudence with Respected Head of the Islamic Seminary of Fars Province, Deputy Heads of Education and Research and administrators and teachers of Fars Province.

In Ordibehesht 1401 (May 2022), the respected Head of the Office of Contemporary Jurisprudence met and conversed with a group of teachers and outstanding students in Shiraz.

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Presence of the Head of the Office of Contemporary Jurisprudence in Shiraz University

The respected teacher said: ‘They have now presented al-Fā’iq. Where is Kifāyah and where is al-Fā’iq? Al-Fā’iq contains five to six discussions all of which are in principles of jurisprudence (اصول الفقه) as well. How can this book take the place of Kifāyah with all its voluminosity and extensiveness?’&nbsp;With the utmost respect, it is presented before the respected teacher, based on the communicated statute, the book ‘al-Fā’iq fi al-Usūl’ is not a replacement for Kifāyah and is only a complementary to Kifāyah and the respected students who study this book will have incentive distinctions. Principally, this noteworthy book was authored for the reason that discussions which students require and are not discussed in detail in the prevalent books are entered into the seminary lesson schedules and thus it is a complementary of Kifāyah.&nbsp;&nbsp;The book al-Fā’iq consists of 11 discussions and it has been endeavoured that the discussions which have been analysed in the books of the noble (scholars) of the science of Usūl (علم اصول) over the 100 years after the Late Akhūnd in addition to some new opinions and branches (of the knowledge) is presented before the seminaries in an ijtihādī and detailed format. This measure is a cause for modernising the principles required and a greater diligence of that discussion.&nbsp;By the grace of Allah, given the remarkable reception by the respected teachers and students, such discussions have transformed to the place of discussions by teachers of higher and advanced levels and alongside this, views and new intellectual developments from amongst the excellent teaching system and seminary teaching is in the state of prosperity which indicates the rich talents and intellectual enthusiasm of the seminary students.&nbsp;

The dear Ustād Khazāeli propounded upon critiques in respect to the book al-Fā’iq on the website ‘shabake Ijtihad’  which with great thanks, we present a few points in his respected presence.

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Response to the critique by Ustād Khazāeli

Islamic Seminary

The points that were put forward by the respected students are as follows:Mr. Muslimī from Qum: Strengthening the relation between a student and a teacher, taking care of students’ livelihood, changes in the textbooks, leading figures of ethics should be introduced in the field, separation of the field of study from jobs, education of students must be goal - orientated, strengthening of contemporary jurisprudence lessons, encouraging students to migrate.Shaykh Wuthūqī from the Sistan and Baluchestan Province -&nbsp;Lack of attention to the talent of the seminary in the province, which is the cause of low motivation, lack of suitable professors in the province, lack of educational facilities, the manager should be young and local and efficient, taking care of the livelihood of students, updating the courses of the Islamic Seminary according to the needs of the province.&nbsp;Shaykh Yazān Parast from Khuzestan Province –&nbsp;Thank you for implementing the suggestions of the Supreme Leader during the new tenure of management and there are complaints about the students abandoning their studies due to livelihood problems, the need for guidance from seminary elites, holding additional jurisprudence classes in the provinces, especially on a virtual platform.Mr. Barātī, level 1 student from the Islamic Seminary of Qum:&nbsp;The distance between the structure of the Islamic Seminary and laying emphasis on Ayatollah Aa’rāfī 's words about the need to trust the youth to realize transformation; Expanding the cultural and developmental role played by the students; livelihood problems; Absence of the pillars of the Islamic Seminary among students; The necessity of transformation in research programs of the Islamic Seminary; Realization of the Islamic Seminary's transformational programs regarding university graduates who enter the Islamic Seminary; Abandonment of students after they enter the higher level; The importance of the role of the families of the students.Shaykh Sījānī from Gulistan:&nbsp;During the new administration period, good programs have been carried out, such as strengthening theology and Quranic Interpretation Courses and strengthening the special tasks of students, the lack of teachers for advanced jurisprudence courses in the province.&nbsp;Shaykh Sharīfī from Qum:&nbsp;The need for structural transformation in the Islamic Seminary and the need to leave the existing structures and current bureaucracy, school-centred approach, official recognition of specialized courses, instead of compiling the minor details of specialized jurisprudence, frameworks should be compiled to include different styles, concerns about the Seminary degree, structure for religious propagation of the Seminary, a need for transformation in the discussion of spirituality especially with the influence of the western way of life and the medium of social media, giving preference to quality over quantity, entrusting students' affairs to concerned, hardworking and revolutionary administrators.Shaykh Mardānī from Lorestan:&nbsp;The necessity of taking care of the seminaries remain revolutionary, the need to establish specialized centres in other provinces, and if it is not possible to establish them, at least the establishment of these centres regionally should be considered, dealing with the state of how seminary schools are managed, limited financial resources for the seminaries in the province, supporting elite students in the province, no training programs for students in seminaries.Mr. Atābak, level 1 student from the Islamic Seminary of Qum:&nbsp;Teaching the discourse of the Islamic revolution in the seminary, talent assessment is good, but developing these talents requires a targeted program, in the domain of the management of the Islamic Seminary, student organizations can be used as a project.Shaykh Kafīlī from the East Azerbaijan Province:&nbsp;More discretion and facilities should be given to the provinces.Shaykh Sayfī from the Tehran Province:&nbsp;Lessons should be compiled so that students get to know scholarly figures and examine the method of scholarship of each one of them. Getting to know the scholarly figures of the Islamic Seminary can increase the students' motivation from the beginning.<figure class="image"><img src="https://fms.s3.ir-thr-at1.arvanstorage.com/neshast_cb011e4b7c_6295030a08.jpg"></figure>Shaykh Rahnamā:&nbsp;Referring to the satisfaction and hope of the Supreme Leader regarding the programs developed in the seminary of Qom, he stated that today, in addition to the jihad of expression regarding the Islamic revolution, we also need a jihad of expression within the seminary. If we can transfer the developed programs to the students and professors with a jihad-like movement and the students have a clear picture of their path, many problems will be solved.&nbsp;Contemporary jurisprudence, which has received a special welcome from students and professors, is a part of this huge program of the Islamic Seminary. Today, ambiguity in the main mission of the seminary elites, ambiguity in the document that states the vision of the seminary, the feeling of incompatibility between seminary education and the needs of society, and ambiguity in formulating the relationship between external relationships of the seminary and the role they play in society are obstacles that stand in the way of a student's growth.Shaykh Beheshtī:&nbsp;In every system, issues are left to the elites so that they&nbsp; can solve the problem, and this should happen in the Islamic Seminary as well. Embellishing the existing forces and harmonizing them together is one of the much - needed tasks of the Islamic Seminary today.Shaykh Mūsawī from Qum:&nbsp;Declaring shortages and disorder in the Islamic Seminaries in the provinces; such that consolidating in provincial centres and sending professors to cities on a case-by-case basis can be considered as a solution. The need for integrated management, school management should not be a matter of taste. We must be able to bring students into the government environment and this requires organization. Using theses and dissertations.Shaykh Tākī: The Islamic Seminary must define itself as the intellectual power of the revolution and the institution of knowledge, and it must have the power to gain access in the various programs that are formulated in the country. Today, we have a model of research in the seminary, but what we need is a model of realization, and today both the Vice-Chancellor of Research and the Department of Contemporary Jurisprudence must come to the space of the model of realization.&nbsp;When we don't look at realization, we don't have a problem-solving model. Today, we face problems and solve problems that are in fact unproblematic.&nbsp;In my opinion, the Department of Contemporary Jurisprudence has a problem in subjectology and does not enter problem solving models and effective models. We need to define a complement in which everything from the subject to the effect is taken into consideration.

In a meeting with the esteemed director of the Islamic Seminaries, his eminence Ayatollah Aa’rāfī 14 individuals comprising of professors and students from different parts of the country expressed their views, suggestions, and criticisms such that in short, the pivotal points of the remarks made by these esteemed individuals will be mentioned.

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A Heart – to - Heart Meeting of Director of the Islamic Seminary with the Professors and Students

After the delivery of the letter sent from 35 individuals comprising of professors and intellectual personalities from all over the country to the director of Islamic Seminaries, in response to them he has published the following text which is extremely important. The text of the letter from the professors can be viewed <a href="https://fiqh.pish.run/fa/news/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85-%DB%B3%DB%B5-%D8%AA%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%DB%8C">here</a>.Dear Professors and Researchers (May their honour be prolonged)I send peace and salutations be upon you.The important and precise letter from yourselves is a witness to the dynamism and the eloquence of the intellectual movement and the continuation of the glorious and sublime path of the country and is worthy of appreciation. A movement that has achieved a strong foundation today in the second step of the Islamic revolution and continues to excel livelier than before.Just as you have pointed out in that letter, whenever the co-operation of the Islamic Seminaries and experts from the universities has become stronger, we have witnessed the production of rich intellectual output.Today, the department of contemporary jurisprudence too by laying the for innovative platforms, has started a new intellectual chapter in the co-operation between the Islamic Seminaries and the universities on a national and international level and it is quickly expanding it. In this new chapter of the intellectual movement and regarding forty years of experience of various types of cooperation between domestic intellectual institutions and international models, the position of specialists in each field in the clear system of group cooperation and the coordination of intellectual collaborating groups has increased incrementally and the platform the production of rich intellectual output has been completed.Today the horizon of our intellectual achievements is not limited to inside the country rather it has been praised on an international level. As long as accurate and up-to-date comprehensive thematics are placed next to the upstream advanced jurisprudential ideas of philosophy, intellectual methods and the jurisprudence of different sciences, it will be able to conquer the peaks of knowledge and advance the frontiers of knowledge.The experienced strategy of forming intellectual councils around the advanced contemporary jurisprudence courses are very successful and suitable for real intellectual cooperation, far from being caught in common organizational structures; such that when there is more cooperation between professors and university researchers we can achieve its development and also form courses on epistemology in the Islamic Seminaries. The essential instructions for this cooperation have been communicated and its base is ready. We hope that very soon we can witness a more serious presence of you noble ones and the complete cooperation of all your colleagues who are experts and scientific assistants in the intellectual groups in order to take the path of intellectual excellence and development with great strides.I ask Almighty God for your increasing success.Ali Reza Aa’rafiDirector of the Islamic Seminaries.&nbsp;

The important and precise letter from yourselves is a witness to the dynamism and the eloquence of the intellectual movement and the continuation of the glorious and sublime path of the country and is worthy of appreciation. A movement that has achieved a strong foundation today in the second step of the Islamic revolution and continues to excel livelier than before.