Journal of Razavi Culture

Abstract Abstract
In many cultures, including the Islamic world, people believe that sacred places are the meeting point of heaven and earth, and that being buried in such places brings happiness after death. Therefore, people bury their deceased in sacred places whenever possible.The holy shrines of Imam Reza (AS) and his sister Hazrat Masoumeh (SA), due to their special sanctity, are the burial places of prominent individuals, especially religious scholars. The issue arises from the fact that due to the limited space and the exclusiveness of these places to a certain class, it raises the question of what kind of attitude pilgrims have towards the relatively exclusive burial of scholars near the shrines? In order to discover the meanings embedded in the minds of people who have experience of visiting the graves of scholars in the holy shrines, the author has examined their lived experience with a phenomenological approach by conducting semi-structured interviews and analyzing the themes contained in the responses. The results of the study show that, despite the initial assumption of the researcher, the positive themes of “special position and high personality”, “cultural authority and life model”, “having spiritual effects of graves”, “association of prior knowledge towards celebrities”, “impressive social services”, “spiritual care towards scholars”, “spirituality and mysticism of the buried”, “semantic affinity between scholars and Ahl al-Bayt” and finally “discrimination and disturbance” were evoked in the lived experience of the pilgrims. All the above organizing themes are categorized under the overarching theme of “positive view towards the burial of scholars in the Mashahed al-Musharrif.” The interviewees positively evaluated the burial of scholars and celebrities, provided that they avoided “discrimination” and did not cause “disturbance to pilgrims.”
Keywords: Graves of scholars, Imam Reza (AS), Hazrat Masoumeh (SA), Phenomenology, Holy place, Mashahed al-Mushorraif.

Abstract Human societies perform special rituals to perpetuate beliefs, strengthen norms, and maintain behavioral patterns. Such rituals are usually repeated regularly on certain days of the year, which are considered different from other days; Therefore, for religious people, time is not uniform, but some times are “holy” and others are “unholy”, each of which has special customs. According to religious texts, among the holy times, but also the most holy time for Muslims, is the day of “Ghadir”. According to the author, there is no balance between days of sadness and happiness in Iran. Despite the priority of Ghadir over all Eid days, it does not have a proper place in the life of the Iranian world, compared to Nowruz and Ashura days. Inspired by semiotic techniques, the author has analyzed Ghadir as a sacred time, based on the texts left by Imam Reza (AS). In addition to expressing the high position of Ghadir among Islamic holidays, the text also teaches the way of marking and cultural policy in the field of sacred time. The results of the research indicate that Ghadir has been marked in such a way that if it is implemented according to the policies of Imam (a.s.), it can achieve components such as “social cohesion”, “spiritualization and connection of people to the sky”, “psychological comfort”, “liberation and society’s purity”, “material development and prosperity” and “historical identity”.

Abstract One of the problems of modern societies is the multiplicity of reference groups that make people face the crisis of choice. In all societies, some people achieve a rank and a position that they gain authority and many people make them their role models. Such people are creators of a special way of thinking of a school. The question is, in the Razavi culture, who can be school builders and through what steps? By analyzing the texts left by Imam Riḍā (as) and using the concepts produced by semioticians, such as the principle of "succession" and "coexistence", the author tried to achieve a conceptual structure and theorize the process of school building in the Razavi culture. The results of the text analysis show the five-stage process that only the people promoted to the final stage, using its requirements, are worthy to be role models, and they can be considered as a school and a pattern. People with the goodness of "way", the goodness of "guidance", "conformity in speech" and "submissiveness in action" if they can avoid from "entering without thinking in business" in the economic stage, and from "show off" in the social stage, and from "creating corruption" in the cultural stage of and from “disordering” in the political stage, in this case they enter the fifth stage. commander-in-chief Qasem Soleymani, due to having four components and being promoted to the final rank, especially martyrdom in the way of Allah, is an example of the fifth stage that the supreme leader introduced him as "school" i n the present era.

Abstract The pilgrimage city of Holy Mashhad, which has been called the religious and cultural capital of Iran, in addition to the shrine of Imam Riḍā (as) contains surrounding symbols that play a role in the general culture of the people. Religious symbols, while representing the culture of the people, have a great impact on the representation and continuity of culture. Therefore, the study of symbols, especially religious symbols, is of particular importance from the perspective of cultural studies. One of the most important and famous symbols around the Razavi shrine is the "steel window". By adopting a phenomenological approach and employing the concept of "sacred place" by Mircea Eliade, the author has used the techniques of "interview", "observation", "participation" and "examination of documents" to discover the mental meanings of pilgrims living around the steel window. The analysis of the findings of the field study with the method of "content analysis" shows that the steel window with the comprehensive theme of "holy and sublime place", in the Iranian mentality is considered as the confluence of heaven and earth, a part of the great structure of Shiite holy places, a stronghold, invigorating, healing, hopeful, heartwarming, transformative, stimulating chivalry and the Shrine of Imam Riḍā (as).

Abstract Half of human societies are made up of women, whereas in the past, women were excluded from social presence for traditional reasons and were considered as second degree; thus, feminine social actions are meaningful. In addition, women are responsible for raising children and will play a greater role than men in socializing the next generation. Among the social actions of women are religious actions. Women are always more religious than men in terms of beliefs and behavior, and they are more common in religious places. In this regard, the study of "female pilgrimage" is important. In this article, with a phenomenological approach and using the techniques of observation, interview and study of women's pilgrimage documents in the shrine of Imamzadeh [offspring or descendant of an imam] Mohsen ibn Musa ibn Jaʿfar (as), which has been welcomed due to its attribution to Imam Riḍā (as), has been studied anthropologically. According to the obtained results, pilgrimage in the "lived experience" of women in terms of meaning and self-awareness, includes the functions of "need-seeking", "healing", "duty-bearing", "symbolic replacement", "material exchange", "self-fulfillment", "Absolute Solidarity" and "Thanksgiving". And according to the researcher's semantics with the ethical approach, it includes the meanings of "sanctification", "idealism", "empathy", "gaining religious experience", "motivational integration" and "irrefutability".

Abstract Holy places like qadamgah (the place of holy people step), in different religions or Islamic sects, have always respected. Some of these qadamgahs in Iran belong to Imam Reza (AS) and his sisters or brothers. “Beyt-o-nour”, Hadhrat Ma'sumehʼs (SA) qadamgah, is one of the most important qadamgah.
In this study, “Beyt-o-nour” has been examined by anthropological approach. For this purpose, two types reports of its current situation, “objective” and “analysis”, have been provided by comprehensive introduction of target of study, historical identity and geographical location of the place.
In objective report, , the customs, ceremonies and pilgrims’ experiences or emotions have been examined by using the qualitative method of anthropology, cooperative observation technique, document review and interview. In analysis report, we tried to explore the meaning of the activists’ subjective and hidden layers.
Finding of study show “Beyt-o-nour” had given the Qomish people identity. Activists had been effective to deepen the effect of Hadhrat Ma'sumehʼs (SA) journey by simulating brotherhood relation between Imam Reza (AS) and Hadhrat Ma'sumeh (SA) to Imam Hussein (AS) and Hadhrat Zeinab(SA) brotherhood relation.

Abstract Today is the era of human communication, and lack of attention to proper communication with others is the root of many cultural-social problems in the society. Paying attention to life style of Ahl al-bayt (PBUH) and following their behaviors and life styles can always guide us to a desired pattern, right life style and proper communication with others. Among the history of Shia’s changes, Imam Reza’s (PBUH) journey to Iran is undoubtedly one of the most important events. Although this journey took place due to Al-Ma'mun’s (Abbasid caliph) insistence, it actually led to good effects and consequences for Iran.
The present study tries to investigate the communication approach of Imam Reza (PBUH) from Medina to Marw through the analytical study of Berlo's model of human communication as a theorist in the field of communication. According to this model, four main characteristics of the communicator, i.e. communication skill, attitudes, knowledge, and cultural-social status are obvious in his behavior during this journey.