The First Shiite Attempts to Interpret the Bible: Misbāh az-Zulomāt fi Tafsīr at-Torah

Around 200 years ago, Zein ol-Ābidīn bin Muhammad Atabāti, Misbāh az-Zulomāt fi Tafsīr at-Torah’s author, used Jewish primary sources such as Talmud, Ein-e Ya’qub , and… to introduce Torah. According to the author, this treatise is only an introduction to his detailed commentary on Torah; however, apparently he didn’t manage to write this detailed commentary or it didn’t reach us. Although he has been innovative in his work and the present treatise involves some good innovations in comparative studies, his approach is quite critical, and hence this work is considered as a refutation. The writer of the following article has made an attempt to introduce this book. Regarding this, he firstly speaks of the author, his academic status, and his works. Then, he studies the apparent characteristics of Misbāh az-Zulomāt. The other issues raised in this paper include the table of contents, the style, and the content of the treatise.