Summary Article: Contemporary Perusal of Mahdism Intellectual Heritage
Written by: Hasan Hadi Salman Al-Najafy
Translated by: Mujtaba Al-Helu
Sacred texts, as a matter of fact, are characterized with the depth of meanings and allusions. Mahdism is no exception. Having encountered the textual heritage of Mahdism, a researcher would choose either of the two methods: first to go back to the origins of the text and adopt verbal application, and second is a contemporary method, which tends to interact with both the original verbal text and the modern understanding of these texts, in the light of modern methodologies of the last two centuries.
This paper tends to re-read these texts from the perspective of the second methodology, which is called ‘pragmatics’. This field of study employs its own analytical tools. The research, then, moves to the practical side of this method, applying it to the holy texts of Mahdism.
