Lecture: 'Prayer and Models of the Human-Divine Relationship' by Iraj Shahbazi

In the lecture “Prayer and Models of the Human-Divine Relationship,” nine images of God in the Islamic world are introduced: the God of the philosophers, the God of the Ash‘ari theologians, the God of the Mu‘tazili theologians (comprising two separate images: the transcendent God and the retired God), the God of the jurists, the God of the ascetics, and the God of the mystics (comprising three images: the fearful mystics, the mystics of the unity of existence, and the loving mystics). In the course of the discussion, it becomes clear what model of the human-divine relationship takes shape based on each of these images, and finally, the place of prayer within each of these models is examined. At the end of this discussion, it becomes clear that the loving mystics’ image of God is the most fitting image of God; for in this image, God is personal, there exists a kind of affinity between the human and God, and in this image, the human can have a loving relationship with God.

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Audio of the lecture “Prayer and Models of the Human-Divine Relationship”

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Speaker: Iraj Shahbazi (Assistant Professor, University of Tehran)

Contact him:

۰۹۱۲۴۲۳۵۳۸۹

[email protected]

https://t.me/irajshahbazi

Subject: Prayer and Models of the Human-Divine Relationship

Lecture venue: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies

Date: Khordad 1396 (May/June 2017)

Duration of lecture: one hour and twenty-five minutes

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