Pars Today

Welcome to this week's episode of the series "Tabriz, 2018". The city of Tabriz has long been the abode of prominent Ulema and religious scholars; each of which have lectured thousands of students in the field of religious sciences, and have left behind valuable books and compilations.

These pre-eminent figures have promoted the sacred religion of Islam and Islamic teachings. Today, we introduce a number of Ulema, namely Mohammad Taqi Jafari, Seyed Mohammad Hussein Tabatabai, and Abdul-Hussein Amini.

Allameh Abdul-Hussein Amini was born into a virtuous and pious family in the city of Tabriz in the year 1902.  Given his sublime talents, high IQ, in-depth understanding of religious topics of importance, and his family's immense interest in acquirement of knowledge and sciences; the stage was set for his growth and development. His father taught him the preliminary studies, making Abdul-Hussein Amini familiar with the scientific principles and foundations.

At the tender age of 16, Allameh headed for the holy city of Najaf to continue his studies, attending the classes of prominent lecturers until the age of 32. Allameh Amini maintained an elevated status in Ijtihad and spent most of his time, studying and researching. He was a well-established exegete of Holy Quran, a renowned hadith scholar, and an expert in the field of history.

Allameh Amini strongly believed that the universe has been created based on kindness. He noted that all prayers originate from kindness; and the stronger the love of individual toward God Almighty, the further one would refrain from commitment of sins. Upon publishing his first compilation at the age of 35, the prominent Ulema and Sources of Emulation of his time, praised and lauded Allameh Amini's compilation.

Allameh Amini spent forty years, researching and studying, while presenting his signature book: "Al-Qadir" to the World of Islam. This book was authored by him in order to shed light on the auspicious event of Qadir-e Khom. Allameh Amini mentioned the First Infallible Successor to Prophet of Islam, Imam Ali (AS) as the pivotal figure of Islamic Ummah after Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

In order to gather the needed information for penning his signature book, Allameh Amini traveled to several countries, researching and conferring with religious Ulema. The cities that he traveled to in order to gather the needed information for his signature book include Cairo, Aleppo, Deccan, and Damascus.

Allameh Amini's relentless lifelong studies undermined his health, especially in the waning years of his life. He passed away in the year 1970, and was laid to rest next to the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS), in the holy city of Najaf.

One of the other prominent Ulema of the city of Tabriz is Allameh Seyed Mohammad Hussein Tabatabai, who was born into a virtuous family in the city of Tabriz in the year 1902. His parents passed away during his childhood. In addition to learning Holy Quran, he also learned the common books which were taught in the then schools, in a short period of time, while also excelling in other fields such as the science of jurisprudence, principles of Islam, and philosophy, within his hometown.

Allameh Tabatabai has authored two highly important books. Firstly, he has penned "Tafsir al-Mizan" which has been compiled in twenty volumes in Arabic language. This book, in addition to exegesis of ayahs of Holy Quran, presents a number of discussions, including historical, social, and philosophical discussions. He began writing this highly important book in the year 1954, taking him 17 years to compile this book.

His other signature book is named: "The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism" which is comprised of 14 philosophical articles, based on a comparative philosophical approach.

One of the other lasting works of Allameh Tabatabai consists of his discussions with the French philosopher and Islamologist, Henry Corbin, which were carried out over a period of twenty years. The results of these discussions have been published in Farsi, Arabic, French, and English languages.

Allameh Tabatabai passed away in the year 1981.

The third figure which we introduce today is Allameh Mohamad Taqi Jafari, who was one of the prominent Ulema of the city of Tabriz and East Azarbaijan Province. He was born in Tabriz in 1925. He learned Islamic studies in the cities of Tabriz, Tehran, Qom, and Najaf. The books he has authored in the fields of science of jurisprudence, political sciences, psychology, educational sciences, Islamic teachings, and philosophy are unique.

Allameh Mohammad Taqi Jafari made utmost efforts to understand the valuable remarks of the First Infallible Successor to Prophet of Islam, Imam Ali (AS), in the best possible manner; thereby compiling a work, which elaborated on "Nahj Ul-Balaqheh" in 27 volumes in Farsi language.

In one of his other books, Allameh Mohammad Taqi Jafari studied and compared the views of famed Iranian poet, Molana, with Eastern and Western philosophies. Up to now, more than 80 compilations of Allameh Mohammad Taqi Jafari have been published.

Dozens of authors, lecturers, researchers, and thinkers from different parts of the world held scientific talks with Allameh Jafari; with more than fifty of these talks published in two volumes.

Allameh Mohammad Taqi Jafari passed away in the year 1998.

MR/ME