Motahari Brought Islamic Philosophy to the People’s Table

Religion and Thought Service, Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) – Hamed Zare (Editor-in-Chief); In the history of Islam, the encounter of Muslims with books, knowledge, and awareness has usually occurred in several ways. Muslims have adopted different approaches to knowledge and books in various periods. One type of encounter was a positive, constructive, and growing engagement with books and knowledge; as its peak example is usually known in a period like the fourth and fifth centuries in Iran; that is, an era when Avicenna, Ferdowsi, Razi, and others were present. This was one type of encounter: a conscious, scientific, and supportive approach to books and knowledge. The opposite kind also existed; a time when some Muslims decided to abandon books and knowledge. We discussed this issue with Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, a jurist, lawyer, and head of the Islamic Studies Group at the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mohaghegh Damad visited the Iran Book News Agency on Tuesday morning (November 17, 2025) on the occasion of Book Week.

Was there, in the tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself, tolerance or encouragement for books other than the Quran, meaning books that provided religious or non-religious knowledge? Was this tradition strengthened or kept limited?

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Firstly, I am very grateful to you and other friends who provided this opportunity for me to get acquainted with this center. Honestly, as a relatively old teacher, I blamed myself for not being aware of this center, even though I had been invited to this building many times for other matters. This place is truly important; the Book News Agency holds a very valuable position. But regarding the question you asked: The reality is that, regardless of the research and opinions of the late master, Mr. Motahari, about the book burning in Iran and Alexandria—whether we accept them or not—it seems certain that some people were not very fond of books and book publishing. This issue is almost an accepted fact. The apparent reason was that the books prevalent at that time were mostly considered ‘sacred scriptures’; meaning, a type of connection with heaven and a divine matter was imagined for them. They were concerned that the same thing that happened to Jewish books might happen to the Quran. For this reason, some opposed book writing and publishing, insisting that the Quran was sufficient: ‘Hasbuna Kitabullah’ (The Book of God is sufficient for us). Of course, by ‘book,’ they meant the Quran; and their mindset was that the principal foundation of religion is this Quran, and it must be preserved in the hearts of Muslims, and inferences should also be based on the Quran.

What was the reason for this emphasis on preserving the Quran?

You observe how much myth-making and fabrication occur in the stories of the prophets if the Quran is set aside. Frankly, the insistence on referring to the Quran for understanding the stories of the prophets has been a very important point. For example, compare the story of Joseph in the Quran with the story of Joseph in the Old and New Testaments; or the story of Lady Mary (PBUH) in the Quran with the narration in the New Testament. In the Quran, these events are narrated very beautifully and accurately, whereas other narrations are sometimes full of distortions and legends. Therefore, the emphasis on the ‘sufficiency of the Quran’ in stories is understandable.

However, as mentioned, the approach of Muslims to books is not limited to this narrow view.

Yes. Another reality exists. Not long after, the ‘Translation Movement’ suddenly began. Original Greek sources entered Islamic civilization, and professional translators began translating them. Power structures also supported this movement. Alongside that, a sacred and influential saying from religious leaders was narrated by Muslims: ‘Qayyidu al-Ilm bi al-Kitabah’; meaning, ‘Restrain knowledge with writing so that it is not lost.’ This statement was directly contrary to the previous approach and led to a greater spread of writing, authorship, and written transmission.

Why was there such an emphasis on writing?

Don’t look at the situation today. Now, communication facilities are such that if someone writes a lie or a weak statement, or makes an unfair accusation, it becomes apparent within a day or two. But 1400 years ago, it was not like that. The expanse of Islamic civilization was vast: it covered Medina to Syria and Iran. Whatever anyone wrote, who was there to correct it? Who would verify if it was right or wrong? Many false attributions were written; not just based on personal affection or hatred, but especially based on sectarian enmities. When sectarian differences arose, each side would show enmity towards the other ‘for God’s sake’ and attribute fabrications. This created many problems in transmitting narrations. For example, in the science of Usul al-Fiqh, we have narrations called ‘Akhbar al-Ilajiyah’; meaning narrations related to resolving contradictions. Someone asked Imam Sadiq (AS): If two contradictory narrations are attributed to you, which one should we follow? The Imam taught a method of investigation. In the Quran itself, there is a verse that reproaches people who spread every news they hear without investigation. The Quran states the solution: news should be entrusted to the people of istinbat (deduction), meaning those who extract the truth of the news like drawing clean water from the bottom of a well. This issue had become very important in the second century, during the time of Imam Baqir (AS) and Imam Sadiq (AS). The companions of the Imams were experts in discerning news, because the Imams sometimes practiced taqiyya (dissimulation) in front of political agents. Shia was an opposition; and the actions of the opposition are usually confidential. If they were revealed, they would be immediately arrested.

Do you recall any examples or instances?

Yes. An example is Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr; a cloth merchant who, whenever Imam Sadiq’s (AS) lesson began, would close his shop, take his notebook, and write down the Imam’s words. When the Abbasid caliphate became aware, they pursued him; he fled but was arrested. His sister, knowing he would be tortured and might be asked for the names of the Imam’s companions, hid all his writings in the garden under the soil and watered it so that no trace remained. Years later, when Ibn Abi Umayr was released from prison, he found all his notes lost. He had no choice but to rewrite whatever he remembered. But he couldn’t recall many of the chains of narration (sanad) and only the text of the narrations remained. These are called ‘Mursalāt Ibn Abi Umayr,’ meaning narrations for which Ibn Abi Umayr forgot the chain of narration but remembered the text. Jurists, due to his trustworthiness, have accepted his Mursalāt as if they were Musnadāt (narrations with complete chains).

So the reason for precision in chains of narration (sanad) and strictness in rejecting hadith transmissions becomes clear.

Yes. Shia jurists, in particular, exercised great precision in the chain of narration (sanad), text, and occasion of issuing hadith. In contrast, many hadiths of the Sunni ‘Sahih Sittah’ have been weakened according to contemporary research because the necessary precision in their chains of narration was not applied. In Shia Islam, four main hadith books remained: ‘Usul al-Kafi’ by Kulayni, ‘Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih’ by Shaykh Saduq, ‘Tahdhib’ and ‘Istibsar’ by Shaykh Tusi. Then scholars like Allamah Majlesi gathered more sources, one of which is Bihar al-Anwar, though it does contain weak narrations. During the Safavid era, ‘Wasail al-Shia’ by Hurr Amili was compiled, which is a very immense work and systematically collected chapters of jurisprudence in the style of jurisprudential books. A greater work is that of the late Ayatollah Borujerdi, which is a truly monumental endeavor. In Ayatollah Borujerdi, sparks of tolerance and magnanimity are seen. With a precise approach, he categorized hadiths under titles such as ‘Ijtihadat al-Aimmah’ (Inferences of the Imams); meaning instances where the Imam did not directly narrate from the Prophet, but rather extracted from within the Quran. This work, titled ‘Jami’ Ahadith al-Shia,’ is still incomplete and under publication. In any case, this is our history of writing.

On the other hand, to examine the place of writing in Islamic civilization, a comparison with Western civilization is also necessary; because many Western philosophical schools were transmitted to the West through Muslims. The West also had serious opposition to writing in the Middle Ages. Comparing these two paths is a very important research topic, and it would be good to work on this area.

How do you assess the state of reading today?

Today, my concern, as a relatively old author, is that reading and book reading have significantly decreased. You might say that digital books have replaced printed books; but the question is: how many hours a day does a young person today spend reading books, and how many hours on browsing websites and reading news? My feeling is that even with digital books, society’s need for serious reading has not been met.

Where do you think the problem lies?

In my opinion, part of this problem goes back to writers. Writers should write engagingly, smoothly, and readably, in a way that makes the reader eager to acquire the book. Publishers, too, should not be mere merchants; they should consider themselves to have a cultural mission. Old publishers were limited, but they were people of culture, not just traders. Today, publishers should be trained who care about culture, not just sales. In theological fields too, there should be more new writers who present old ideas in a language suitable for today’s needs.

You mentioned the martyr Master Motahari; and you are absolutely right. He was a writer who both wrote stories for children, such as ‘Dastan-e Rastan’ (The Stories of the Righteous), and expressed deep philosophical and theological topics in a smooth and comprehensible language for the general public. Unfortunately, today we do not have such figures among seminary scholars.

This criticism is completely valid. The late Master Motahari did two things. One, he wrote ‘Dastan-e Rastan’ for children, and two, he brought Islamic philosophy to the daily tables of the people. Therefore, this criticism is entirely valid, and it may have various reasons, including the political and social atmosphere. In any case, no one like him has been cultivated. I myself, despite having 48 authored works, found upon reviewing them that only six or seven titles are for the general public, and the rest are specialized. Among my public books, I can mention the two-volume book ‘Religious Enlightenment.’ Ettela’at newspaper has published it, and it has been printed 6-7 times so far.

I have three other books for the general public titled ‘The Tragedy of Holy Ignorance,’ ‘In the Court of Holy Ignorance,’ and ‘Holy Ignorance, the Fiery Coffin.’ For this reason, I decided to do more general works, and I have two works under publication: one will be released next week, and the other will go to print next week. The first is an ethical book titled ‘An Admonition to the Jurist,’ which is a commentary on Allamah Hilli’s ethical will to his son in the eighth century Hijri; this will was published at the end of the book ‘Qawa’id.’ I wrote a commentary on it, which has become about 400 to 500 pages and is understandable for the general public. If this book is published, I am sure that old and young will read it. My other work is a literary commentary on ‘Ziyarat Aminullah,’ incorporating Saadi and Hafez. Another general work consists of articles published in Bukhara Magazine. In these articles, I have tried to instill ethics in the younger generation through literature. One of my problems and concerns is that ethics in our society are currently declining and have become very weak. I am writing these articles under the title ‘Quran in Golestan’.