How to approach Tafsir al-Mizan

Amina InloesHow to Approach Tafsir al-Mizan

A brief overview of the life of Allamah TabatabaiA brief history of Tafsir al-MizanThe style of Tafsir al-MizanFacets and features of Tafsir al-MizanWhat should you bring with you to Tafsir al-Mizan?

Todays discussion

Born near Tabriz in 1904Lost his father at age 5 and his mother at age 9Studied Quran and Persian texts; then, after 10 years, Arabic grammar, syntax, and rhetoricHis early studiesLearned horsemanship, swimming, mountaineering, hunting, and marksmanship

Allamah Muhammad Husayn TabatabaiEarly life

In 1925, he went with his brother to continue his studies in al-Najaf al-AshrafStudied fiqh and philosophy, as well as traditional subjects such as astronomyGained a special appreciation for tafsirFocused on spiritual development and the spiritual path

To the centre of learning

In 1935, he and his brother returned to Tabriz due to financial reasonsHe spent the next decade working on the family farm and with minimal involvement in scholarly activitiesDuring WWII, the Soviet Union invaded Iran, and Allamah Tabatabai left for QomHe had many students there and did much of his work there, including Tafsir al-MizanFelt responsible to stand against materialistic and other modern ideologies through teaching philosophy

Leaving Najaf

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Began Tafsir al-Mizan in 1954 and completed it on 23 Ramadan in 1972Worked every day except for AshuraUsed to meet with the French orientalist Henry Corbin in TehranPassed away in 1981He was never heard to utter the pronoun I and would not allow people to kiss his handLived a very simple lifestyleHe sat on the ground at the same level as his students

He was a mirror for the spirits of the masumin who had attained a degree of detachment from this world that allowed him to directly observe the forms of the unseen.

Life in Qom

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A few words from Allamah

3/7 at 22:287

Introducing Shiism to the West

Interpretation of verses by other versesSurvey of previous tafasirPhilosophical, sociological, historical, and scientific discussionsScientific discussions or a scientific tafsir?Separation of approaches

We take from the Quran; we do not impose on it.We will discuss in this manner [of using the Quran to interpret the Quran], what Allah the Almighty has helped us to understand of these blessed verses. Within the confines of these discussions we have avoided basing arguments on philosophical theories, scientific hypotheses, or mystical insights.The Book of Allah - by which you see, and by which you speak, and by which you hear. Some parts of it speak of other parts, and some parts of it bear witness to other parts. It is consistent about Allah, and does not divert its follower from Allah. Nahj al-BalaghahFeatures of al-Mizan

Twentieth century exegeses are rarely without consideration of experiential experimental science;. Tto a certain extent, some scientific dimension or other has found itself in them. Al-Mizan is no exception to this. However, al-Mizan cannot be called a scientific translation as commonly understood (i.e. where the interpretation of verses is based on scientific principles and achievements). This is because Allamah Tabatabai is an opponent of the overindulgent tendencies of scientific interpretations. He considered the sphere of the Quran to be greater than this because scientific opinions and theories are always subject to change or revocation. As such, he was critical of the efforts of those such as Shaykh Tantawi and Muhammed Muhammad Abduh who compared verses to scientific theories and interpreted verses based on the findings of social or natural science. Allamah Tabatabai believed that the Quran was not without reference to science or consideration of natural and social realities and that Quranic verses contained implicit references to nature such as the sun, earth, plants, animals and human biology. However, there was no need to completely focus on science in the interpretation of these verses, but to rely instead only on the indisputable facts and realities. .

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Every surah has a specific theme or purposeBeginning with general discussion of surah, and then groups of versesLiteral meaning and grammatical discussionsOther Quranic versesHadithSupplementary discussions

Structure of Tasfir al-Mizan

From the PrefaceThe people of tradition explained the Quran with the traditions ascribed to the companions and their disciples. They went ahead so long as there was a tradition to lead them on, and stopped when they could not find any such tradition. They thought it to be the only safe method.

But they were mistaken. Allah has not said in His Book that rational proof had no validity. How could He say so when the authenticity of the Book itself depended on rational proof? He has called us to meditate on the Quranic verses in order to remove any apparent discrepancy in them. Allah has revealed the Quran as a guidance, and has made it a light and an explanation of everything. Why should a light seek brightness from others' light? Why should guidance be led by others' guidance? Why should "an explanation of everything" be explained by others' words?

The seed of sectarian differences was sown in academic theories or, more often than not, in blind following and national or tribal prejudice. There are two ways of explaining a verse. One may say: "What does the Quran say?" Or one may say: "How can this verse be explained, so as to fit on my belief? " The difference between the two approaches is quite clear. The former forgets every pre-conceived idea and goes where the Quran leads. The latter has already decided what to believe and cuts the Quranic verses to fit that body; such an exegesis is no exegesis at all.

In recent times, a new method of. exegesis has become fashionable. Some people, supposedly Muslims, who were deeply influenced by the natural sciences (which are based on observations and tests) and the social ones (that rely on induction), followed the materialists of Europe or the pragmatists. Under the influence of those anti-Islamic theories, they declared that the religion's realities cannot go against scientific knowledge; one should not believe except that which is perceived by any one, of the five senses; nothing exists except the matter and its properties.

All of the [above] suffer from a most serious defect: They impose the results of academic or philosophic arguments on the Qur'anic meanings - they make the Quran conform with an extraneous idea.

As we mentioned in the beginning, the Quran introduces itself as the guidance for the worlds (3:96); the manifest light (4:174), and the explanation of every thing (16:89). But these people, contrary to those Quranic declarations, make it to be guided by extraneous factors, to be illuminated by some outside theories, and to be explained by something other than itself. What is that "something else"? What authority has it got? And if there is any difference in various explanations of a verse and indeed there are most serious differences - which mediator should the Quran refer to?

From the Preface

Praise of Tasfir al-Mizan

And people were one ummah. So Allah sent prophets, giving good news and warning. And Allah sent them with the book in truth, to judge between people in what they differed. And they only differed after clarification came to them out of hatred between them. (2:213)Allamah citesFor one person: Surely, Ibrahim was an ummah obedient to Allah.For time: ...And remembered after a long time (ummatin)For religion: Surely your ummah is one ummah, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.Allamah saysUmmah is derived from amma ("having an aim") and thus is used for a group of people which has a single aim, goal, and ambition which unites them and makes them one people.

Example: What does ummah mean?

Look for ayah and look for more14

Philosophical and sociological discussions

Who built the barrier, and where?

Northern Asia supported by the Old TestamentFrom the Caucasus raiding Assyria does not match QuranAlexander the Great built a barrier against them? not recorded in historyCyrus the Great built a barrier against themA king of Yemen historically inconsistentA member of a pre-human raceMangug and Manjug are the Chinese words for them[Dhu al-Qarnayn] reached a place between the two mountains and found a people who could hardly understand a word. They said: O Dhu al-Qarnayn! Gog and Magog are making mischief in the land.[He said]: I will make a fortified barrier between you and them. Bring me blocks of iron. When he had filled up the space between the two mountain sides, he said, Blow. When he had made it as fire, he said, Bring me molten brass to pour over it.

Historical discussions

Concerning Do they not then see that We come to the land and shrink its sides?, Majma al-Bayan says: It has been interpreted that it is through the death of scholars. This is also narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (A): The shrinking of the land is through the passing of its scholar.

How does Allamah use hadith?Imam al-Sadiq (A) said: When Abraham was thrown in the fire, Gabriel met him in mid-air while he was swooping down. He told him, O Abraham, do you need anything? He replied, Not from you! Authors comment: The story of his being thrown with a catapult appears in a number of Sunni and Shia narrations. Similarly, Gabriels question, Do you need anything? and his reply Not from you are narrated by both sects.The Prophet (S) was once passing by Abu Sufyan and Abu Jahl while they were talking. When Abu Jahl saw him, he laughed and said to Abu Sufyan, This is Banu Abd Manafs prophet! Abu Sufyan became angry and said, What do you see wrong with Banu Abd Manaf having a prophet? When the Prophet (S) heard this he went to them, rebuked and threatened Abu Jahl and told him: I can see that you will not stop [your defiance] until you are struck by what struck your uncle. Then he said to Abu Sufyan, As for you, you only said what you said out of tribal fanaticism. Thereafter, this verse was revealed: And when those who disbelieve see you, they do not take you but for mockery (21:36). Authors comment: This story does not fit the verse so well.

PatienceClear idea of what you are looking forA dictionaryBackground knowledge for grammatical sectionsAwareness of the works citedAn appreciation for Allamahs era and audience

What should you bring with you to Tafsir al-Mizan?Some suggestions