Islamic Research Foundation

Never before has it been more important to  attain the valuable knowledge bestowed upon  us through the Holy Qur’an and teachings of  the Holy Ahl ul Bayt(a). With this objective in  mind the Custodians of the holy shrine of Imam Redha(a)  (The eighth Imam of Shia school of thought) in Iran  established the Islamic Research Foundation in 1984. The  foundation is a non-profit institution and offshoot of the  holy shrine. This year it celebrates its 31st anniversary. The  foundation comprises 22 research departments with  numerous cultural achievements already under its belt. By  recruiting expert scholars and researchers, the Islamic  Research Foundation has carried out intensive studies in  Islamic sciences and humanities. Bearing in mind the  importance of top quality researchers, the foundation is  constantly on the lookout for new researchers and  translators to carry out translation and editing of scriptural  texts. Acknowledging the importance of enhancing the  scientific capability of the researchers the foundation  provides scholarship opportunities for its researchers in  scientific organisations within Iran and abroad.  At a more academic level the Islamic Research Foundation has so far conducted six international congresses and more  than 70 seminars as well as cooperating and participating  in seminars within the country and abroad.  The foundation is also a familiar face in the world of  publication. In its 30 years of activities it has published over  1698 titles in 3387 volumes of which at least 92 titles have  received meritorious distinction and awards from research  institutes, universities and Islamic seminaries. Almost 1656  of its volumes have been reprinted a second time or more.  They include the leading Islamic quarterly in Persian,  Mishkat and the largest Persian selling annual diary Quds  Diary, both mainstays of the foundation for the last two  decades. The foundation’s comprehensive research on the  Nahjul Balagha [Sermons, Letters and Sayings of Imam  Ali(a)] is one of the treasured works of this organisation. A  large group of specially selected researchers from the  Islamic seminary (Hawza) and universities have lovingly worked  on this project.  The foundation’s published work has so far surpassed the figure  of 12.8 million copies which has placed the organisation among  the most distinguished international research institutions and  publishers.

Research Departments 

The foundation’s research departments are Theology and  Islamic Philosophy; Geography of Islamic Countries and  Astronomy; European Languages Translation; Children and  Young Adults’ Literature and can be considered its spinal  cord. Some of these departments are responsible for works  such as the great Encyclopaedia of the Lexicon of the Holy  Qur’an that by far is the greatest work that the Foundation  has ever undertaken. The encyclopaedia ‘Al-Mojam fi Fiqh  Lughat al-Qur’an wa Sirr Balagha’, is currently being  compiled by nearly 20 scholars and the final work is  expected to reach as many as 60 volumes.  On the other hand the departments of Biography and  Genealogy have jointly conducted five national-level  seminars with different organisations elucidating the lives of  the prominent Ulama and religious personalities. This  department has recently launched its exclusive website  titled ‘Derakht-e-Tooba’ (The Blessed Tree) introducing the  great personalities of Islam.

Research Project in Comparative Islamic Jurisprudence 

Research and editing of the famous work of the Shi’i  scholar Allamah Hilli (648-726 A.H.) ‘Muntaha al-Matlab fi  Tahqiq al-Mazhab’ is one of the most valuable works in  comparative Islamic Jurisprudence. With twenty-three years  of non-stop efforts by researchers from the Islamic Hawza  (seminary) this department has successfully accomplished  the research and edit of this book. This book contains both  the Shi’i and Sunni jurisprudents’ views in detail and also  consists of contemporaneous jurisprudence issues. This  work is published in 15 volumes.  Another major achievement of the foundation is the  compilation of the Encyclopaedia of Imam Husayn(a). The  compilation of this comprehensive encyclopaedia is the joint  endeavour of 50 research scholars and took seven years to   accomplish. The encyclopaedia includes 3000 entries and  1300 articles covering 44 subjects. They comprise an  annotated bibliography of 4000 books written on the life of  Imam Husayn(a) together with the Holy Ahlul Bait  genealogical tree; the historical journey of Imam Husayn(a)  from Madina to Karbala; audio, pictures and videos of  elegies and Maqtal-khwani (Reading the book of  martyrdom of Husayn(a)) in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, in  addition to 800 entries on the sayings of Imam Husayn(a)  and detailed views of the Sunni scholars on the martyrdom  of the Imam. A DVD of the encyclopaedia was released in  November 2012.

Islamic Economics 

Islamic Research Foundation has successfully organised two  international seminars in the field of Islamic Economics  and has presented articles in Persian, Arabic and English in  this field. In addition to this, it has produced a book on ‘the  Islamic Economics Texts in the Holy Qur’an, Sunnah and  the views of the jurisprudents’ in 16 volumes.

Seminars and Congresses 

In order to develop the expertise in its fields The Islamic  Research Foundation has organised various seminars and  congresses such as the International Seminar on  Geography of Islamic  Countries in 1985; Seminar on Rural Migration in 1986;  International Seminar on Silk Road with the cooperation of  UNESCO, in 1990; The Congress of Books and Libraries on  Islamic Civilisation in 1995 and finally the Imam Ali(a)  Conference Al-Ghadeer and Islamic Unity, in 2001. An  International Congress of Waqf (Endowment) is on the  horizon.  The Islamic Research Foundation has made it its duty and  aim to explore all roads in attaining and spreading the  knowledge of the Qur’an and the Holy Ahl ul Bayt(a) and in  this respect invites international scholars and researchers in  Islamic Studies [Quranic studies] to collaborate in its  work.

Contact Information: Islamic Research Foundation,
Tabarsi Underpass, Adjoined to the Holy Shrine of Imam Redha(a)
P. O. Box: 91735-366 Mashhad – IRAN
E-mail: intrelation@islamic-rf.ir
Website: www.islamic-rf.ir
Tel No: 0098-51-32232501-10
Fax No: 0098-51-32230005

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