A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Religion in the Thought of Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and Mostafa Malekian

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Religion has always been regarded as one of the fundamental pillars of legitimacy and governance in post-revolutionary Iran. Consequently, various theoretical and discursive efforts have emerged to understand, interpret, and reexamine religion, among which two major currents—“traditional Islam” and “religious intellectualism”—hold a prominent place. This study focuses on the ideas of two influential thinkers, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and Mostafa Malekian, as key representatives of these two intellectual streams, aiming to explore and analyze the components and mechanisms underlying their understanding of religion. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on Attride-Stirling’s three-stage thematic analysis, using excerpts from speeches and written works by these two figures to extract the core themes. The findings reveal that Malekian’s thought emphasizes three overarching themes: “the variability of religious knowledge,” “the rationalization of religious beliefs,” and “ethics and spirituality as the foundation of religiosity.” In contrast, Ayatollah Mesbah highlights three central components: “the necessity of explaining religious beliefs,” “the comprehensiveness of religion,” and “faith-based obligation.” This divergence reflects a fundamental difference in the epistemological, methodological, and teleological foundations of their respective approaches to understanding religion. Keywords: Understanding Religion, Religious Intellectualism, Traditional Islam, Misbah Yazdi, Malekian, Qualitative Approach. IntroductionIn contemporary Iranian intellectual discourse, religion continues to serve as a foundational pillar for social legitimacy and governance, shaping both normative frameworks and individual ethical conduct. The perspectives of key thinkers such as Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and Mostafa Malekian illustrate the tension between preserving traditional religious frameworks and adapting religious understanding to the epistemic and ethical demands of modernity. While Mesbah emphasizes the comprehensive and duty-bound nature of religion rooted in scriptural authority, Malekian foregrounds the variability, rationalization, and ethical-spiritual dimensions of religiosity, reflecting the influence of modern philosophical thought.Examining these divergent approaches provides insight into how religion is interpreted, justified, and enacted in contemporary Iran, and highlights the broader dynamics between traditional and reformist currents in shaping social and political norms. Materials and MethodsThis study employs a qualitative thematic analysis. Through identifying basic, organizing, and global themes, the content of speeches, writings, and secondary sources related to Mesbah’s and Malekian’s thought was systematically analyzed.The process involved:In-depth study of primary and secondary sources,Extraction of basic themes from their statements and works,Categorization of these into organizing themes, andSynthesizing global themes to map the conceptual frameworks underlying their understanding of religion.This approach enables a structured comparison of their epistemological and normative frameworks. Research FindingsThe analysis of the primary and secondary sources revealed distinct conceptual patterns in how each thinker approaches religion. While both engage deeply with the philosophical, ethical, and social dimensions of religiosity, their frameworks differ fundamentally in epistemology, methodology, and priorities. The following sections outline the core themes that characterize Mesbah Yazdi’s and Malekian’s understandings of religion: Mesbah’s Understanding of ReligionNecessity of explicating religious beliefs: Defending religion is achieved through both intra-religious (scriptural and traditional) and extra-religious (rational and philosophical) reasoning. Mesbah emphasizes religious rationality and the struggle against innovations (bid‘a), viewing reason as complementary to revelation.Comprehensiveness of religion: Religion, in his view, encompasses all aspects of human life—individual, social, doctrinal, and ethical—and contains both fixed and flexible rulings. Changing circumstances affect applications, not principles.Faith and duty: Faith is inseparable from religious duty. The relationship between rights and duties is reciprocal, and justice is defined through their balance. Religious obligations form the basis for moral action and the realization of both individual and collective good. Malekian’s Understanding of ReligionChangeability of religious knowledge: Religious knowledge is historically and experientially conditioned. With modernity, epistemological shifts have turned religion into a more personal and functional matter.Rationalization of religious beliefs: Religious beliefs are acceptable only if rationally justified. Malekian highlights the fundamental distinction between traditional rationality and modern rationality as a source of epistemic transformation.Ethics and spirituality as the foundation of religiosity: Unlike traditional approaches centered on divine command and law, Malekian grounds religiosity in ethics and inner spirituality. He sees spirituality as compatible with modernity and capable of providing personal meaning and psychological well-being. Discussion of Results and ConclusionThe findings of the study reveal that Mesbah’s model of religious understanding is anchored in preserving the traditional framework of religion. Reason complements but does not replace revelation; faith is tied to obligation; and religion encompasses all spheres of life through a combination of fixed principles and contextual applications. In contrast, Malekian builds his framework on epistemic transformation, modern rationality, and personal spirituality. He views traditional religion as unable to respond adequately to the needs of modern individuals and proposes rationalized spirituality as an alternative.The comparison highlights that the gap between traditional and modern approaches is not merely rhetorical but rooted in epistemological sources, concepts of rationality, the role of duty, and the social function of religion. Mesbah’s thought aims to preserve and defend a fixed religious structure, whereas Malekian seeks to reinterpret religion as an individual, rational, and ethical-spiritual experience within modernity.

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