Shia in Islam

The book “Shia in Islam” is one of the works of the prominent Iranian scholar Allameh Tabatabaee, concerning Shia, particularly it intends to make it known in the west, because most of their resources concerning Shia derived from Sunni and Ismailites (the name of a Shia branches).

The author

Allameh Seyyed Muhammad Hossein Tabatabaie, prominent philosopher, born in 1903 in Tabriz –Iran.
He studied primary education in his birthplace, then in 1925 travelled to Najaf and completed his education during 10 years.
He studied jurisprudence (Fiqh) and methodology (Osul) in the presence of celebrated masters: "Naieni" and "Company", and philosophy in the presence of "Seyyed Hossein Badkouie", mathematics in the presence of "Seyyed Abul Qasem Khansari" and ethics in the presence of "Mirza Ali Qazi". In 1935, returned to Tabriz.

Allameh Tabatabaie's education was not restricted only to jurisprudence; in addition to studying: conflection & syntax, Arabic literature and jurisprudence & methodology, he aslo learnt old mathematics from "the principles of Euclid" to "the Almagest of Ptolemy" and philosophy, theology, thesophy too and achived a high position in these sciences.
In 1946, he emigrated to Qom and established the philosophy and metaphysics classes. He also travelled to Tehran successively and communicated with people who were intrested in Islamic philosophy and discussed even with those who were against religion; he could make them understand the reality of religion. Therefore Allameh Tabatabaie had a deep influence on Iran and educated and modernist classes in the west.

For many years every autumn there was a meeting between Allameh Tabatabaie and "Henry Carbon" (French Islamist, orietalist and philosopher) and also number of scholars attended, they discissed about the vital issues of philosophy and religion.

In Qom Hawzeh (religious school), Allameh Tabatabaie revived intellectual sciences and exegesis of the Quran.
Gradually teaching basic levels of philosophy such as: the book "Shefa" (written by Avicenna) and "Asfar" (written by mullah Sadra), became common.
Hundreds students attended in his philosophy classes; some of them are now great philosophy masters.

Works:
There are left many works of Allameh Tabatabaie, the following are some of them:

1- Tafsir al-Mizan (the Quranic exegesis, 20 volumes, in Arabic)
2- The principles of philosophy and method of realism
3- Gloss on "Asfar" (written by mullah Sadra)
4- Conversations with "Carbon"(2 volumes)
5- A treatise on Islamic government (it has been published in Arabic, Persian and German)
6- Gloss on "Kefayatul Osul" (written by mullah Mohammad Kazem Khorasani)
7- A treatise on power (Qoweh) and effect (Fe'l)
8- A treatise on attributes
9- A treatise on acts
10- Man before religion
11- Man in religion
12- Man after religion, etc.

Allameh Tabatabaie died in 1981.

The book structure

The author tries to defend Shia and present it as an original great issue of Islam

Allameh explains the advent of Shia without taking any offence to Sunni. The book is composed in the following sections:

1- the advent of Shia, the branches of Shia, the history of “twelve Imam Shiite” one of the branches of Shia believing in the twelve Imams)

2-Religious thought of Shia including: religious indications, intellectual indications, and intuition

3- Islamic beliefs according to “twelve Imam Shiite” including. Theism recognition of the prophet, recognition of Imam, and recognition of Resurrection

The book is also translated into English.

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