If a single work is to be named as his masterpiece...

If a single work is to be named as his masterpiece, al-Mizan can be mentioned without hesitation, which is the outcome of the 'Allamah's lifelong labour in the sphere of Qur'anic studies. His method, style and approach are uniquely different from those of all other interpreters of the Qur'an. The present article is an introduction to this unique and brilliantly original tafsir.

Though very sketchy, this article is selected for translation into English from among numerous articles written on his works and life, for it exclusively deals with the contents of al-Mizan . Recently a Persian translation of al-Mizan was published by the Intisharat-e Amir Kabir in twenty volumes corresponding with the twenty-volume set of the original Arabic text of the tafsir.

Six volumes of al-Mizan have so far appeared in English, translated by Mawlana Sa'id Akhtar Ridwi, and it is hoped that the other volumes would be rendered into English by the same translator in the near future. Among aspect of 'Allamah Tabataba'I's personality is his unprecedented success as a great teacher. Among his pupils we find a group of such luminaries and thinkers of eminence in their own right as Martyr Murtada Mutahhari, Martyr Beheshti, Hasan Hasanzadeh Amuli and Husayn Nasr.

The 'Allamah was also a good poet. He composed the poetry mainly in Persian, but occasionally in Arabic also.…