View source for Al-Tabari

{{Short description|Muslim scholar, historian, and Quranic exegete (839–923)}}
{{Lowercase title}}{{Other people}}
{{Distinguish|text=the Muslim scholar and [[Muhaddith|traditionist]] [[al-Tabarani]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Al-Tabari
| native_name        = ٱلطَّبَرِيّ
| native_name_lang   = ar
| title              = [[Imam]]
| birth_date         = 839 CE / 224 AH
| birth_place        = [[Amol]], [[Tabaristan]], Abbasid Caliphate (present-day [[Iran]])
| death_date         = 923 CE (aged 84) / 310 AH (aged 86)
| death_place        = [[Baghdad]], Abbasid Caliphate (present-day [[Iraq]])
| resting_place      = {{interlanguage link|Al-Rahbi Park|ar|حديقة الرحبي}}, Baghdad, Iraq
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| era                = [[Islamic Golden Age]]
| region             = [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| denomination       = [[Sunni]]<ref>Jonathan A.C. Brown (2007), ''The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon'', p. 151. [[Brill Publishers]]. {{ISBN|978-90-04-15839-9}}.</ref>
| creed              = 
| jurisprudence      = [[Ijtihad|Independent]] (eponym of the [[Jariri school]])
| main_interests     = {{flatlist|
*[[Islamic history|History]]
*[[tafsir|exegesis]]
*[[fiqh|jurisprudence]]
*[[aqidah|creed]]
}}
| notable_works      = {{flatlist|
*''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]''
*''[[Tarikh al-Tabari]]''
*''[[Tahdhib al-Athar]]''
*''Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha'''
}}
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
*[[Ulama|Scholar]]
*historian
*exegete
*[[faqīh|jurist]]
*theologian
}}
| module1            = {{infobox Arabic name|embed=yes
|ism=Muḥammad
|ism-ar=مُحَمَّد
|nasab=Ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd
|nasab-ar=ٱبْن جَرِير بْن يَزِيد
|kunya=Abū Jaʿfar
|kunya-ar=أَبُو جَعْفَر
|nisba=Al-Ṭabarī
|nisba-ar=ٱلطَّبَرِيّ
}}
| influences         = [[Dawud al-Zahiri]]
| influenced         = {{plainlist|
*[[Al-Suyuti]]
*[[Ibn Kathir]]
}}
| image              =
}}

'''Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī''' ({{langx|ar|أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد بْن جَرِير بْن يَزِيد ٱلطَّبَرِيّ}}; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as '''al-Ṭabarī''' ({{langx|ar|ٱلطَّبَرِيّ}}), was a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] [[ulama|scholar]], [[polymath]], [[Islamic history|historian]], [[tafsir|exegete]], [[faqīh|jurist]], and [[aqidah|theologian]] from [[Amol]], [[Tabaristan]], present-day [[Iran]]. Among the most prominent figures of the [[Islamic Golden Age]], al-Tabari is widely known for his historical works and expertise in [[Quran|Quranic]] exegesis, and has been described as "an impressively prolific polymath".<ref name=Lindsay>Lindsay Jones (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of religion'', volume 13, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, p. 8943</ref> He authored works on a diverse range of subjects, including [[world history (field)|world history]], [[Arabic poetry|poetry]], [[lexicography]], [[Arabic grammar|grammar]], [[Islamic ethics|ethics]], [[Islamic mathematics|mathematics]], and [[Islamic medicine|medicine]].<ref name=Lindsay/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, vol 4|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1975|isbn=978-0-521-20093-6|location=London|pages=599}}</ref> Among his most famous and influential works are his Quranic commentary, ''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'', and historical chronicle, ''[[Tarikh al-Tabari]]''.

Al-Tabari followed the [[Shafi'i school]] for nearly a decade before he developed his [[ijtihad|own interpretation]] of [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]]. His understanding of it was both sophisticated and remarkably fluid, and, as such, he continued to develop his ideas and thoughts on juristic matters right until the end of his life.<ref>{{cite book|author=Muhammad Mojlum Khan|author-link=Muhammad Mojlum Khan|title=The Muslim 100: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of the Most Influential Muslims in History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4z49BAAAQBAJ|date=2009|publisher=Kube Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-84774-029-8|page=182}}</ref>

Al-Tabari's [[madhhab|school of jurisprudence]] "flourished among Sunni ulama for two centuries after his death", before it eventually became extinct.<ref name="jacb-m">{{cite book|last1=A.C. Brown|first1=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown|title=Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy|date=2014|publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]]|isbn=978-1-78074-420-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/193 193]|quote=Although it eventually became extinct, Tabari's madhhab flourished among Sunni ulama for two centuries after his death.|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/193}}</ref> It was commonly designated as the [[Jariri school]].

==Biography==
Tabari was born in [[Amol]], [[Tabaristan]] (some 20&nbsp;km south of the [[Caspian Sea]]) in the winter of 838–39.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|pp=10–11}} He has been described as either of Persian or Arab origin.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Magdalino|first1=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSEQ7WjngmkC&q=Persian+polymath&pg=PA279|title=The Old Testament in Byzantium|last2=Nelson|first2=Robert S.|date=2010|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-88402-348-7|page=279|language=en|quote=the Persian-born, Baghdādī polymath Abū Jaʿfar b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 923/310) was putting the finishing ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Daniel|first1=Elton L.|date=2000–2013|title=ṬABARI, ABU JAʿFAR MOḤAMMAD B. JARIR|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tabari-abu-jafar|publisher=ENCYCLOPÆDIA IRANICA|access-date=4 December 2016|quote=...one of the most eminent Iranian scholars of the early Abbasid era... There is thus no way of knowing for certain whether Ṭabari’s family was native to the Āol region or perhaps arrived with the wave of Muslim colonists after the Abbasid revolution, either as converts or Arab settlers.}}</ref><ref>[[Gaston Wiet]], etc, "The Great Medieval Civilizations: cultural and scientific development. Volume 3. The great medieval civilizations. Part 1", Published by Allen and Unwin, 1975. pg 722:In the meantime another author, Tabari, Persian by origin, had been unobtrusively at work on two monumental pieces of writing, a commentary on the Koran .</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bosworth|first1=C.E.|title=al-Ṭabarī|date=24 April 2012|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-tabari-COM_1133|publisher= Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|quote=...whether the family was of indigenous stock or descended from Arab colonists in Tabaristan is unknown...}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Cheung |first=Johnny |title=On the (Middle) Iranian borrowings in Qur'ānic (and pre-Islamic) Arabic |date=2016-06-06 |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01445860 |language=en |access-date=2023-02-09}} "Even so, the evidence of the early philologists was so strong, that for the proponents of a “foreign free” Qur’ānic reading, the similarities between some of the Arabic forms and their foreign counterparts were just coincidental, or at least, Arabic happened to use those forms first in the Qur’ān, which is the position of the celebrated Persian historian and theologian al-Ṭabarī (839 - 923 CE) in his famous Tafsīr of the Qur’ān."</ref> [[Hafiz (Qur'an)|He memorized the Qur'an]] at seven, was a qualified [[Imam|prayer leader]] at eight, and began to study the [[hadith|prophetic traditions]] at nine. He left home to study in 236 [[Anno Hegirae|AH]]{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|pp=15–16}} (850/1 AD), when he was twelve. He retained close ties to his hometown. He returned at least twice, the second time in 290 AH (903 AD), when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness and led to his quick departure.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=11}}

He first went to [[Ray (city)|Ray (Rhages)]], where he remained for some five years.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=16}} A major teacher in Rayy was Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Razi, who had earlier taught in Baghdad, but was now in his seventies{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=17}} While in Ray, he also studied Muslim [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]] according to the [[Hanafi]] school.<ref name=devin325>[[Devin J. Stewart]], "Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari's ''al-Bayan 'an Usul al-Ahkam'' and the Genre of Usul al-Fiqh in Ninth Century Baghdad," p. 325. Taken from ''Abbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of Abbasid Studies, Cambridge, 6–10 January 2002''. Edited by James Montgomery. [[Leuven]]: Peeters Publishers and the Department of Oriental Studies, 2004.</ref> Among other material, ibn Humayd taught Jarir Tabari the historical works of [[ibn Ishaq]], especially ''[[Sirah Rasul Allah|al-Sirah]]'', the life of [[Muhammad]].{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=18}} Tabari was thus introduced in youth to pre-Islamic and early Islamic history. Tabari quotes ibn Humayd frequently, but little is known about Tabari's other teachers in Rayy.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=17}}

Tabari then travelled to study in Baghdad under [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], who, however, had recently died (in late 855 or early 856).{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=19}} Tabari possibly made a pilgrimage prior to his first arrival in Baghdad.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=19}} He left Baghdad probably in 242 AH (856/7 AD){{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=20}} to travel through the southern cities of [[Basra]], [[Kufa]]h and [[Wasit]].{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=19}} There, he met a number of eminent and venerable scholars.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=20}} In addition to his previous study of Hanafi law, Tabari also studied the [[Shafi'i]], [[Maliki]] and [[Zahiri]] rites.<ref>[[Ibn al-Nadim]], ''[[al-Fihrist]]'', p. 291. Ed. Rida Tajaddud. [[Tehran]]: Dar al-Masirah, 1988.</ref> Tabari's study of the latter school was with the founder, [[Dawud al-Zahiri]],<ref>[[Christopher Melchert]], The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th–10th Centuries C.E., p. 185. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997.</ref> and Tabari hand-copied and transmitted many of his teacher's works.<ref>[[Yaqut al-Hamawi]], ''Irshad'', vol. 18, p. 78.</ref> Tabari was then well-versed in four of the five remaining Sunni legal schools, before founding his own independent, yet eventually extinct, school. His debates with his former teachers and classmates were known, and served as a demonstration of said independence.<ref>Stewart, ''Tabari'', p. 326.</ref> Notably missing from this list is the [[Hanbali]] school, the fourth largest legal school within Sunni Islam in the present era. Tabari's view of Ibn Hanbal, the school's founder, became decidedly negative later in life. Tabari did not give Ibn Hanbal's dissenting opinion any weight at all when considering the various views of jurists, stating that Ibn Hanbal had not even been a jurist at all but merely a recorder of [[Hadith]].<ref>al-Hamawi, vol. 18, pp. 57–58.</ref>

On his return to [[Baghdad]], he took a tutoring position from the vizier, [[Ubaydallah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan]].{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=21}} This would have been before A.H. 244 (858), since the vizier was out of office and in exile from 244 to 248 (858–9 to 862).{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=21}} There is an anecdote telling that Tabari had agreed to tutor for ten dinars a month, but his teaching was so effective and the boy's writing so impressive that the teacher was offered a tray of dinars and dirhams. The ever-ethical Tabari declined the offer, saying he had undertaken to do his work at the specified amount, and could not honorably take more.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=22}} That is one of a number of narratives about him declining gifts or giving gifts of equal or greater amount in return.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=22}}

In his late twenties, he travelled to [[Syria]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[India]] and [[Egypt]].{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=23}} In [[Beirut]], he made the highly significant connection of al-Abbas ibn al-Walid ibn Mazyad al-'Udhri al-Bayruti (c. 169–270/785–86 to 883–84). Al-Abbas instructed Tabari in the Syrian school's variant readings of the Qur'an and transmitted through his father al-Walid the legal views of [[Abd-al-Rahman al-Awzai|al-Awza'i]], Beirut's prominent jurist from a century earlier.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Tabari arrived in [[Egypt]] in 253 AH (867 AD),{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=27}} and some time after 256/870, he returned to Baghdad,{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=31}} possibly making a pilgrimage on the way. If so, he did not stay long in the [[Hijaz]]. Tabari had a private income from his father while he was still living, and then the inheritance.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=14}} He took money for teaching. Among Tabari's students was [[Ibn al-Mughallis]], who was also a student of Tabari's own teacher [[Muhammad bin Dawud al-Zahiri]]; Ibn al-Mughallis lavished Tabari with almost excessive praise.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=52}}<ref>Boaz Shoshan, ''Poetics of Islamic Historiography: Deconstructing Ṭabarī's History'', introductio, p. xxvi. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2004. {{ISBN|978-90-04-13793-6}}</ref> He never took a government or a judicial position.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=36}}

Tabari was some fifty years old when [[al-Mu'tadid]] became caliph. He was well past seventy in the year his ''History'' was published. During the intervening years, he was a famous (if somewhat controversial) personality. Among the figures of his age, he had access to sources of information equal to anyone, except, perhaps, those who were directly connected with decision making within the government. Most, if not all, the materials for the histories of al-Mu'tadid, [[al-Muktafi]], and the early years of [[al-Muqtadir]], were collected by him about the time the reported events took place. His accounts are as authentic as one can expect from that period.<ref>
Saliba, George. ''The History of Al-Ṭabarī = Taʻrīkh al-rusul wa ʻl-mulūk''. Vol. XXXVIII. New York: State University of New York, 1985. Print.</ref> Tabari final years were marked by conflict with the Hanbalite followers of [[Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari]], a student of the students of Ibn Hanbal. Tabari was known for his view that Hanbalism was not a legitimate school of thought, as Ibn Hanbal was a compiler of traditions and not a proper jurist.<ref>[[Yaqut al-Hamawi]], Irshad, vol. 18, pp. 57–58.</ref> The Hanbalites of Baghdad would often [[stoning|stone]] Tabari's house, escalating the persecution to the point where Abbasid authorities had to subdue them by force.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=73}} The Baghdad chief of police tried to organize a debate between Tabari and the Hanbalites to settle their differences. While Tabari accepted, the Hanbalites did not show up, but instead came later to pelt his house with stones again. The constant threat of violence from the Hanbalites hung over Tabari's head for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}}

Tabari died on 17 February 923.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}} Some sources suggest that Abbasid authorities buried Tabari at night in secret as they feared mob violence by the Hanbalites,<ref>Joel L. Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival During the Buyid Age, p. 61. Volume 7 of Studies in Islamic culture and history. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1992. {{ISBN|978-90-04-09736-0}}</ref> but these reports are uncertain, and other sources agree that he was buried in the morning after his death. Either way, he was buried in his home.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}} Regardless, Tabari was remembered positively by contemporaries such as [[Ibn Duraid]],{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}} and the Hanbalites were condemned by Abbasid authorities in their entirety for persecuting opponents, roughly a decade later. They even prevented people from meeting with him, and Ibn Jarir remained trapped in his home until he died.<ref>Joel L. Kraemer, p. 62.</ref> The period in which Tabari lived was full of religious differences and political unrest, which was characterized by the stigmatization and accusation of individuals.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Tabari Al-Ṭabarī ]</ref>
[[image:قبر الامام الطبري 4.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Tomb of al-Tabari in Baghdad, [[Iraq]]]]

==Personal characteristics==
He is described as having a dark complexion, large eyes and a long beard. He was tall and slender{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=40}} and his hair and beard remained black until he was very old. He was attentive to his health, avoiding red meat, fats, and other foods he deemed unhealthy. He was seldom sick before his last decade, when he suffered from bouts of [[pleurisy]]. When he was ill, he treated himself (to the disapproval of physicians). He had a sense of humor, though serious subjects he treated seriously. He had studied poetry when young and enjoyed writing, reciting and participating in poetic exchanges. It is said that he was asked in Egypt about al-Tirimmah, and was able to recite this 7th century poet's work for Egyptians who had merely heard al-Tirimmah's name.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=46}}
[[Ali ibn al-Athir]], in his memoirs, he confirmed these features. He was witty and urbane, clean, and well mannered.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=41}} He avoided coarse speech, instead displaying refined eloquence.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=40}} He had a good grounding in grammar, [[lexicography]], and philology. Such were considered essential for Qur'anic commentary. He knew Persian and was acquainted with the origins of various foreign loan words in Arabic from a number of other languages.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

He died in [[Baghdad]] on 17 February 923.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}}
[[File:Persian version by Balami of Universal History by Tabari.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Bal'ami]]'s 14th century Persian version of ''Universal History'' by Tabari]]

== Tabari's ordeal with Hanbalites ==
His [[ijtihad]] (independent judgement) led to criticism from the [[Zahiri]] and some [[Hanbali]] followers. Though his conflict with the leaders of the Zahiri school was resolved, his disagreements with the Hanbalis were more deep-set, leading to a violent altercation in which he was besieged in his own home. The disagreement was mainly jurisprudential -- al-Tabari did not seem to think much of [[ibn Hanbal]] as a [[faqih|jurist]], but mainly saw him as a [[muhaddith|scholar of hadith]]. Al-Tabari was also accused of being a [[Jahmite]] [[heretic]], while his respect for [['Ali ibn Abi Talib]] exposed him to accusations of [[Shi'ite]] sympathies. At the same time, he incurred the wrath of the Shi'ites by defending the previous three caliphs.<ref>{{cite book|author=Camilla Adang|author-link=Camilla Adang|title=Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: From Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4Ut1MjLQTMC|series=Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies|volume=22|date=1996|publisher=[[E. J. Brill]]|isbn=978-90-04-10034-3|page=42}}</ref>

In [[Baghdad]], three Hanbalites (who do not seem further identifiable) asked al-Tabari about his views on a tradition attributed to [[Mujahid ibn Jabr]], concerning the explanation of the verse 79 from [[Surat al-Isra']] in the [[Qur'an]] about the Praiseworthy Station of [[Muhammad]], known as "al-Maqam al-Mahmud".<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Gibril Fouad Haddad]]|title=The Biographies of the Elite Lives of the Scholars, Imams & Hadith Masters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwPnCAAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=[[As-Sunnah Foundation of America]]|page=140}}</ref><ref name="The History of al-Tabari">{{cite book|translator=[[Franz Rosenthal]]|title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQvdc17cJkoC|series=SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies|volume=1|date=1989|location=[[Albany, New York|Albany]]|publisher=State University of New York Press ([[SUNY Press]])|isbn=978-1-4384-1783-7|pages=73–74}}</ref>

The verse is: And rise at ˹the last˺ part of the night, offering additional prayers, so your Lord may raise you to a station of praise.{{qref|17|79|s=y|b=y}}

In the books of [[Tafsir]] (interpretation of the Qur'an), authors said that the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud) said in the above verse is the most highest place in Paradise, which will be granted to the Muhammad and none else, and the position of intercession ([[Shafa'a]]) will be giving to him by permission of [[God in Islam|God]] on behalf of the believers on the Day of Judgment. Muhammad will intercede on their behalf, so that God will relieve them of the suffering of such a situation. However, the Hanbalites interpreted the Praiseworthy Station as the seat of Muhammad by God on the Throne, despite the overall weakness of the narrations supporting it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naqshbandi.ca/pages/prophete.php?id_article=167|title=The Prophet's (s) Seating on the Throne|author=[[Gibril Fouad Haddad]]|website=www.naqshbandi.ca|publisher=Naqshbandi Order in Montreal|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240203001359/https://www.naqshbandi.ca/pages/prophete.php?id_article=167|archive-date=3 Feb 2024|via=[[archive.today]]}}</ref>

Al-Tabari is said to have declared bluntly that it was absurd. Moreover, he recited:<ref>{{cite book|author=Hussein Ahmad Amin|title=Sorrowful Muslim's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DNJEAAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|publication-date=2018|isbn=978-1-4744-3709-7|page=90}}</ref>
{|
|-
| align=right|{{lang|ar| {{Script/Arabic|size=125%|ولا له في عرشه جليس}}}} ||  || align=right| {{lang|ar| {{Script/Arabic|size=125%|سبحان من ليس له أنيس}}}}
|}
{|
|-
| Glory to Him (God), Who has no comrade||   || nor companion sitting on His Throne
|}

Upon hearing this, the fanatic Hanbali followers attacked him fiercely, and stoned his residence and caused a serious disturbance which had to be subdued by force. Trouble with the Hanbalites that took a similar form was also reported at the time of al-Tabari's death. In connection with it, Nazuk is mentioned as chief of police. He was appointed to this position only in 310/922, the year al-Tabari died, but he appears to have held high positions in the police before, and may already have been in charge of al-Tabari's protection against potential Hanbalite violence. In 309/921, the [[Vizier|wazir]] 'Ali b. 'Isa had offered al-Tabari the opportunity to debate the matter with the Hanbalites in his residence. Al-Tabari agreed, but the Hanbalites did not show up. However, shortly before his death, Hanbalite rioters supposedly pelted his house with stones so numerous that they formed a large wall in front of it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://darelhilal.com/News/705079.aspx|title=فقه الاختلاف ومحنة الإمام الطَبري|trans-title=The Jurisprudence of Disagreement and the Ordeal of Imam al-Tabari|language=ar|website=darelhilal.com|publisher=[[w:ar:دار الهلال|Dar al-Hilal]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240202231739/https://darelhilal.com/News/705079.aspx|archive-date=2 Feb 2024|via=[[archive.today]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.almothaqaf.com/research/938807|title=محنة الإمام الطبري مع الحنابلة|trans-title=The Ordeal of Imam al-Tabari with the Hanbalis|language=ar|author=Dr. Mona Zaytoun|website=almothaqaf.com|date=August 2019 |publisher=Almothaqaf Newspaper|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240202230759/https://www.almothaqaf.com/research/938807|archive-date=2 Feb 2024|via=[[archive.today]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aletihad.ae/article/71569/2011/|title=الإمام الطبري ضحية الجهل والتعصب|trans-title=Imam al-Tabari: Victim of Ignorance and Fanaticism|language=ar|website=aletihad.ae|date=31 July 2011 |publisher=[[Al-Ittihad (Emirati newspaper)]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240202231423/https://www.aletihad.ae/article/71569/2011/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%B6%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%87%D9%84-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%A8|archive-date=2 Feb 2024|via=[[archive.today]]}}</ref><ref name="The History of al-Tabari"/>

According to [[Franz Rosenthal]], "The role of Hanbalite hostility, though real, seems to have been exaggerated in connection with his death as it was in his life."{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=78}} He further adds that "Those who knew Tabari best always played down the inconveniences he suffered from the Hanbalites."{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=77}}

==Works==
[[File:Qur'an Tabari.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Opening lines of the Quran from a Persian translation of Tabari's commentary]]
<!--No-source image [[Image:1-2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The first volume of the Persian translation of The commentary on the Qur'an]]-->

Al-Tabari wrote [[history]], [[theology]] and [[Qur'an]]ic commentary. His principal and most influential works were:
*''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'' ('Commentary of al-Tabari'); Qur'anic commentary ([[tafsir]]).
*''[[Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk]]'' ([[History of the Prophets and Kings]]), historical chronicle, often referred to as ''Tarikh al-Tabari''.

His legal texts, commentaries and Qur'anic exegesis, and history, produced respectively, were published throughout his lifetime. Biographers stress his reverence for scholarship, objectivity, and independent judgement (''[[ijtihad]]'').{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=55}} He rates the credibility of his sources from a theological rather than an historical standpoint, yet he opposed religious innovation. In one anecdote, [[Abu Kamil]] suggested him when he was near death, to forgive his enemies, which he agreed to, apart from one who called him an innovator.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=61}} Tabari was generally conciliatory, moderate, and affable.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|p=56}}

Initially, Tabari belonged to the [[Shafi'ite]] [[madhhab]]  (school) of [[fiqh]] (Islamic law), and was welcomed by them. He established his own madhhab, usually designated the [[Jariri]] madhhab after his [[patronymic]]. His school failed to endure in the competitive atmosphere of the times. As a youth in [[Baghdad]], he had applied to the [[Hanbalite]]'s but received a hostile rejection.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1989|pp=63-66}}

Al-Tabari's jurisprudence belongs to a type which [[Christopher Melchert]] has called "[[Rationalism]]", largely associated with the [[Shafi'i]] madhhab. It was characterized by strong scripturalist tendencies. He appears, like [[Dawud al-Zahiri]], to restrict [[Ijma|consensus]] historically, defining it as the transmission by many authorities of reports on which the [[Sahaba]] agreed unanimously. Like Dawud al-Zahiri, he also held that consensus must be tied to a text and cannot be based on [[Qiyas|legal analogy]].<ref>[[Devin J. Stewart]], "Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari's ''al-Bayan 'an Usul al-Ahkam'' and the Genre of Usul al-Fiqh in Ninth Century Baghdad," pg. 339. Taken from ''Abbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of Abbasid Studies, Cambridge, 6–10 January 2002''. Edited by James Montgomery. [[Leuven]]: Peeters Publishers and the Department of Oriental Studies, 2004.</ref>

While we still lack a satisfactory scholarly biography of this remarkable scholar, interested readers now have access to a meticulous and well-annotated translation of the sections from al-Tabari's chronicle, which constitute the most important primary source for the
history of his reign. Anyone familiar with al-Tabari's chronicle knows what a formidable challenge it poses for a translator, especially for one attempting to make it accessible to an audience that includes non-specialists. There is first of all the obstacle of al-Tabari's Arabic prose, which varies greatly in style and complexity, according to the source he is using (and apparently quoting verbatim). The sections in the McAuliffe translation, drawn mostly from [[al-Mada'ini]] and 'Umar ibn Shabba, do not represent the most obscure passages to be found in al-Tabari, but they are nonetheless full of linguistic ambiguities and difficulties for the translator.<ref>
The History of al-Tabari (Tarikh al-Rusul Walmuluk). Vol. XXVIII: Abbasid Authority Affirmed, the Early Years of al-Mansur A.D. 753-763/A.H. 136–145 by Al-Tabari (Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Jarir); Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Review by: {{cite journal | last1 = Daniel | first1 = Elton L. | year = 1997 | title = Review | journal = International Journal of Middle East Studies | volume = 29 | issue = 2| pages = 287–289 | jstor=164026| doi = 10.1017/S0020743800064564 }}</ref>

He wrote extensively; his voluminous corpus containing three main titles:

*''[[History of the Prophets and Kings]]'' – (''Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk'', commonly called ''Tarikh al-Tabari'')

The first of the two large works, generally known as the ''Annals'' (Arabic ''Tarikh al-Tabari''). This is a [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]] from the time of Qur'anic [[Creation myth|Creation]] to 915, and is renowned for its detail and accuracy concerning [[Muslim]] and [[Middle East]]ern history. Tabari's work is one of the major primary sources for historians. The History commenced with the Creation, followed by accounts regarding the patriarchs, prophets, and rulers of antiquity. The history of the [[Sasanian Empire]] came next. For the period of Muhammad's life, al-Ṭabarī drew upon the extensive researches of 8th-century Medinan [[scholars]]. Although pre-Islamic influences are evident in their works, the Medinan perspective of Muslim history evolved as a theocentric (god-centred) universal history of prophecy, culminating in the career of [[Muhammad]] and not as a continuum of tribal wars and values. The sources for al-Ṭabarī's History covering the years from the [[Prophet]]’s death to the fall of the [[Umayyad dynasty]] (661–750 CE) were short monographs, each treating a major event or the circumstances attending the death of an important person. Al-Ṭabarī supplemented this material with historical reports embodied in works on genealogy, poetry, and tribal affairs. Further, details of the early ʿAbbāsid period were available to him in a few histories of the caliphs that unfortunately have come down only in the fragments preserved by al-Ṭabarī. Almost all of these accounts reflected an Iraqi perspective of the community; coupled with this is al-Ṭabarī’s scant attention to affairs in [[Egypt]], [[North Africa]], and [[Muslim]] [[Spain]], so that his History does not have the secular “universal” outlook sometimes attributed to it. From the beginning of the Muslim era (dated from 622, the date of the hijrah—the [[Prophet Muhammad]]’s migration from [[Mecca]] to [[Medina]]), the History is arranged as a set of annals according to the years after the hijrah. It terminates in the year 915.

*''[[The commentary on the Qur'an (book)|The Commentary on the Qur'an]]'' – (''Commentary al-Tabari'')

His second great work was the commentary on the [[Qur'an]], (Arabic ''Tafsir al-Tabari''), which was marked by the same fullness of detail as the ''Annals''. Abul-Qaasim Ibn 'Aqil Al-Warraq  says: " Imām Ibn Jarir once said to his students: “Are you all ready to write down my lesson on the commentary of the entire Holy Quran?" They enquired as to how lengthy it would be. "30 000 pages"! he replied. They said: "This would take a long time and cannot be completed in one lifetime. He therefore made it concise and kept it to 3000 pages (note, this was in reference to the old days when they used ink and hard-paper which was a bit long format today). It took him seven years to finish it from the year 283 until 290.


*''[[Tahdhib al-Athar|Tahdhīb al-Athār]]'' was begun by Tabari. This was on the traditions transmitted from the [[Sahaba|Companions]] of [[Muhammad]]. It was not, however, completed.

A perusal of Tabari shows that he in fact relied on a variety of historians and other authors, such as Abu Mihnaf, Sayf b. 'Umar, Ibn al-Kalbi, '[[Awana ibn al-Hakam]], Nasr b. Muzahim, al-Mada'ini, 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr, al-Zuhri, Ibn Ishaq, Waqidi, Wahb b. Munabbih, Ka'b al-Ahbar, Ibn al-Matni, al Haggag b. al-Minhal, Hisham b. 'Urwa, al-Zubayr b. Bakkar and so forth, in addition to oral accounts that were circulating at the time. In recounting his history, Tabari used numerous channels to give accounts. These are both channels that are given by the same author in a work, such as for example three different accounts that start with the isnad al-Harita.<ref>
Osman, Ghada. "ORAL VS. WRITTEN TRANSMISSION: THE CASE OF ṬABARĪ AND IBN SAʿD." Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 May 2012.</ref>

Although no subject in history, recitation of the Quran and its interpretation, poetry, grammar and vocabulary, ethics, mathematics, and theology remained untouched by Tabari, he is primarily known as the author and author of history.

==Translations of Tabari's book==
[[Theodor Nöldeke]], the German orientalist in 1878 has also translated the Sassanid section of Tabari's history into German, and has since been reprinted several times.<ref>Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden. Aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari. Übersetzt und mit ausführlichen Erläuterungen und Ergänzungen versehen von Theodor Nöldeke. Leiden 1879 (Digitalisat der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle).</ref><ref>[http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/ssg/content/titleinfo/418497 University and State Library / MENAdoc-Sammlung]</ref>

Dutch orientalist [[Michael Jan de Goeje]], in several volumes, translated Tabari's history book into Dutch, The book was later translated into English and republished in 1998 by [[State University of New York]] Press and [[Paris Diderot University]]. [[Hermann Zotenberg]] published the history of Tabari in French Language in four volumes in Paris.<ref>Tabarî, ''La Chronique Histoire des prophètes et des rois.'' 2 Bände, übersetzt aus dem Persischen von [[Hermann Zotenberg]]. Éditions Actes Sud / Sindbad 2001, Band I, {{ISBN|978-2-7427-3317-0}}, Band II, {{ISBN|978-2-7427-3318-7}}.</ref> His book on the nativities and history was translated into Latin by Giovanni da Siviglia and published in Venice in 1503. [[Franz Rosenthal]] translated in 1989 Tabari history book of three volumes, with title "History of the Middle East".<ref>General Introduction and From Creation to the Flood, Franz Rosenthal (1989)</ref>

[[Clifford Edmund Bosworth]], published the book History of Tabari in three volumes with an introduction by [[Ehsan Yarshater]] in 1999 in the United States, Albania and France.<ref>Clifford Edmund Bosworth (Übersetzer), Vorwort von Ehsan Yarshater: Al-Tabari. The Sasanids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen. State University of New York Press, Albany 1999 (erschienen in der oben genannten Reihe, behandelt die Geschichte der Sasaniden).</ref> Planning for the translation of this great chronicle book into English in forty volumes began in 1971, led by Ehsan Yarshater as General Editor and assisted by an Editorial Board [[Ihsan Abbas]], [[American University of Beirut]], [[Clifford Edmund Bosworth]] [[University of Manchester]], [[Jacob Lassner]] [[Wayne State University]], as Supervising Editor, and [[Franz Rosenthal]] in [[Yale University]]. Estelle Whelan at the Columbia Center for Iranian Studies served as Editorial Coordinator.<ref>Center for Iranian Studies</ref>

[[Ignác Goldziher]] Hungarian scholar, wrote in 1920 a book focusing on Tabari, titled in German as "Die Richtungen der islamischen Koranauslegung", and it was published by [[Brill Publishers]].<ref>Ignaz Goldziher: Die Richtungen der islamischen Koranauslegung. Brill, Leiden 1920</ref> [[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]] also published the complete History of the Prophets and Kings in 17 volumes in his center.<ref>Табари // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — СПб., 1890—1907.</ref> [[W. Montgomery Watt]] researched the history of Tabari, and from 1987 to 1999 published the book History of Tabari entitled "Muhammad at Mecca".<ref>[https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/muhammad-at-mecca/author/w-montgomery-watts/ The History of Al-Tabari, Vol. 6: Muhammad at Mecca (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies)], [[AbeBooks]]</ref> Also [[Manuscripts]] Tabari history, Tabari interpretation and translation of Tabari history stored in [[Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi]].<ref>[https://www.razavi.ir/portal/home/showpage.aspx?object=relatedtopics&categoryid=76b57c3f-a82c-4c2a-a056-ce2c4996623b&webpartid=c564d56e-f8ab-49ab-bbdc-88ac10ae8f98&id=4be85dee-6cc5-457f-8096-e12ff0c4de19 Prominent works of Muhammad ibn Jarir Tabari]</ref>

[[Moshe Pearlman]], [[Ismail Poonawala]], [[Fred Donner]], [[Hugh N. Kennedy]], [[Khalid Yahya Blankinship]], [[R. Stephen Humphreys]], [[Michael G. Morony]], [[G. R. Hawting]], [[Martin Hinds]], [[Carole Hillenbrand]], [[George Saliba]], and [[Yohanan Friedmann]] authors and researchers were prominent, they published a collection of books on the history of Tabari with different titles.<ref>[https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0223.xml "al-Tabari"], [[Oxford Bibliographies Online]]</ref><ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-middle-east-studies/article/history-of-altabari-tarikh-alrusul-walmuluk-an-annotated-translation-the-victory-of-islam-muhammad-at-medina-ad-626630ah-58-vol-viii-by-muhammad-ibn-jarir-altabari-translated-with-notes-by-michael-fishbein-215-pages-bibliography-index-albany-ny-suny-press-1997-isbn-0791431495/4A6DCCE1BB7A6417C4062E1337B5B613 The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk) / Cambridge Dictionary]</ref><ref>[http://www.sunypress.edu/p-4511-set-history-of-al-tabari.aspx Set - History of al-Tabari / SUNY Press]</ref>

==Texts relating to al-Tabari==
Al-Azdi was an extremely early witness to the reception of al-Tabari's text - indeed, much earlier than the sources that are customarily used to improve our understanding of the ''Tarikh al-rusul wa-l-muluk'', e.g., Miskawayh, [[Ibn Asakir]], [[Ibn al-Athir]], and [[Ibn Khallikan]]. Second, since al-Azdi was writing in the decades following al-Tabari, his ''Tarikh'' can say something about the reception of al-Tabari ''Tarikh'' among those who immediately followed the great master. That al-Tabari's history was immensely significant we can all agree; but as to precisely how he became so significant there is no clear consensus. Returning to Forand's insight, al-Azdi frequently drew on the same authorities tapped by al-Tabari, but whose works are for the most part now lost, such as Abu Ma'shar (170/786), Abu Mikhnaf (157/774), [[al-Haytham ibn 'Adi]] (207/822), al-Madaini (around 228/843), and 'Umar ibn Shabba (262/878).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Chase F. |date=2006 |title=A Local Historian's Debt to al-Ṭabarī: The Case of al-Azdī's "Ta'rīkh al-Mawṣil" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064541 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=126 |issue=4 |pages=521–535 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref>

Realistic depictions alternate with formalized and archetypal narrative. Tabari is careful to give his reports of these conquests a religious frame (expressions such as "Nu'aym wrote to 'Umar about the victory that God had given him" [pp.&nbsp;25–26] abound), though it is worth noting that Tabari describes the initiation of the campaign in pragmatic rather than ideological terms. He states that 'Umar's decision to invade came as a result of his realization [[Yazdegerd III|Yazdegerd]] was making war on him every year, and when it was suggested to him that he would continue to do this until he was driven out of his kingdom" (p.&nbsp;2). The religious frame in Tabari's account is therefore not inflexible or exclusive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mneimneh |first=Hassan I. |date=1996 |title=Review of The History of al-Tabari (Tarikh al-Rusul Wal-Muluk). Vol. XIV: The Conquest of Iran, Al-Tabari |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/176433 |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=262–264 |issn=0020-7438}}</ref>

==Reception==
In 2015, a statue of Jarir Tabari, along with another Iranian scientist, [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi]], was erected in the courtyard of the National Library of Tajikistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anothertravelguide.com/destinations/asia/tajikistan/dushanbe/culture/library/national_library_of_tajikistan/ |title=National Library of Tajikistan |date=July 2013 |access-date=14 July 2020 |author=Anothertravelguide.com}}</ref>
There are streets and schools named after him in [[Riyadh]], [[Doha]], [[Amol]], [[Qazvin]], [[Khobar]], [[Aqaba]], [[Madaba]], [[Beirut]], [[Dhahran]], [[Heliopolis, Cairo|Heliopolis]], [[Kuwait]], [[Homs Governorate|Homs]], [[Hama District|Hama]] and [[Baghdad]].

[[Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob]] and Lefebvre Lucidio in a speech at the [[Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies]], founded the Tabari History Research Structure Institute.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irna.ir/news/83716773/%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B2%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%DA%A9%D9%88%D8%A8 |trans-title=About Zarinkoob About his work |title=درباره عبدالحسین زرین‌ کوب |access-date=14 July 2020 |work=[[IRNA]]}}</ref> The Jarir Tabari first international commemoration in 1989, with a suggestion by [[Mohammad Ebrahim Bastani Parizi]] was held by Kayhan magazine at [[Mazandaran University]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.magiran.com/article/2943794 |trans-title=Congress in honor of Sheikh Historian Muhammad ibn Jarir Tabari |work=Magiran |publisher=[[Mazandaran University]] |title=قلم سحرآمیز "استاد پاریز" |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>
In 1987, The [[ERTU]] (Egyptian Radio and Television Union) produced the first TV series that presented the life of Jarir Tabari under the name “Imam al-Tabari”, it was directed by Magdy Abou Emira starring [[Ezzat El Alaili]]. In addition to Egypt, the biographical series was shown on Arabic channels in other countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://elcinema.com/en/work/1261946 |work=elCinema.com |access-date=14 July 2020 |title=Tabari (1987)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://diwanalarab.com/%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D9%88%D9%83-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%81 |trans-title=The most important Syrian historical drama |work=Diwan Al Arab |title=من الزير سالم لملوك الطوائف .. |access-date=14 July 2020 |language=ar}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{columns-list|
* [[al-Tirmidhi]]
* [[Ibn Kullab]]
* [[Islamic scholars]]
* [[List of Persian scientists|List of Persian scientists and scholars]]
* [[List of Muslim historians]]
* [[Bal'ami]]
}}

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|2}}

=== Sources ===
* {{EI2 | first = C. E. | last = Bosworth | authorlink = C. E. Bosworth | title = al-Ṭabarī | doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1133 | volume = 10 | pages = 11–15}}
* Ulrika Mårtensson, "al-Tabari", in ''Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God'', Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, (2 vols.). 
* {{The History of al-Tabari|volume=1}}
* C. E. Bosworth, "al-Tabari, Abu Djafar Muhammad b. Djarir b. Yazid" in [[P. J. Bearman]], Th. Bianquis, [[C. E. Bosworth]], E. van Donzel and [[W. P. Heinrichs]] et al., ''[[Encyclopædia of Islam]]'', 2nd Edition. (Leiden: E. J. Brill) 12 Vols. published between 1960 and 2005.
* Franz Rosenthal, (translator), ''The History of al-Ţabarī'', Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989, Volume 1.
* Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., ''The History of al-Ţabarī'', Albany: [[State University of New York]] Press, 40 Vols. published between 1989 and 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-88706-563-7}}

==External links==

{{EB1911 Poster|Ṭabarī}}
{{wikisourcelang|ar|مؤلف:الطبري|Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tabari-abu-jafar|title=Tabari|author=Elton L. Daniel|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=14 September 2017}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=114|title=Biographical Data: Abu Jaffar Tabari|publisher=salaam.co.uk|access-date=15 September 2008|archive-date=18 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218052508/http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=114|url-status=dead}}

{{Historians of Islam}}
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[[Category:Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari| ]]
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