Patience and Fortitude of ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī

By: Ayatullah Jawadi Amoli

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In the more than 26 years that I was honored to be in the presence of ʿAllāmah, he [continuously] faced severe hardships; [but,] through them, he would never lose his forbearance and fortitude. He never thought about seeking revenge [on those who wronged him]; [rather,] he would endure any venom which was spoken or written against him.

Although no person is without vengeful enemies, those [unique] individuals who have greater [legitimate] authority, enlightenment, genius, and intellect, have more enemies [than those who do not possess these characteristics]. (اِنّا جَعَلنَا الشَّيطينَ اَولِياءَ لِلَّذينَ لايُؤمِنون) "We have indeed made the devils friends of those who have no faith." [7:27] Because the rejecters are under the authority of Satan, naturally they become enemies with the prophets; however, ʿAllāmah never displayed hostility toward his enemies. Rather, he would answer [their venom] with goodness. Just as the Qur'an has stated: (وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ) "Good and evil [conduct] are not equal. Repel [evil] with what is best. [If you do so,] behold, he between whom and you was enmity, will be as though he were a sympathetic friend" [41:34]. Only those who are forbearing can acquire this character trait [of being able to make enemies into friends]. Therefore, if we fight bad with good, we are doing a beautiful deed which is [even] above [simply] being just: (اِنَّ اللهَ يَأمُرُ بِالعَدلِ والاِحسان) "God enjoins justice and the doing of good to others" [16:90].

ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, as a possessor of great knowledge and action, acted in such a way that he made friends out of enemies [moreover,] he was extremely devoted toward his friends, such that he writes:

همي گويم و گفته ام بارها ٭٭٭٭ بود كيش من مهر دلدارها

I always say and have said many times / My creed is the kindness of the kind-hearted

Among the traditions and morals of the patient, forbearing people is [that they] destroy hostility rather than destroying those who are hostile; to evolve the enemy into a friend. This is their sweet, eloquent method [of resolving conflict].

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 Source: Ayatullah Jawadi Amoli, Shamsolvaḥy-e Tabrīzī, p. 238.

Humility of ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī

By: Grand Ayatullah Abdullah Jawadi Amoli

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There were few Islamic or Qur'anic issues in which His Eminence, Our Teacher, did not have a comprehensive knowledge. If, on occasion, an issue arose which he had not studied every facet of, he would say (with candor): "I do not know." This is what the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (Peace be Upon him) spoke of when he said: Half of knowledge is to say: "I do not know." This means that human beings do not have the capacity to absorb an unlimited amount of knowledge and perfection. This limited [capacity for attaining] perfection mandates that man – whatever he knows – he must express with humility, and [that] if he does not know, moreover, he must say: "I do not know." One who is truly learned, has the audacity [to confess this]; this audacity – in terms of practice – is [a facet of] perfection, and such a perfection constitutes half of knowledge.

His Eminence, Our Teacher, was humble toward all people, but his humility and benevolence toward his students had an [entirely] different air and appearance to it, such that he considered his students to be his children. His method in approaching [them] was such that, when in his presence, aside from the knowledge which one gained from him one would also gain emotional benefit. One would profit from [enlightening] teachings accompanied by the nourishment of compassion.

It is narrated from the great Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him and his Household): Ali and I are the fathers of the Islamic nation. The religious scholars who completely obey the authority of that great man, use this same emotional expression with respect to their students. The teacher plays a fatherly role [for his students].

The humility of His Eminence, Our Teacher – like the other moral characteristics of this great man – was an approach which had an effect on those who surrounded him; [in fact,] it could be considered a type of class in morality. His opinion about the study of morals drew heavily from this method, such that in response to the repeated requests from him to teach a class on morals, he would say: Morals is not something to be taught in a class; rather, it is a method of action. A [moral] person's path and his actions must be the teacher; if we simply say that one must be humble, trusting, and the like, these words fail in solving the core of moral problems. But when an individual himself is humble and trusting, others – in seeing his humility and trust – will [fall under his influence and] become humble and trusting.

This is because the language of action is more substantive than spoken language, and [thus] the impact of action is greater than the impact of [mere] words. And because the real expression is stronger than the verbal expression, its influence is greater. However, the difficulty of the real expression [of morals] has caused it to become rare, and for the verbal expression to become more prevalent. The prevalence [of an action] depends on [its level of ease]; just as has been said about truth and other issues: 'A right/truth is the vastest thing in description but narrowest in equability of action.¹' [The Peak of Eloquence, Sermon 215]

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[1] i.e. when people describe the truth/rights and clarify it, they will have a vast area due to the ease of its mentioning on their tongues. However, when equability of action comes into place between them and they are accounted for it, it becomes narrow due to the difficulty of acting upon truth and equity. (Allamah Majlisī, Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah, Biḥār al-Anwār, v. 2)

Source: Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Shamsolvahy-e Tabrizi, p. 241 -