ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books An Introduction To the Al-mizan A Brief Survey of the Contents of al-Mizan: For a thorough understanding of this valuable, great and cyclopaedic book about Islamic learning, it is necessary to have a bird's eye-view of the whole book in order to know the diversity of its issues.

I confess again my own limitations of understanding, which may have rendered my comprehension of the profound meanings and the vast span of the history of ideas covered by al-Mizan defective and inadequate. Each one of the twenty volumes of al-Mizan we intend to discuss separately.

The First Volume: 'Allamah Tabataba'I has written a preface to the book consisting of approximately eleven pages, in which he has suggested some important points: 1- The meaning of the science of exegesis and reference to its historical developments since the era of revelation of the Qur'an to this day. 2- An account of various exegeses of the Qur'an written by different Muslim scholars with reference to the causes of difference among them.

He believes that every exegete of the Qur'an has viewed the Qur'an from his own intellectual point of view and presented his interpretation in accordance with it. 'Allamah Tabataba'I has also pointed out their individual weaknesses and has written a compendious criticism of them. 3- In the end he has referred to the style of his own exegesis, which he considers to be based on a new approach, that is, interpreting the Qur'an by the Qur'an itself.

Then he gives a snapshot view of the various aspects of his method and approach employed in the exegesis, and concludes the preface. He begins the exposition of the first surah, Fatihat al-Kitab, with a brief commentary on: "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful". He discusses several Qur'anic, philosophical and psychological issues in the light of this surah.

At first, he unfolds the meaning of al-hamd (praise) in the context of God, the Most Holy, and the word al-sirat- the path to hidayah (guidance). The other discussion is about the meaning and use of the terms jary (lit. intending something; a term repeatedly occurring in the sayings of the Imams [A]) and intibaq (the application of the Qur'anic verses to specific situations by the Imams [A]) in the Qur'an which is based on the traditions.

From page 43 to the end of this volume, which contains 414 pages, he covers 182 verses of the second surah, al-Baqarah.