Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

An Introduction to the al-Mizan

by Abu al-Qassim Razzaqi

Table of Contents

The Author: 4

The History of Al-Mizan: 6

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF AL-MIZAN  8

1. Interpretation of the Qur'an by the Qur'an: 8

The Sociological Aspect: 9

The Philosophical Aspect: 9

A Brief Survey of the Contents of al-Mizan: 10

The First Volume: 10

The Second Volume: 11

The Third Volume: 12

The Fourth Volume: 13

The Fifth Volume: 13

The Sixth Volume: 14

The Seventh Volume: 14

The Eighth Volume: 15

The Ninth Volume: 15

The Tenth Volume: 16

The Eleventh Volume: 16

The Twelfth Volume: 17

The Thirteenth Volume: 17

The Fourteenth Volume: 18

The Fifteenth Volume: 18

The Sixteenth Volume: 19

The Seventeenth Volume: 19

The Eighteenth Volume: 20

The Nineteenth Volume: 20

The Twentieth Volume: 21

Note 22

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Among the many valuable works of the great exegete 'Allamah Tabataba'I,al-Mizan occupies a distinguished position due to its unique qualities, not only among his own books but also among all the Islamic books written so far on religion, science, philosophy and especially among all the old and new exegeses of the Qur'an, written by both the Sunnis and the Shi'ah. This article, aimed at giving an account of its contents, cannot provide a detailed account of its salient features, but can help the readers to acquaint themselves with the glimpses of its elegance. I find myself unworthy of performing this great task, as great personages like the great thinker, scholar of the Qur'an, and an exegete himself, Ayatullah Mutahhari has stated aboutal-Mizan that it is the greatest exegesis of the Qur'an written since the advent of Islam, and that it will take another sixty or even one hundred years for our people to realise the greatness ofal-Mizan of 'Allamah Tabataba'I. Other scholars, experts and men of insight have made similar remarks regarding this book. Any attempt at presenting the profound issues ofal-Mizan , even in a cursory way in a brief article like this is like an attempt to contain the great Atlantic in a small pot. But anyhow, I wish to collect some drops from this vast ocean of Islamic learning according to my limited capacities in order to quench my intense thirst. I ask for help from the gentle soul of the pious writer of this immortal book to guide me in performing this job in a good manner.

The Author:

Al-Allamah al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn al-Tabataba'I (1281 - 1360/1901-1980) is one of the greatest and the most original thinkers of the contemporary Muslim world. He was a prolific writer and an inspiring teacher, who devoted whole of his life to Islamic studies. His interests were varied and the scope of his learning was vast. His books number about forty-four, three of which are collections of his articles on various aspects of Islam and the Qur'an. His major contributions are in the fields of tafsir, philosophy and history of the Shi'ah faith.

In philosophy the most important of his works is Usul-e falsafah wa rawish-e-riyalism (The Principles of Philosophy and the method of realism), which has been published in five volumes with explanatory notes and commentary of Martyr Murtada Mutahhari. It deals with the Islamic outlook of the world, which is not only opposed to idealism that negates the reality of the corporeal world, but is also opposed to the materialistic conception of the world, which reduces all reality to ambiguous materialistic myths and fabrications. The point is established that while the Islamic world-outlook is realistic, both the idealistic and materialistic outlooks are unrealistic. His other major philosophical work is a voluminous commentary of al-Asfar al-'arba'ah, the magnum opus of Mulla Sadra, the last of the great Muslim thinkers of the medieval age. Besides these, he wrote extensively on philosophical issues. His humanist approach is underlined by his three books on man - before the world, in this world and after this world. His philosophy is overloaded with 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 t 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 Sayyid Husayn Nasr under the title The Shi'ite Islam. These books serve as a good means of removing popular misconceptions about the Shi'ah and can pave the way for a better inter-sectarian understanding among Muslim schools.

If a single work is to be named as his masterpiece,al-Mizan can be mentioned without hesitation, which is the outcome of the 'Allamah's lifelong labour in the sphere of Qur'anic studies. His method, style and approach are uniquely different from those of all other interpreters of the Qur'an. The present article is an introduction to this unique and brilliantly original tafsir. Though very sketchy, this article is selected for translation into English from among numerous articles written on his works and life, for it exclusively deals with the contents ofal-Mizan . Recently a Persian translation ofal-Mizan was published by the Intisharat-e Amir Kabir in twenty volumes corresponding with the twenty-volume set of the original Arabic text of the tafsir. Six volumes ofal-Mizan have so far appeared in English, translated by Mawlana Sa'id Akhtar Ridwi, and it is hoped that the other volumes would be rendered into English by the same translator in the near future.

Among aspect of 'Allamah Tabataba'I's personality is his unprecedented success as a great teacher. Among his pupils we find a group of such luminaries and thinkers of eminence in their own right as Martyr Murtada Mutahhari, Martyr Beheshti, Hasan Hasanzadeh Amuli and Husayn Nasr.

The 'Allamah was also a good poet. He composed the poetry mainly in Persian, but occasionally in Arabic also.

The History of Al-Mizan:

Before giving an account of its salient features and contents, we shall record a short history ofal-Mizan . 'Allamah Tabataba'I, who came to the Hawzah of Qum in 1325 A.H., wrote and lectured extensively on different branches of Islamic sciences. Commentary and exegesis of the Qur'an was one of the topics of his discussions, which he held with the scholars and students of the Howzeh-ye 'Ilmiyyah of Qum. About the motive of writingal-Mizan , 'Allamah Tabataba'I himself states that when he came to Qum from Tabriz, he tried to evaluate the requirements of the Islamic society as well as the conditions prevailing in the Howzeh-ye 'Ilmiyyah of Qum, and after due consideration of the matter he came to the conclusion that the school was badly in need of a commentary of the Qur'an for a better understanding and more effective instruction of the sublime meanings of the purest of all Islamic texts and the highest of all Divine gifts. On the other hand, since materialistic notions were gaining prevalence, there was a great need for a rational and philosophical discourse to enable the Howzah to rise to the occasion for elaborating the intellectual and doctrinal principles of Islam with the help of rational arguments in order to defend the Islamic position. He thus considered it his duty to make efforts in fulfilling these two urgent needs with the help of God., the Most High. The lectures on exegesis of the Qur'an were planned according to this scheme. Perhaps 'Allamah Tabataba'I might have delivered lectures on the entire Qur'an for his students for several times, and in the meanwhile he might have written a commentary. During these sessions of well-thought out discourse he might have rendered these lectures into his terse and eloquent prose, which was later printed in a number of volumes.

The first edition ofal-Mizan in Arabic was printed in Iran and then it was printed in Beirut. Till now more than three editions have been printed in Iran and in Beirut in large numbers, and very few of the public and private libraries will be found without a complete set of it. All other libraries, too, at least have some of the volumes of this commentary on their shelves.

The original text ofal-Mizan is written in Arabic, consisting of twenty volumes, and each volume has about four hundred pages of big size. It was intended that all those interested in reading the exegesis of the Qur'an may be properly benefited from this treasure of the Qur'anic teachings. Some of the pupils of 'Allamah Tabataba'I have translated this book into Persian under his able direction and supervision, and each one of the Arabic volume was translated in two volumes of the Persian, making a total number of forty. The share of this responsibility was shouldered by Aqa Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Musawi Hamadani. With the view that the entire Persian translation ofal-Mizan should not appear in different styles, which would have affected the book's readability, 'Allamah Tabataba'I gave him the beginning volumes ofal-Mizan also for retranslation. We hope that this fine exegesis of the Divine words of the Qur'an will be translated into other living languages of the world also, and will be made accessible to all those who want to quench their thirst for divine knowledge and who are eager to be familiar with the life-giving principles of Islam. It would be in the fitness of things that this exegesis is placed in the hands of the committed

individuals and scholars who are familiar with the language of the Qur'an also. It will be a great service if the universal message of the Qur'an is projected in such a manner that humanity is delivered from the unholy clutches of pagan cultures. The monotheistic culture of the Qur'an alone is capable of emancipating human beings from all kinds of servitude and indignities.

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF AL-MIZAN

Al-Mizan has diverse facets: scientific, technical, aesthetic, philosophical, literary, historical, spiritual, sociological and traditional (dealing with hadith). But three of these aspects are more conspicuous while others are rather subordinated to them.

1. Interpretation of the Qur'an by the Qur'an:

In his commentary on the Qur'an, 'Allamah Tabataba'I shows his great originality in pointing out, firstly, the close interrelatedness of the verses of the Qur'an with one another, and then he proves that due to this inherent coordination, the Qur'anic verses explain and interpret one another. In other words, 'Allamah Tabataba'I brought to light the fact that: some parts of the Qur'an interpret some other parts.

For the understanding of the verses and their interpretation, we should seek help from the Qur'an itself. He has discussed the problem of the interpretation of the Qur'an in his book Qur'an dar Islam ("The [place of the] Qur'an in Islam). After a lucid exposition in this regard, 'Allamah Tabataba'I says that a true exegesis of the Qur'an is possible only through profound contemplation of the verses and a reference for guidance to all the other related Qur'anic verses. In other words, any one of the three following methods is open to us for a correct exposition of the verses.

1- Exposition of any of the verses in isolation from other verses, undertaken with the help of scientific and nonscientific premises that are within our reach.

2- Exposition of a verse with the aid and application of a tradition, handed down to us by one of the Ma'sumin (A), narrated in the context of the verse under consideration.

3- Exposition of the verse by reflecting upon the wordings and meanings of the verse with the help of a group of relevant verses, and in addition to this, consulting the traditions whenever necessary.

Then he adds that the third method is the same which was deduced in the previous chapter (i.e. of The Place of the Qur'an in Islam). This is the same method which was employed by the Prophet (S) and the Imams (A), as we learn from their teachings. The Prophet (S) said:

Some of the verses are revealed to verify some other verses.

Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (A) said:

Some of the verses speak about some other verses and some of them testify some others.

At the end, the 'Allamah reminds us of an important point; that is, according to this method the Qur'an is explained by the Qur'an, not on the basis of personal opinions of an interpreter- a method that was disapproved by a famous tradition of the Prophet (S). Afterwards, 'Allamah Tabataba'I explains and compares three methods of exposition in detail, and holds that on the basis of Qur'anic arguments and proofs from tradition, the third method is the best for understanding the Qur'an. In the concluding part of this discussion he presents specimen of the exposition of the Qur'an by the Qur'an, which we cannot cite here for the sake of brevity.

This speciality ofal-Mizan can be considered as a significant step taken in the direction of better understanding of the miraculous qualities of the Qur'an regarding the coherence and interrelatedness of its verses.

The Sociological Aspect:

More or less all the commentaries of the Qur'an have paid attention to its sociological facets and have discussed the relevant issues, yetal-Mizan is incomparable with other commentaries in this regard. The sociological discussions presented inal-Mizan are both qualitatively and quantitatively of a far superior standard.

With his multidimensional approach and broad outlook in the sphere of social problems, 'Allamah Tabataba'I has been successful in projecting these issues in the light of the Qur'anic verses. He has thrown a new light on certain sociological problems from the Qur'anic point of view which were overlooked till now, and has opened up new vistas for the inspired readers who are ever eager to discover and explore some new dimensions from among the various marvellous dimensions of the Holy Qur'an.

The Philosophical Aspect:

'Allamah Tabataba'i, being a clear-sighted philosopher of rare excellence and originality, has performed a great service to the science of tafsir by elaborating the Qur'anic metaphysics which gives us a correct and valuable insight into the realities of life in the true sense of metaphysics. He has refuted all baseless misconceptions which are attributed to the Qur'an. In his view Muslim metaphysics has its roots in the Holy Qur'an and it is nothing but an elaboration of the Qur'anic notions concerning God, man and the universe. Similarly, 'Allamah Tabataba'I also points out that the main factor responsible for the general distrust regarding metaphysics issues from the lack of proper understanding and correct information about it.

In his valuable books like the Usul-e falsafah wa rawish-e riyalism ("The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism"), the commentary on al-Asfar of Mulla Sadra, Bidayat al-hikmah, and Nihayat al-hikmah, he has explained and clarified all such doubts concerning metaphysics. Inal-Mizan , he has discussed these philosophical matters in the light of the Qur'anic verses and inferred certain philosophical conceptions from them, which is something unprecedented in the history of exegesis of the Qur'an. In the course of his exposition of the Qur'anic verses and their relevance to metaphysical notions he has proved the validity of the Qur'anic outlook and the absurdity and baselessness of the philosophy of materialism. This part of his exegesis is also quite original and new in the field of philosophical studies. These discussions have a rare profundity, accuracy and refinement that will continue to fascinate the scholars in future.

I have confined my brief comments to the three most salient features ofal-Mizan , while the other dimensions, which in my view are subordinated to these three, will be discussed later.