The typology of life from the point of view of Allameh Tabatabai in the Quran

This study aimed to investigate life typology based on Islamic thought and the viewpoint of Allameh Tabatabai. For this purpose, the first-hand resources (Quranic verses and narrations) and in particular the works of Allameh Tabatabai were referred to through descriptive-analytical method. Findings showed that according to Allameh Tabatabai’s view, regarding the two criteria of realness of life and unrealness of life, and individual life (pious life), and general life (living with other animals), three types of life were extracted: “abjection-oriented” life, “pleasureoriented life”, and “happiness-oriented life ”. The concepts of “transient”, “worldly life”, and “deception tool” characterize the “pleasure-oriented life” that is a general type of life. The concept of “living with constant worry” refers to unreal and “abjection-oriented” life. People who live these two types of life fail to reach the highest levels of perfection. True life is limited to the Hereafter life and a type of worldly life called Hayat-at-Tayybah, which is a “happiness-oriented life”. Moreover, from Allameh Tabatabai’s point of view, life has been discussed in a wider range, because human life is on two levels: worldly and otherworldly, which are closely related to each other, and the desired life is the happiness-oriented life.