Leading luminaries [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

ALI IBNE HASSAN TABRESI

(Ali, the son of Hassan Tabresi)

Birth and Family Background:

He is Abulfazl, Ali son of Hassan
son of Fazl son of Hassan Tabresi. His father, Hassan ibn-e Fazl, was the
writer of the book entitled Makārim-ul-Akhlāq.

His grandfather was the great
Islamic scholar of 6th century Hegira known as Amīn-ul-Islam
Fazl ibne Hassan Tabresi who had written the collection
Majma-ul-Bayān, a famous exegesis on the holy Qur'an.

The Tabresi family
has been always glorified by honor in the Islamic history. Ali ibne Hassan
Tabresi was not an exception either. He was an outstanding figure of his
time, well known for his knowledge and wisdom. He was at the zenith of
reputation for his virtuousness and piety, and this is well discernible in
his book Mishkāt-ul-Anwār.

His father, Hassan ibne Fazl, was
accounted as a talented pupil of his own father, and second to him in
erudition and virtue.

His great grandfather, Amīn-ul-Islam
Fazl ibne Hassan Tabresi, needs no introduction; his exegeses entitled
Majma-ul-Bayān and Jawāmi-ul-Jāmi' are among the first
reference books each Islamic researcher or student has to study.

Allāmah Majlesi's saying about the
house of Tabresi would be sufficient to highlight their exalted
status: "Tabresi family members are so reputed from the standpoint of
their erudition that resemble the brilliance of the sun in the sky, and
thus, require no introduction".

His Origin

With regard to the title Tabresi'
and its origination, there have been a lot of discussions. Many
luminaries have connected "Tabresi" to "Tabaristān" in Mazandarān
province in northern Iran, but they all have repeated the same thing, and
it seems that this concept originally belongs to an elder, and the others
have repeated his words. However, the available proofs do not attest to
the accuracy of this idea. The distinguished researcher, Allāmah Sayyid
Muhammad Mahdi Sayyid Hassan Kharsān proves the inaccuracy of the
above-mentioned idea in the preface of his book I'lām-ul-Warā.

Attribution of the title Tabresi
to Tabaristān is not correct because in Persian language, the
people from Tabaristān are called as Tabari (not Tabresi).

Abulhassan Behyaqī (d. 565 Hegira),
who was contemporary with Amīn-ul-Islam Tabresi and knew him well, in his
book "The History of Beyhaq" states: "Tabres is the Arabic
version of the Iranian city of Tafresh,
which is located in a geographical area between Isfahan, Qum and Hamadān."

Some great personalities bear the
title "Tabersi Qummi" which testifies to this truth.

His Teachers

Unfortunately there is no trace of
the names of his teachers in the history, except for Sayyid Jalāluddin
Mūsawi. Of course, another teacher of Ali ibne Hassan Tabresi has been
his own father Hassan ibn-e Fazl, the author of the book entitled
Makārim-ul-Akhlāq.

His Writings

Nasr-ul-La'āli

Kunūz-ul-Nijāh,
extracts from which have been quoted in Majma-ul-Da'awāt and
Misbāh, authored by Sayyid ibne Tāwūs and Kaf'ami,
respectively.

Accordingly, there is no doubt about
the book Kunūz-ul-Nijāh. The only difficulty concerns the author
of this book; there is a strong possibility that Kunūz-ul-Nijāh has
been written by Amīn-ul-Islam Tabresi, the grandfather of Ali ibne Hassan.

Mishkāt-ul-Anwār:
this is the only book available with us in its completeness, and there is
no difficulty about its authentication. The basic contents of the book
were derived from the author's father, after whose death his son (Ali ibne
Hassan Tabresi) codified and prepared the book and published it with his
own additions. This fact has been mentioned in the preface of the book.

His Death

Date of his demise as well as his
birth is not exactly known. However, his grandfather Amīn-ul-Islam
Tabresi has passed away in (548 Hegira), and due to the fact that
Ali was born before his grandfather's death, therefore Ali's death is
surmised to be around the year 600 Hegira.