TABATABA’I, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN

Batoota — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 10:29:26 +0000

TABATABA’I, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN ( 16 March 1903 – 15 November 1981), known to his contemporaries as `Allamah Tabataba’I, one of the foremost Qur’anic commentators and traditional Persian philosophers of the twentieth century. Born to a well-known family of Shi’i scholars of Tabriz in AH 1321/1903 CE, he carried out his early studies in the city of his birth, and when some twenty years old, he set out for Najaf, Iraq, to pursue more advanced studies in the juridical as well as philosophical sciences, reaching the highest level of ijtihdd in both domains. It was also at this time that he underwent spiritual training and was initiated into the inner dimension of Islam associated in Shi’i circles with `irfan (“gnosis”). In 1934 he returned to Tabriz, where he began to teach, but he did not become nationally known until the communist domination of the Iranian province of Azerbaijan forced him to come to Tehran and Qom at the end of World War II. He spent the rest of his life in Qom with some days of each month being spent in Tehran. He devoted his time completely to teaching and writing and died in Qom in 1981.
At once a great teacher, saintly presence, and prolific writer, Tabataba’I wrote a large number of works (see Tabataba’I, 1975, introduction, for his bibliography). Some of his works, some written in Arabic and others in Persian, deal with the Qur’an and specifically religious matters, the most important of which is the voluminous Al-mizdn, written originally in Arabic and translated into Persian mostly under Tabataba’I’s direction. Among his religious works are Qur’dn dar Islam (The Quran in Islam) and Shi’ ah dar Islam (Shi’ite Islam), both of which have been translated into English. A second category includes his numerous philosophical works, ranging from his major philosophical opus, Usul-i falsafah -yi ri’alism, to his last philosophical writings, Biddyat al-hikmah and Nihayat al-hikmah. Finally, there are the works dealing with current religious and philosophical debates, of which the most significant is Musdhabdt bd Ustad Kurban, containing some of his discussions with the French Islamist and philosopher, Henry Corbin.
Among Tabataba’i’s purely religious writing, the most influential is Al-mizdn, in which he used the method of commenting on a particular Qur’anic verse with the aid of other Qur’anic verses, while taking into full consideration classical as well as recent Qur’anic commentaries written by Sunnis and Shl’is alike.
Tabataba’i’s philosophical contributions include his refutation of Marxist dialectic on the basis of traditional Islamic philosophy, the revival of the teachings of Mulla Sadra, whose Asfar he edited with his own commentary, and his response to various Western philosophical and theological questions, which were usually discussed between him and Corbin in weekly sessions in Tehran during the autumn between 1958 and 1977 that drew many eminent scholars to their midst, the translation and commentary between Persian and French being made by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
A person of great saintly countenance and piety, Tabataba’I was able to resuscitate Islamic philosophy despite the opposition of many `ulama’. He taught the philosophy of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra and gnosis and also gave spiritual direction to a small number of disciples. His students in the field of Islamic philosophy, among the class of `ulama’, included Murtaza Mutahhari, Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani, and Hasan Hasanzadah Amuli. Although he shunned politics, some of his students, such as Mutahharl, became political activists, and many reached positions of prominence after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Tabataba’I also had students associated with university circles who extended his influence among those who attended Western-style institutions of learning and who were at the same time attracted to traditional Islamic thought.
Since his death, `Allamah Tabataba’i has been greatly honored in Iran. A university has been named after him, and his works continue to enjoy great popularity. His writings are also being translated to an ever greater extent into English, and he is becoming known throughout the Islamic world as one of the major intellectual and spiritual figures not only of Shiism but of Islam as a whole during this century.
[See also the biographies of Mutahhari and Nasr.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
`Allamah Tabdtabd’i Commemoration Volume. Tehran, 1983. Tabataba’I, Muhammad Husayn. Shiite Islam. Translated and edited with an introduction by Seyyed Hossein Nast. Albany, N.Y., 1975. Includes the author’s biography and bibliography.
Tabataba’i, Muhammad Husayn. The Quran in Islam: Its Impact and Influence in the Life of Muslims. Translated by A. Yates. London, 1987. Tabataba’i, Muhammad Husayn. Islamic Teachings: An Overview. Translated by R. Campbell. New York, 1989. Includes a translation of the author’s brief autobiography.
Tabataba’i, Muhammad Husayn. Bidayat al-hikmah. Translated by A. Q. Qara’i in Al-tawhid 8.3 (February 1991): 93-108; 8.4 (May 1991) 97-1o8; 9.2 (November 1991): 68-82; and 9.3 (April 1992): 92-III.
SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR

NA’INI, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN

Batoota — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 14:40:53 +0000

NA’INI, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN (May 25, 1860-1936), the leading theoretician of the 1905-1909 Persian constitutional movement and the leading clergyman who granted legitimacy to the rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi. His life can be divided into three periods. During the first, he was actively engaged in bringing about the Constitutional Revolution and wrote a famous treatise. During the second period, he was an important lecturer and became one of the most important Shi’i mujtahids, clergymen entitled to exercise ijtihad (individual inquiry into legal matters). He led the Iraqi nationalists against the British and worked actively for independence. During the last period, he lost his fighting spirit, devoted his life to teaching, and acquiesced to the powers that be.
Nd’ini studied in Samarra, Iraq, with Muhammad alFisharaki al-Isfahani (d. 1899) and Muhammad Hasan Shirazi (d. 1896), whose secretary he became. After his master’s death, he moved to Karbala and studied with Mulla Muhammad Kazim Khurasani (d. 1911). Both Shirazi and Khurasani played important roles in political events in Iran. Nd’ini drafted the telegrams that Khurasani sent to Iran during the Constitutional Revolution. He was heavily involved in the planning of `ulama’, (religious scholars) involvement in the politics of Iran. However, he and other constitutionalists became disillusioned with subsequent events. Nd’ini therefore concentrated on teaching, became involved in Iraqi politics at the outset of World War I, and led the Iraqi opposition against the subsequent British mandate. This latter action led to his departure from Iraq in 1923. Nd’ini was then drawn into Iranian politics, namely, the campaign to establish a republic in that country. Together with `Abd al-Karim Hi’iri Yazd! (d. 1936) and Abu al-Hasan Isfahani, he was able to convince Reza Khan to give up this idea in 1924. Reza Khan assisted in the return of Nd’ini to Iraq by first arranging compensation for the British insult against him in expelling him in the first place, followed by an invitation to return to that country. Na’ini showed his gratitude by sending a letter plus portrait of Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib to Reza Khan, thus conferring legitimacy on his regime. One year later, he and Isfahani jointly sent a letter depicting those opposing Reza Khan’s rule as enemies of Islam. This opened the road to the deposing of the Qajar dynasty (1785/97-1925). On Reza Khan’s accession to the throne, Nd’ini sent a telegram of congratulations to the shah and continued to send him similar messages on holy festival days. The remainder of his years he spent teaching in Najaf, Iraq.
Nd’ini’s most famous work was Tanbih al-ummah va tanzih al-millah dar asds vausul-i mashrutiyat (An Admonition to the Nation and an Exposition to the People Concerning the Foundations and Principles of Constitutional Government), written in 1909. It is still the most detailed and coherent justification of constitutional government from a Shi’i point of view. It aims to reconcile the impossibility of legitimate rule (in the absence of the Hidden Imam) with the practical need for government that promotes the well-being of the Shi’i community, but in a way that is not too much at odds with the dictates of religion. In his book, Nd’ini does not advocate actual administration of government by the `ulama’, but he embraces an islamization of constitutionalist principles, and he accepts certain principles of democracy that are in conformity with Islam. The importance of the book, even for modern times, is emphasized by the fact that its third edition (1955), with notes, was prepared by Ayatollah Mahmud Taleqani (d. 1979), a major religious figure who played an important role in the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
[See also Constitutional Revolution; and the biographies of Ha’iri Yazdi and Pahlavi.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arjomand, Said Amir. “The State and Khomeini’s Islamic Order.” Iranian Studies 13.1-4 (1980): 147-164. Contains a pertinent summary of Na’ini’s doctrinal justification for supporting the Constitutionalists (see especially pp. 150-152).
Bayat, Mango]. Iran’s First Revolution. New York, 1991. Minimizes the importance and originality of Na’ini’s ideas (see especially pp. 256-258).
Hairi, Abdul-Hadi. ShNsm and Constitutionalism. Leiden, 1977. Full treatment of Nd’ini’s thought and activities in Shi`i Islam and Iran.
WILLEM FLOOR

MUHAMMAD HUSAYN – Hybrid Learning

TABATABA’I, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN

NA’INI, MUHAMMAD HUSAYN