Morteza Motahhari ( fa, مرتضی مطهری, also
Romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as "Mortezā Motahharī"; 31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) was an
Iranian Twelver Shia scholar, philosopher, lecturer. Motahhari is considered to have an important influence on the ideologies of the
Islamic Republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
, among others. He was a co-founder of
Hosseiniye Ershad and the
Combatant Clergy Association (''Jāme'e-ye Rowhāniyat-e Mobārez''). He was a disciple of
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
during the
Shah's reign and formed the
Council of the Islamic Revolution
The Council of the Islamic Revolution ( fa, شورای انقلاب اسلامی, Šūrā-ye enqelāb-e eslāmī) was a group formed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to manage the Iranian Revolution on 10 January 1979, shortly before he returned ...
at Khomeini's request. He was chairman of the council at the time of his assassination.
Biography
Early life
Motahhari was born in
Fariman. The year of birth is uncertain; with some sources giving 1919 and others giving it as 1920. He attended the
Hawza of
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
from 1944 to 1952 and then left for
Tehran.
His grandfather was an eminent religious scholar in
Sistan province and since he traveled with his family to
Khorasan Province, there is little information about his origin as Sistanian. His father Shaykh Mohammad Hosseini was also an eminent figure in his village, Fariman, who was respected by the people. He was considered as one of the pupils of
Akhund Khorasani and besides he was admired by Ayatollah
Mara'shi Najafi.
Education
At the age of 5, Morteza Motahhari went to school without informing his parents. By the age of twelve he learned the preliminary Islamic sciences from his father. He also went to the seminary of
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
and studied for two years there in the school of Abd ul-Khan along with his brother. But his studies remained unfinished in Mashhad seminary because of problems faced by his family which obliged him to return to Fariman to help them.
According to Motahhari's own account, in this period he could study a great number of historical books. It was in this period that he was confronted with questions on worldview such as the problem of God. He considered Agha Mirza Mahdi Shahid Razavi as an eminent master in rational sciences. He decided to go to
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
in 1315 (
Solar Hijri calendar).
He finally took up residence in the school of
Feyzieh in
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
. He studied the books ''Kifayah'' and ''Makaseb'' in
Shia jurisprudence under the instruction of Ayatollah Sayyed Mohaqeq Yazdi popularly known as Damad. He also participated in the lectures of Hojjat Kooh Kamarehei and sought knowledge from
Sadr al-Din al-Sadr, Mohammad Taqi Khansari, Golpaygani, Ahmad Khansari and Najafi Marashi.
When Ayatollah Boroujerdi emigrated to Qom, Motahari could take part in his courses on
Principles of Jurisprudence. Ayatollah Montazeri was his classmate in this period.
Later, Motahhari emigrated to
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
because of hot climate of
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
. There he became familiar with Haj Ali Agha Shirazi who was the teacher of
Nahj al-Balagha in 1320 (
Solar Hijri calendar) whom Motahhari always described with honor.
Later, he joined the
University of Tehran, where he taught philosophy for 22 years. Between 1965 and 1973 he also gave regular lectures at the
Hosseiniye Ershad in Northern Tehran.
Motahhari wrote several books on
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, Iran, and historical topics. His emphasis was on teaching rather than writing. However, after his death, some of his students worked on writing down his lectures and publishing them as books. As of the mid-2008, the "Sadra Publication" published more than sixty volumes by Motahhari. Nearly 30 books were written about Motahhari or quoted from his speeches.
Morteza Motahhari opposed what he called groups who "depend on other schools, especially materialistic schools" but who present these "foreign ideas with Islamic emblems". In a June 1977 article he wrote to warn "all great Islamic authorities" of the danger of "these external influential ideas under the pretext and banner of Islam." It is thought he was referring to the
People's Mujahideen of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
and the
Furqan Group
Forqan Group ( fa, گروه فرقان, named after Sura Al-Furqan) was an Iranian opposition militant group with clandestine cell system adhering to a Shia anti-clerical Islamist ideology.
Forqan assassinated some senior officials, including Gen ...
.
Motahhari was the father-in-law of Iran's former secretary of National Security Council
Ali Larijani.
It was by Motahari's advice that Larijani switched from computer science to
Western Philosophy for graduate studies.
A major street in Tehran formerly known as ''Takhte Tavoos'' (
Peacock Throne) was renamed after him. Morteza Motahari Street connects
Sohrevardi Street Sohrevardi street (formerly known as Farah street) is one of Tehran's streets.
This street begins from Resalat Expressway
Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani Expressway, formerly called Resalat Expressway, is an east-west expressway in Tehran, ...
and
Valiasr Street, two major streets in Tehran.
Activities during the Islamic revolution
During the struggle with
Shah's regime, Morteza Motahhari contributed in creating new Islamic discourses. Besides, he was among those who had discussed the conditions of
Marja' after the death of
Ayatollah Broujerdi. He wrote the book ''Mutual services of Iran and Islam'' in such a condition. Also his works had an important impact on expanding the movement of religious reform in early days of revolution. His works primarily consisted of traditional Islamic and Shia thoughts. He wrote an essay about revitalization of religious thought in the occasion. Writing the "need for Candidness in religious leadership", he aimed to show the youth the attractiveness of Islam.
Opinions
Morteza Motahhari expressed his opinions in different majors and disciplines such as philosophy, religion, economic, politics, etc. Motahhari and
Shariati were counted as two prominent figures during
Islamic revolution of Iran. He emphasized on Islamic democracy for suitable political structure.
Motahhari also recognized
fitra as the truth of human. According to him, fitra is a permanent and unchangeable quality in human nature. In fact, he believed that fitra played the role of a mediator in God-human beings relation. Also, he believed that
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
was a perfect man who shows the high rank of human spirituality. Imam also is characterized as a religious leader. His lengthy footnote on the "book of principles of philosophy and method of realism" by
Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i was against the historical
Marxism. Also he believed that ''
Wali-e faqih'' only had the right of supervisory not governing.
He also maintained that the ruling was one of the political aspect of Imam in society. He maintained that there was no conflict between science and religion since he believed that Science qua science had no conflict and challenge with metaphysics. He believed that the quasi-conflict between science and religion was in terms of their language not themselves.
Development
Motahhari also expressed views on development and relevant ideology. According to him, freedom, culture and mental-cultural revolution are principles of development. He also refers to some elements for characterizing a developed society. These factors are independence, knowledge and transcendence. Also, according to Motahhari, development originates from cultural self-reliance, purification of cultural sources and logical and cautious communication with
west. Motahhari believed in the development of human resources but he also thought that economy was not an aim but only is a condition for development.
Equality
As outlined by Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari in 1975, the phrase 'equal rights' means something different from what is commonly understood by western world. He clarified that men and women were innately different and therefore enjoyed different rights, duties and punishments.
Fiqh
Motahhari believed that the eternality of Islam is provided by ''
Fiqh''. He thought that fiqh along with the character of
ijtihad
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...
could be an important thing for confronting with the problem of different times and places. Using ijtihad, there is no need to a new prophet.
Freedom
Motahhari defined freedom as nonexistence of obstacles. According to him, obstacles were of two characters. The first one was that obstacle could limit human and besides counted as a something get human not to do something. In simple word, obstacle could has the dignity of limiting and declining humans. The second one is to thing which decline the perception and introspection of subject in terms of knowledge. According to Motahhari, aside from the realization of putting away obstacles we need to give the spirit of freedom. He analyze the concept of freedom as both right and obligation. He believes that the freedom has necessity for human. Human must be free to choose voluntarily his path. He believes that, contrary to liberalists, inborn right has an ultimate for transcending of human beings.
Philosophy of law
Like other men of thought, Motahhari thinks that we have to define the concepts first of all. Therefore, he defines right as a dominance or score on something. According to right the human is merit to possess something and other human ought to respect him. Some of rights are such as the right of parents on their children or the rights of husband and wife in relation to each other. Motahhari divided the right into two groups. First group is existential rights or takwini and the second is religious rights or tashriei. former is a real relation between person and object and the latter determined according to former. He knew the right as a potential score for persons. In fact the right concerned with the priority of somebody on something. He concerned with the question in that is the right and possession predicated on human as such or predicated on human in terms of being in society? He believes that undoubtedly the right existed prior to society. Contrary to
John Austin (legal philosopher), Motahhari believes that there is a mutual relation between right and responsibility (''Haq va Taklif''). Motahhari believes that the natural law theory is a rational one that is of importance for human kind. According to him, the foundation of natural theory of law is to world has a goal and aim finally. On the basis of principle of having goal, the God creates the world for the sake of human kind and they have potential right to change the world therefore human kind have right prior to introducing in society.
Philosophy of religion
Motahhari refers to the concept of 'maktab' or school when he intends to define the word of religion. According to him maktab is a thoughtful disciplined system including ideology and View in terms of ethics, politics, economy and civil law, etc. Finally, he defines religion as a collection of knowledge bestowed to human for the sake of guiding him and also religion is a collection of beliefs, moralities and individual and collective judgments. Therefore, he knows religion and its teaching as beliefs, moralities and judgments. Also Motahhari believes that the domain of religion at all is not limited to life but concerned with after afterlife. He believes that Islam as a religion is consistent with life of human and there is no room for denying it.
Western philosophy
Dariush Shayegan believes that Motahhari confused the
Hegelian thought and
Stace Stace is a surname and a given name, the latter sometimes as a diminutive of Stacy (disambiguation), Stacy or Stacey.
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Aileen Stace (1895–1977), New Zealand craftswoman
* Arthur Stace (1884–1967), ...
's quotations in confronting with Hegel. According to Shaygan since each of Motahhari and Hegel belong to different paradigms, there is no common world between them.
Epistemology
He considered
Marxism as a great threat for youths and
revolution of Iran
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
therefore he tried to criticize Marxism along with pioneer figures like Ali Shariati. Also his commentary on the book of
Mulla Sadra influenced many scholars. Besides, he also emphasized on the social, cultural and historical contingencies of religious knowledge. Motahhari argued that if someone compares fatwas belong to different jurists and at the same time considers their lives and states of knowledge then it is clear that the presuppositions of jurists and its knowledge affected their knowledge. According to him, because of this reason, we observe that the fatwa belong to Arab has an Arab flavor and the fatwa belong to non-Arab has an Ajam flavor. Also He tried to compare Quran with nature. He also believed that the contemporary interpretations of Quran were considerable than Ancient rendition of Islam because the future generation has a better understanding of Quran and Also a deeper appreciation of it. But at the same Time he doesn't believe in epistemological pluralism.
Assassination
On 1 May 1979 Morteza Motahhari was assassinated in Tehran by gunshot after leaving a late meeting at the house of
Yadollah Sahabi
Yadollah Sahabi (25 February 1905 – 12 April 2002) was a prominent Iranian scholar, writer, reformist and politician. A close associate of Mohammad Mosaddegh and Mehdi Bazargan, Sahabi was an active campaigner for the nationalization of the Ira ...
.
The
Furqan Group
Forqan Group ( fa, گروه فرقان, named after Sura Al-Furqan) was an Iranian opposition militant group with clandestine cell system adhering to a Shia anti-clerical Islamist ideology.
Forqan assassinated some senior officials, including Gen ...
claimed responsibility for the assassination.
[ The alleged assassin was the group's founder, Akbar Goudarzi.]
Teachers' Day (Motahrai's death)
On the occasions of Morteza Motahari's death (assassinated by Forqan Group
Forqan Group ( fa, گروه فرقان, named after Sura Al-Furqan) was an Iranian opposition militant group with clandestine cell system adhering to a Shia anti-clerical Islamist ideology.
Forqan assassinated some senior officials, including Ge ...
), 12- Ordibehesht (the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar) has been named at the calendar of Islamic Republic of Iran as "Teachers' Day". An honoring of "Teachers' Day" is held annually in Iran for a week.
Museum
In 1346, due to the establishment of Hosseinieh Ershad
The Hosseinieh Ershad or Hosseiniyeh Ershad ( fa, حسینیه ارشاد) is a non-traditionalist religious institute established by Nasser Minachi in Tehran, Iran. It was closed for a time by the Pahlavi government in 1972. The institute is ...
and with the insistence of his friends to get closer to Hosseinieh, he moved to Dolat Street, Gholhak
Gholhak is a neighborhood located in District 3 of Tehran Municipality. It is bounded on the east by the Darrous neighborhood (Fakourian Street), on the west by the Gholhak River, on the north by the British Embassy Garden, and on the south by th ...
neighborhood. During his 9 years of residence in this house (from 1346 to 1355), which had the longest time compared to the rest of his years of residence in Tehran, he wrote most of his works in this house. The house is built on two floors, on the first floor of which are the manuscripts and personal belongings of Shahid Motahari and on the second floor are the books of that martyr. The Shahid Motahari Museum was established in 2007. Identifying, collecting, organizing, introducing and preserving the works of the master is one of the main goals of becoming a museum of this historical house. Providing a suitable space and environment for researchers who intend to study the works of Master Motahhari has also been one of the reasons for reading the second floor of this house. Holding seminars and meetings on the subject of the master's works is one of the most important group programs of this museum house, which is held several times during the year.
Awards
*UNESCO Award Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) awards ''The Cultural Diversity Award under the patronage of UNESCO'' annually to a film practitioner and film from the region for their exceptional contribution for upholding and promoting the cultural diversity th ...
, 1965.
Publications
He "authored over fifty books, which dealt with theology and philosophy as well as practical issues such as sexual ethics, usury, and insurance", some of which include:
*''Tawhid'' (Monotheism)
*''Adl -e- Elahi'' (Divine Justice)
*''Nubuwwah'' (Prophet-hood)
*''Ma'ad'' (The Return, a book on Islamic eschatology
Islamic eschatology ( ar, علم آخر الزمان في الإسلام, ) is a field of study in Islam concerning future events that would happen in the end times. It is primarily based on hypothesis and speculations based on sources from t ...
)
*''Hamase -e- Husaini'' (Husaynian Epic)
*''Seiry dar nahj al-balagha'' (A Journey through Nahj al-Balagha)
*''Seiry dar sirey'e a'emeye at-har'' (A Journey through the Conduct of the Purified Imams)
*''Seiry dar sirey'e nabavi'' (A Journey through the Prophetic Conduct)
*''Insan -e- Kamel'' (The Complete Human)
*''Payambar -e- Ommi'' (The Uneducated Prophet)
*''Osool -e Falsafa va ravesh -e- Realism'' (The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism
The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism ( fa, اصول فلسفه و روش رئالیسم) is a book containing of 14 articles by Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai on Islamic philosophy and Epistemology which has been published in 5 volum ...
)
*''Sharh -e- Manzume'' (An exegesis on Mulla Hadi Sabzavari's versified summary of Mulla Sadra's Transcendent theosophy)
*''Imamat va rahbary'' (Imamate
{{expand Arabic, date=April 2021
The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate
:* Naqshb ...
and Leadership)
*''Dah Goftar'' (A collection of 10 essays by Motahari)
*''Bist Goftar'' (A collection of 20 essays by Motahari)
*''Panzdah Goftar'' (A collection of 15 essays by Motahari)
*''Azadi -e- Ma'navi'' ( Spiritual Discourses)
*''Ashneya'ei ba Quran'' (An Introduction to the Qur'an)
*''Ayande -e- Enghlab -e- Islami'' (The Future of the Islamic Revolution)
*''Dars -e- Qur'an'' (Lesson of Qur'an)
*''Ehyaye Tafakor -e- Islami'' (Revival of Islamic Thinking)
*''Akhlagh -e- Jensi'' ( Sexual Ethics)
*''Islam va niazha -ye- jahan'' (Islam and the Demands of the Modern World)
*''Emdadhaye gheibi dar zendegi -e- bashar'' (Hidden Aids in Human Life)
*''Ensan va sarnevesht'' (Man and Destiny)
*''Panj maghale'' (Five Essays)
*''Ta'lim va tarbiyat dar Islam'' (Education in Islam)
*''Jazebe va dafe'eye Ali'' (Ali's Attraction and Repulsion)
*''Jehad'' (The Holy War of Islam and Its Legitimacy in the Quran)
*''Hajj'' (Pilgrimage)
*''Hekmat-ha va andarz-ha'' (Wisdoms and Warnings)
*''Khatemiyat'' ( The Doctrine of the Seal of Prophethood by Muhammad)
*''Khatm -e- Nobowat'' (The Seal of Prophethood)
*''Khadamāt-e moteqābel-e Eslām va Īrān'' (Islam and Iran: A Historical Study of Mutual Services). A 750-pages book where he shows how Iran and Islam benefited each other. He also said that we can't reject nationalism as a whole: "Nationalism should not be condemned categorically, and when it conveys positive qualities, it leads to solidarity, good relations, and common welfare among those we live with. It is neither irrational nor is it contrary to Islam."[Farhang Rajaee, ''Islamism and Modernism: The Changing Discourse in Iran'', University of Texas Press (2010), p. 129]
*''Dastan -e- Rastan'' ( Anecdotes of Pious Men)
*''Darshaye Asfar''
*''Shesh maghale'' (Six Essays)
*''Erfan -e- Hafez''
*''Elale gerayesh be madigary''
*''Fetrat''
*''Falsafe -ye- Akhlagh'' (Ethics)
*''Falsafe -ye- Tarikh'' (Philosophy of History)
*''Ghiam va enghelab -e- Mahdi''
*''Koliyat -e- olume Islami'' ( Understanding Islamic Sciences)
*''Goft o gooye chahar janebe''
*''Masaleye Hejab'' (Problem of Hijab)
*''Masaleye Reba''
*''Masaleye Shenakht''
*''Maghalate falsafi'' (A selection of Philosophical articles written by Motahari)
*''Moghadameyi bar jahanbiniye Islami'' (Consists of 6 different books written about this subject)
*''Nabard -e- hagh va batel''
*''Nezam -e- hoghoghe zan dar Islam''
*''Nazari bar nezame eghtesadiye Islam''
*''Naghdi bar Marxism'' (A critic on Marxism)
*''Nehzat-haye Islami dar 100 sale akhir''
*'' Sexual Ethics in Islam and in the Western World'' (English)
*''Vela'ha va velayat-ha''
*''Azadegi''
*''Ayineye Jam'' (Interpretation of poetry of Hafez)
See also
* Modern Islamic philosophy
*Mohammad Taghi Falsafi
Mohammad Taghi Falsafi ( fa, محمدتقی فلسفی) was an Iranian Ayatollah and preacher. He was a campaigner against the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Many of his lectures was about psychology, ethics and mental development. During ...
* Teachers' Day
* Syed Jawad Naqvi
* Mohammad Beheshti
References and notes
External links
Online books by Murtaza Mutahhari
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motahhari, Morteza
1919 births
1979 deaths
1979 murders in Asia
People from Mashhad
Iranian ayatollahs
Iranian writers
Islamic philosophers
Combatant Clergy Association politicians
People of the Iranian Revolution
Assassinated Iranian politicians
Deaths by firearm in Iran
People murdered in Iran
Iranian terrorism victims
Iranian revolutionaries
Islamic Coalition Party politicians
Council of the Islamic Revolution members
People assassinated by the Furqan Group
20th-century Iranian philosophers
Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies of the University of Tehran alumni
Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame recipients in Theology
Morteza Motahhari
Qom Seminary alumni