Eternal Manifestations
Academic Activities
Story n. 1
In addition to Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr) and philosophy ‘Allāmah
Tabātabā’ī practically brought about Farsi writing into the hawza
system. Before this time most publications were in Arabic and importance
was not given in society to writing and publishing books in Farsi.
However he emphasized that society was in need of reading material in
these subjects, and that it was necessary that individuals take the
effort to write and spread such material.
I remember that the fist article I wrote was with his help and
guidance. Today many of those in the Hawza system who write and publish
articles and books, are indebted both to Divine grace and ‘Allāmah’s
efforts.
Ayatullah Ibrāhīm Amīnī
Story n. 2
In the year 1956 Materialist influence and propaganda were on the rise
in Iran. The enemies had invaded the thinking and thought of the public,
and no religious article or academic publication exited in Iran in
answer to these doubts or that addressed the needs of the youth.
[In response] an organization made of elite members of the Hawza was
formed. They approached ‘Allāmah and requested that he write an article
in answer to the view of the Materialists. However ‘Allāmah rather than
write the article himself, carried out an action that had a much more
lasting effect. He put forward topics and requested members of the
organization to prepare the articles. Two members of the organization,
Shahīd Mutahharī and Shahīd Quddūsī were the ones who prepared a paper
on the topic The communal life of ants and birds.
Imām Mūsā Sadr and a few others wrote a paper on The Qur’ānic
perspective on patience and perseverance which was a topic under
scrutiny by leftist groups. Sections of these articles were published,
and in this manner ‘Allāmah also brought about the introduction of Farsi
texts into the hawza.
Story n. 3
After the death of Ayatullah Al-Uzma Burūjerdī, ‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī
canceled a few of his philosophy classes and changed their topics to
something new: discussions on an Islamic government. ‘Allāmah even wrote
a number of articles on this subject and circulated them among a group
of jurists (marāj’i) and scholars, in which he emphasized that an
Islamic government has great political power. One of the subjects that
came up during that time and was also mentioned in his classes was the
matter of Governance of the Jurist (wilāyatul-faqīh) and its relation
to an Islamic government.
Ayatullah Jawādī Āmulī
Story n. 4
‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī spoke of an Islamic government after the period
which followed the death of Ayatullah Burūjerdī because there was a
vacuum and a conflict on this subject.
Throughout his intellectual life, ‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī paid particular
attention to addressing those matters which required attention. When
Shahīd Mutahharī said “whatever academic work I carried out was in
response to a need society had” – I am sure that this spirit and
practice was taken from his teacher ‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī.
Ustād Ridhā Ustādī