َAbstracts - Page 179

ABSTRACTS

From the Virtues of Damascus to the Apocalyptic Damascus

Rasool Jafarian

Damascus, described by its virtues, land and inhabitants, is one of the cities found in several Shia hadiths. These hadiths, seeming mostly to be fabricated, emerged in this country in the context of political and economic relations. Later they were developed by cultural and identity factors as a means for their realization. Some other hadiths have an apocalyptic view of Damascus. Most of them are concerned with worldwide disaster, full security, Sufyani uprising, reappearance of Mahdi (peace be upon him), the return of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), and occasionally with Sufi (mystical) concepts such as Abdalism. There are many quotations in the form of hadith in this regard. As the collection of hadiths concerning the city requires a historical report and review, the author of the present paper tries to briefly address them within three parts: the virtues of Damascus, Damascus in apocalyptic narratives, and a critical view of the hadiths.

Key Words: Damascus, Damascus in the End of Times, the Virtues of Damascus, a Critical View of the Apocalyptic Hadiths.

Survey of the Concept of Nuskha: A Style of Hadith Collecting and Reporting

Ehsan Sorkhei

There is no acceptable definition of "nuskha" as a certain way of hadith writing. It seems that current definitions of the term are lacking strong

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