Allameh Tabatabaei

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Image:Al-Shirazi (2).jpgAllameh Seyyed Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (1892-1981) (علامه سید محمد حسین طباطبائی) is one of the most prominent thinkers of contemporary Shia Islam. He is famous for the historical landmark work Tafsir al-Mizan.

Born in Iran (Persia), he studied at Najaf, under great masters such as Mirza 'Ali Qadi (in gnosis), Mirza Muhammad Husain Na'ini and Shaykh Muhammad Husain Isfahani (in Fiqh and Jurisprudence), Sayyid Abu'l-Qasim Khwansari (in Mathematics), as well as studying the standard texts of Avicenna's Shifa, the Asfar of Sadr al-Din Shirazi, and the Tamhid al-qawa'id of Ibn Turkah, with Sayyid Husayn Badkuba'i, himself a student of two of the most famous masters of the time Sayyid Abu'l-Hasan Jilwah and Aqa 'Ali Mudarris Zunuzi.

In his later years he would often hold study sessions with Henry Corbin and Nasr, in which not only the classical texts of divine wisdom and gnosis were discussed, but also a whole cycle of what Nasr calls comparative gnosis, in which in each session the sacred texts of one of the major religions, containing mystical and gnostic teachings, such as the Tao Te Ching, the Upanishads and the Gospel of John, were discussed and compared with Sufism and Islamic gnostic doctrines in general.

Tabatabaei was a philosopher, a prolific writer, and an inspiring teacher, who devoted much of his life to non-political Islamic studies. Yet many of his students were among the ideological founders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely شهيد مرتضىمطهرى or Morteza Motahhari, شهيد بهشتى or martyr Dr. Beheshti, شهيد مفتح Dr. Mohammad Mofatteh. Others, like Nasr, and Hasanzadeh Amuli, remained and continued their studies in the intellectual non-political side.

1 Published works
2 Works
3 See also
4 External links

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Published works

It was in Najaf where he developed his major contributions in the fields of tafsir (interpretation), philosophy, and history of the Shi'a faith. In philosophy the most important of his works is Usul-e falsafeh va ravesh-e-realism (The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism), which has been published in five volumes with explanatory notes and the commentary of Morteza Mutahhari.

His other major philosophical work is a voluminous commentary of Asfar al-'arba'ah, the magnum opus of Mulla Sadra, the last of the great Muslim thinkers of the medieval age. Apart from these, he wrote extensively on philosophical issues. His humanist approach is underlined by his three books on the nature of man - before the world, in this world, and after this world. His philosophy is focused upon the sociological treatment of human problems. His two other works, Bidayat al-hikmah and Nihayat al-hikmah, are considered among works of a high order in Muslim philosophy.

He wrote several treatises on the doctrines and history of the Shi'ah. One of these books comprises his clarifications and expositions about Shi'ah faith in reply to the questions posed by the famous French orientalist Henry Corbin. Another of his books on this topic Shi'ah dar Islam was translated into English by Seyyed Hossein Nasr under the title Shi'ite Islam, with the help of William Chittick. These books serve as an excellent method by which popular misconceptions about the Shi'a faith may be removed and can furthermore pave the way for a better ecumenical understanding amongst the various Muslim schools of thought.

If a single work is to be named as his masterpiece, The Tafsir al-Mizan can be mentioned immediately without hesitation, which is the outcome of the 'Allamah's lifelong labor in the sphere of Qur'anic studies. His method, style and approach are uniquely different from those of all other exegetes of the Qur'an.

Allamah Tabatabaei was also an accomplished poet. He composed his poetry mainly in Persian, but occasionally in Arabic also. He was also the author of numerous articles and essays.

Allameh Tabatabaei's interests were varied and the scope of his learning was vast. His books number about forty-four titles; three of which are collections of his articles on various aspects of Islam and the Qur'an.

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Works

Tafsir al-Mizan (The Balance). The Allahmah's most important single work, a monumental commentary upon the Qur'an of which nineteen of the projects & twenty volumes have been completed, and fourteen volumes already printed, in the origin Arabic as was in Persian translation.
Shi'a Islam (Book) (Iranian: Shi’ah dar islam)
The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism (Iranian: Usul-i-falsafeh va ravesh-i-ri'alism) in five volumes, with the commentary of Murtada Mutahhari.
Glosses al-kifayah (Iranian: Hashiyahi kifayah). Glosses upon the new edition of the Asfar of Sadr al-Din Shirizi Mulla Sadra appearing under the direction of 'Allahma Tabataba'i of which seven volumes have appeared.
Dialogues with Professor Corbin (Iranian: Mushabat ba Ustad Kurban) Two volumes based on conversations carried out between 'Allahma Tabataba'i and Henry Corbin of which the first volume was printed as the yearbook of Maktab-i tashayyu’, 1339 (A.H. Solar)
Risalah dar hukumat-i islami, (Treatise on Islamic Government).
Hashiyah-i kifayah (Glosses upon al-Kifayah).
Risalah dar quwwah wafi'(Treatise on Potentiality and Actuality).
Risalah dar ithbat-i dha~t (Treatise on the Proof of the Divine Essence).
Risalah dar gifat (Treatise on the Divine Attributes).
Risalah dar ata! (Treatise on the Divine Acts).
Risalah dar wasa'ir (Treatise on Means).
Risalah dar insan qabi al-duny& (Treatise on Man before the World)
Risalah dar insan fl~i-dunya (Treatise on Man in the World).
Risalafi dar insdn ba'd al-dunya (Treatise on Man after the World).
Risalah dar nubuwwat (Treatise on Prophecy).
Risalah dar walyat (Treatise on Initiation).
Risalah dar mushtaqqat (Treatise on Derivatives).
Risalah dar burhan (Treatise on Demonstration).
Risalah dar mughalatah (Treatise on Sophism).
Risalah dar tahlil (Treatise on Analysis).
Risalah dar tarkib (Treatise on Synthesis).
Risalah dar i’tibara’t (Treatise on Contingents).
Risalah dar nubuwwat wa manarnat (Treatise on Prophecy and Dreams)
Manza’mah dar rasm-i- khatt-i-nasta’li’q (Poem on the Method of Writing the Nasta’liq Style of Calligraphy).
Ali’ wa’l-falsafat al-ilahiya (Ali and Metaphysics)
Qur'an dar islam (The Qur’an in Islam).