Al-M ̄ıza ̄n appeared at a time when standards of scholarship
in Sh ̄ıE ̄ı seminaries were determined by the discipline of ju-
risprudence (fiqh). Those who were involved in other fields,
such as tafs ̄ır, were considered weak both in scholarly and
social terms. The reason was that although in the seminaries
the discipline of fiqh was dominated by Us:u ̄l ̄ı thought, tafs ̄ır
was still strongly influenced by the rival Akhba ̄r ̄ı school,
which places primary stress upon the narration of traditions
(ah:a ̄d ̄ıth or akhba ̄r, pl. of khabar, “report”). Thus, tafs ̄ır was
not given very much importance. T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı succeeded in
radically changing this state of affairs, such that tafs ̄ır is now
considered one of the major disciplines within Sh ̄ıE ̄ı semi-
naries. The key interpretive principle applied by T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı
in his commentary is that of interpreting verses of the QurDa ̄n
through other verses of the QurDa ̄n. According to him, in
order to obtain an understanding of the objective meaning
of the QurDa ̄n, the interpreter must set aside all personal ideas
and opinions and make an effort to understand and interpret
the verses of the QurDa ̄n only in the light of other QurDanic
verses. Although this method was used in part by various
schools of interpretation, it was T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı who articulated
and employed this method most successfully, making it the
very cornerstone of his interpretive hermeneutic. He wrote
al-M ̄ıza ̄n over a period of eighteen years, from 1954 to 1972.
Originally written in Arabic in twenty volumes, it has been
translated into Persian, and the first six volumes have been
translated into English.
T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı also played a significant role in elevating the
status of Islamic philosophy in Sh ̄ıE ̄ı circles, and particularly
within Iran; he contributed to the process by which philoso-
phy became once again a major focus of teaching and re-
search. Although he was a master in Mulla ̄ S:adra ̄’s philo-
sophical school, al-h:ikmah al-mutaEa ̄liyah (transcendent
theosophy), he avoided the mixing of philosophy with the
traditional, transmitted sources, the QurDa ̄n and h:ad ̄ıth, that
characterizes the works of Mulla ̄ S:adra ̄’s school of philoso-
phy. T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı insisted on maintaining a clear distinction
between these two disciplines, as is clearly expressed in his
philosophical works Bida ̄yat al-h:ikma (The beginning of phi-
losophy) and Niha ̄yat al-h:ikma (The ultimate end/goal of
philosophy).
His contribution to Islamic mysticism, known in its
Sh ̄ıE ̄ı form as Eirfa ̄n, consisted in his teaching of one of the
principal sources of this approach, that is, the school of
Muh:y ̄ı al-D ̄ın Ibn al-EArab ̄ı. He succeeded in his efforts, de-
spite strong opposition from many exoteric Sh ̄ıE ̄ı scholars of
his time. The emergence in the Sh ̄ıE ̄ı seminary of Qum of
a new generation of scholars well-versed in the mysticism
of Ibn EArab ̄ı is in large part due to his influence.
T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı was also actively involved in sociocultural
debates about Islam. After World War II, the influence of
modernism and Marxism on traditional Iranian society was
increasing. T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı devoted several books and articles to
discussing key issues arising out of these confrontations be-
tween modernism and tradition—such as the status of reli-
gion in the modern world, the rights of women, and the
weakness of materialistic philosophy. Between 1958 and
1977 T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı had an important series of scholarly and
philosophical debates with Henry Corbin, the renowned
French scholar of Islamic thought. He also encouraged his
students to participate in sociocultural debates; among those
students, one should mention such figures as Murtad:a ̄
Mut:ahhar ̄ı and Muh:ammad H:usayn Bihisht ̄ı, who went on
to play important roles in Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979.
The influence of T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı on Sh ̄ıE ̄ı thought generally
remains very strong; at present most of the masters of Islamic
philosophy, mysticism, and interpretation of the QurDa ̄n in
the seminaries of Iran were his students. In addition to the
above-named students, one should also mention such tower-
ing figures as S. J. A ̄shtiyya ̄n ̄ı, Ayatollah Java ̄d ̄ı A ̄mul ̄ı, and
Ayatollah H:asanza ̄dih A ̄mul ̄ı, who are now known as the
leading experts in Iran in interpretation of the QurDa ̄n, Islam-
ic philosophy, and Eirfa ̄n. Seyyed Hossein Nasr was also one
of T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı’s students, and it was through Nasr that
T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı was introduced to the English-speaking world,
with his translation of T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı’s Sh ̄ıEa dar Islam, as ShiEite
Islam, in 1975. T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı died on November 15, 1981.SEE ALSO Ibn al-EArab ̄ı; Mulla ̄ S:adra ̄.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Works by T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı
Al-M ̄ıza ̄n f ̄ı Tafs ̄ır al-QurDa ̄n. 20 vols. Beirut, 1974.
ShiEite Islam. Translated and edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Lon-
don and Albany, N.Y., 1975. Includes T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı’s biogra-
phy and bibliography.
The QurDa ̄n in Islam: Its Impact and Influence in the Life of Mus-
lims. Translated by A. Yates. Blanco, Tex., and London,
1987.
Islamic Teaching: An Overview. Translated by R. Campbell. New
York, 1989. Includes a translation of the author’s brief auto-
biography.
Al-M ̄ıza ̄n: An Exegesis of the QurDa ̄n. Vols. 1–7. Translated by
Syed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi. Tehran, 1983–1992.
Studies
Al-Aws ̄ı, EAl ̄ı. Al-T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı wa Manhajuh f ̄ı Tafs ̄ırih al-M ̄ıza ̄n.
Tehran, 1985.
Mis:ba ̄h:, Muh:ammad Taq ̄ı. “Naqsh EAlla ̄ma T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı Dar
Nihd:at Fikr ̄ı Hawzah EIlmiyyah Qum.” In Ya ̄dna ̄mih Mufas-
sir Kab ̄ır Usta ̄d EAlla ̄ma Sayyid Muh:ammad H:usayn
T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı, edited by A. M ̄ıya ̄naj ̄ı, pp. 135–144. Qum,
Iran, 1982.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı, Muh:ammad H:usayn.” In The
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, vol. 4, ed-
ited by John L. Esposito, pp 161–162. Oxford, 1995.
QurDa ̄nic Research Quarterly 9–10 (1997). Issue devoted to
T:aba ̄t:aba ̄D ̄ı.
MOHAMMAD JAFAR ELMI (2005)
REZA SHAH-KAZEMI (2005)8946 T:ABA ̄T:ABA ̄DI, ̄ EALLA ̄MA