ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī

العلامة الطباطبائي

Lived

1904-1981 CE

Origin

Iran/Iraq

School

Shia (Twelver)

Major works

• Al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān
• Uṣūl-i falsafah va ravish-i riʾalism
• Shiʿa dār Islām
• Qurʾān dār Islām
• Bidāyat al-Ḥikmah
• Nihāyat al-Ḥikmah
• Sunan al-Nabī
• Risālah dār Wilāyat
• Risālah dār Nubuwwat

Biography

The late Islamic scholar, thinker, and philosopher, ʿAllāmah al-Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī came from the celebrated Ṭabāṭabāʾī family of Tabriz. For the last three centuries, this family has produced generation after generation of renowned religious scholars in Azerbaijan (Iran). They are descendants of the second Imam, al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (peace be on both of them). The clan is also referred to with the title, al-Qāḍī.

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī was the son of al-Sayyid Muḥammad b. al-Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī. ʿAllāmah was born in Tabriz on 29 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1321/17 March 1904. His father died in 1330 (1912). The orphaned child grew up in Tabriz, and after completing his religious education there, around 1341 (1923), he went to Najaf (Iraq), the most important center of Shia religious learning.

In Najaf, he began his higher studies with such illustrious scholars as Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥusayn Nāʾīnī al-Gharawī (1277–1355/1860 or 1861–1936), the son of Shaykh al-Islām ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, and Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Gharawī al-Iṣfahānī (1296–1361/1878–1942), the son of al-Ḥājj Muḥammad Ḥasan, Muʿīn al-Tujjār.

These two were among the most prominent scholars in the Shia world. They were among the most prominent scholars not only in the fields of Shia jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence, but in all Islamic subjects. Their opinions and theories are still followed today. Each founded his own school of thought and trained thousands of Shia scholars and jurists; and all the marājiʿ al-taqlīd of the Shia world, to this day, are their students. Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Gharawī al-Iṣfahānī was a philosopher, unsurpassed in his time; a man of literature; and a poet in Arabic and Persian; he was a genius whose achievements made others look up to him as their ideal. Shaykh Nāʾīnī, with his bold opinions and decrees in the political and social life of the Muslim umma, has carved for himself a niche in history.

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī was much influenced by these two teachers, particularly by al-Iṣfahānī, in the development of his thought and knowledge. A third influence was that of al-Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim Jaʿfar Khwānsārī (1313– 80/1895 or 1896–1961), the son of al-Sayyid Muḥammad al-Mūsāwī, known as "the mathematician." ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī was proud to have studied mathematics with him, and also wrote a book on higher mathematics, in which he applied some special theories of his teacher.

ʿAllāmah studied philosophy and metaphysics from al-Sayyid Ḥusayn al-Ḥusaynī Bādkūbahʾī; the latter was a student of al-Sayyid Riḍā, who studied with al-Sayyid Mūsā, a well-known teacher of philosophy and related subjects. In the fields of ethics and spirituality, ʿAllāmah received his training from his relatives, al-Sayyid ʿAlī al-Qāḍī (1285–1366/1869–1947), a well-known scholar who established a school of spiritual and ethical training which still flourishes today.

All these influences combined to create in ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī a well-balanced academic and spiritual personality. He was a well-respected authority on religious subjects of jurisprudence and its fundamentals; a philosopher of independent views and new theories; and an inspired model of ethical and spiritual perfection. He not only taught morality, but also lived it. Yet it is also correct to state that his scholarship was overshadowed by his fame and prestige as a philosopher and a spiritual man.

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī returned to Tabriz in 1353/1934, where he was welcomed as a religious scholar. There he spent his time teaching higher philosophy to willing disciples—but it was a small place for his talents. In 1364/1945 he migrated to Qum, the most important center of religious education in Iran. In Qum, he remained engaged in imparting the knowledge of ethics, philosophy, and the exegesis of the Qurʾan to those students who had already attained a high level of erudition. There he remained until his death on Sunday, 18 Muḥarram 1402/15 November 1981. May God bestow His mercy on him. Amen.

Many religious leaders of the present generation were and are among his students and disciples, the most famous being the late Murtaḍā Muṭahharī (1338–99/1920–79).

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī's fame rests on his academic works—the most important being his great exegesis of the Qurʾan, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. It is said to be the foundation stone of the academic prestige which ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī was accorded in the Muslim world.

Among his other works is Uṣūl-i falsafah va ravish-i riʾalism [Practical and Philosophical Principles of Realism]. This book is a comparative study of Islamic philosophy and various modern anti-Islamic schools of thoughts, especially Marxism. His disciple, the late Murtaḍā Muṭahharī, annotated this work, thus making it easily accessible to the average man.

A third book, Shiʿa dār Islām, was first published in Persian; later it was published in English with the title, Shiʾite Islam. The ʿAllāmah wrote this book on the request of Professor Kenneth Morgan of Colgate University, to introduce Shiism to the West.

However, it is his tafsīr, al-Mīzān (published in 20 volumes in Arabic) which presents the true picture of the author's academic style and his way of thinking. In the preface to volume 1, the author outlines his plan, to explain the Qurʾan with the help of the Qurʾan itself. This he faithfully does, all the way through to the end of the tafsīr.

Exegetical method

Philosophical and theological approach, explaining the Qur'an with the help of the Qur'an itself, integration of rational analysis with traditional interpretation

Key contributions

• Authored the monumental 20-volume al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān
• Developed method of explaining Qur'an through Qur'an itself
• Combined philosophical rigor with spiritual depth in Qur'anic interpretation
• Authored comparative study of Islamic philosophy and modern thought

In the verse studies

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī is cited in 27 of the 27 studies.

2:124Sūrah al-Baqarah, verse 124When his Lord tested Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He said, 'I am making you the Imam of mankind.' Said he, 'And from among my descendants?' He said, 'My pledge does not extend to the unjust.'2:143Sūrah al-Baqarah, verse 143Thus We made you a middle nation that you may be witnesses to the people and that the Apostle may be a witness to you. We did not appoint the Qiblah which you used to face but that We might know those who follow the Apostle from those who turn back on their heels. And it was indeed a hard test except for those whom Allah has guided. And Allah would never let your faith go to waste. Indeed Allah is most kind and merciful to mankind.2:207Sūrah al-Baqarah, verse 207Among the people is he who sells his soul seeking Allah’s pleasure, and Allah is most kind to (His) servants.3:7Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, verse 7It is He who has sent down to you the Book, of which there are definitive verses, which are the mother of the Book, and others are metaphorical. As for those in whose hearts is deviance, they pursue what is metaphorical in it, seeking to cause sedition and to interpret it . Yet no one knows its interpretation except Allah. And those firmly grounded in knowledge say, “We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.” And none takes admonition except those who possess intellect.3:61Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, verse 61Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and call down Allah’s curse upon the liars.’4:59Sūrah al-Nisāʾ, verse 59O you who have faith! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those vested with authority among you. And if you dispute concerning anything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle, if you have faith in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more favorable in outcome.5:3Sūrah al-Māʾidah, verse 3Forbidden to you is carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been offered to other than Allah, and the animal that has been strangled, or beaten to death, or died by falling, or was gored, or devoured by a beast—excepting what you have slaughtered—and that which is sacrificed on stone altars, and to divide meat by raffling with arrows: that is an outrage. Today the faithless have despaired of your religion; so do not fear them, but fear Me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion. But should anyone be compelled by hunger, without inclining to sin, then Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.5:6Sūrah al-Māʾidah, verse 6O you who have faith! When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ritual impurity, then purify yourselves. But if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you comes from the toilet, or you have touched women, and you do not find any water, then take clean earth and wipe your faces and hands with it. Allah does not desire to cause you hardship, but He desires to purify you and complete His blessing upon you so that you may give thanks.5:35Sūrah al-Māʾidah, verse 35O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way so that you may be felicitous.5:55Sūrah al-Māʾidah, verse 55Your waliyy (guardian) is only Allah, His Apostle, and those who believe who maintain the prayer and give the zakāt while bowing down.5:67Sūrah al-Māʾidah, verse 67O Apostle! Communicate that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and if you do not, you will not have communicated His message. Allah shall protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the faithless lot.7:172Sūrah al-Aʿrāf, verse 172When your Lord took from the Children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants and made them bear witness over themselves, [He said,] ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ Lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Indeed we were unaware of this.'9:40Sūrah al-Tawbah, verse 40If you do not help him, Allah has already helped him when the faithless expelled him, and he was one of the two, when the two were in the cave, he said to his companion, ‘Do not grieve; Allah is indeed with us.’ Then Allah sent down His composure upon him, and strengthened him with hosts you did not see, and He made the word of the faithless the lowest, and the word of Allah is the highest; and Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.9:100Sūrah al-Tawbah, verse 100The early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them in virtue—Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them . That is the great success.13:43Sūrah al-Raʿd, verse 43The faithless say, ‘You have not been sent (by Allah).’ Say, ‘Allah suffices as a witness between me and you, and he who possesses the knowledge of the Book.’17:71Sūrah al-Isrāʾ, verse 71The day We shall call every group of people with their Imam. So whoever is given his book in his right hand—they will read their book, and they will not be wronged a single date-thread.20:121Sūrah Ṭā Hā, verse 121So they ate from it, whereupon their nakedness became visible to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of paradise. Thus Adam disobeyed his Lord, and went astray.21:87-88Story of Prophet YūnusAnd (mention) Dhu’l-Nūn, when he left in a rage, and thought that We would not put him to hardship. Then he cried out in the darkness, "There is no god except You! You are immaculate! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers!" (21:87-88)24:35-36Sūrah al-Nūr, verses 35-36Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is a niche wherein is a lamp—the lamp is in a glass, the glass as if it were a glittering star—lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not touch it. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light whomever He wishes. Allah draws parables for mankind, and Allah has knowledge of all things. In houses Allah has allowed to be raised and wherein His Name is celebrated; He is glorified therein, morning and evening.33:33Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, verse 33Stay in your houses, and do not flaunt your finery like the former ignorance. Maintain the prayer and give the zakāt, and obey Allah and His Apostle. Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification.33:72-73Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, verses 72-73Indeed We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were apprehensive of it; but man undertook it. Indeed he is most unjust and ignorant. So that Allah may punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the polytheists, men and women, and that Allah may turn clemently to the faithful, men and women, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.42:23Sūrah al-Shūrā, verse 23That is the good news Allah gives to His servants who have faith and do righteous deeds. Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except love of relatives.’ And whoever performs a good deed, We shall enhance for him its goodness. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-appreciative.48:1-3Sūrah al-Fatḥ, verses 1-3Indeed We have inaugurated for you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive you what is past of your sin and what is to come, and complete His blessing upon you, and guide you on a straight path, and that Allah may help you with a mighty help.56:77-79Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah, verses 77-79Indeed it is a noble Qur’an, in a guarded Book, which none touches except the purified.66:1-2Sūrah al-Taḥrīm, verses 1-2O Prophet! Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful. Allah has certainly sanctioned for you the absolution of your oaths, and Allah is your master, and He is the All-knowing, the All-wise.75:22-24Sūrah al-Qiyāmah, verses 22-24Some faces on that day will be radiant, looking at their Lord. And (some) faces on that day will be scowling.80:1-4Sūrah ʿAbasa, verses 1-4He frowned and turned away, because the blind man approached him. And do you know, maybe he seeks to purify himself, or take admonition, and the admonition may benefit him.