However...

However, the leading role played by many of his students in the revolution indicates that the attitudes and teachings he had inculcated in them were at the very least compatible with support of the new Islamic order. Weakened for many years by cardiac and neurological problems, ‘Allamah Taba’taba’i withdrew from teaching activity and became increasingly absorbed in private devotion as the end of his life grew near.

In 1405 ah/1981 ce, he stopped as usual in Damavand while returning to Qum from his annual summer visit to Mashhad. He fell seriously ill and was taken to hospital in Tehran. The prospects for recovery were little and he was therefore taken to his home in Qum, where he was rigorously secluded from all but his closest students.

Shortly after, on 18th Muharram 1402 ah/November 7th 1981 ce, he passed away and was laid to rest close to the tombs of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karim Ha’iri and Ayatullah Khwansari; the funeral prayers were led by Ayatullah al-’Udhma Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Rid’a Gulpaygani. One of the characteristic of this great personality as portrayed unanimously by his students was his extreme modesty and humility. The ‘Allamah was never heard to utter the pronoun “I” through out his life whether in Arabic or Persian.

Unlike many if not most of the luminaries of Qum, he would never permit his hand to be kissed, withdrawing it into the sleeve if anyone made an attempt to do so. He always refused to lead anyone in congregational prayer, even his own students. When teaching, he never permitted himself to assume the position of authority implied by leaning on a cushion or against the wall, preferring instead to sit upright on the ground, just like his students.

He was patient and forbearing with the questions and objections raised by his students, giving generously of his time even to the immature among them. Allamah Tabatabai’s material circumstances in Qum were in line with his utter lack of self-importance. He had no access to the funds reserved for the students and teachers of fiqh , and sometimes he lacked even the money to light a lamp in his modest home in the Yakhchal-i Qadhi district of Qum.

The house was too small to accommodate the throngs of students that would come to visit him, and he would therefore sit on the steps in front of it to receive them. Unlike many scholars, he did not amass a vast personal library, although he did leave behind a small collection of manuscripts.