تَبْصِرَةً وَذِكْرَىٰ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُّنِيبٍ
Qurʾān 50:8
Tabsirah — scholarly editions of philosophical, mystical, and theological works.
Each Tabsirah edition presents the original text beside an English translation. For every author, Tabsirah also builds a corpus map: an index of the subjects and concepts in his works, and of where each is discussed. From any passage, the reader can open the other places in the author's works where the same subject is treated and compare them side by side.
What an edition contains
Corpus map
The index of subjects and concepts described above, available from every passage in the reader.
Glossaries
A general glossary defines the technical terms of the tradition. An author glossary records how this particular author uses them, where his usage differs from the general sense.
Commentary
Existing commentary on the work, from later scholars and from editors, is collected inside the reader and shown beside the passage it concerns. The collection is extended as further commentary is added.
Study notes
Short editorial notes at difficult points, written for readers without specialist training.
The source text is primary. Translation, glossaries, commentary, and notes are separate layers, each of which can be reviewed on its own. Language models are used in preparing these layers. Review is continuous: qualified scholars have standing access to examine, flag, and correct any passage on the site, and every editorial decision is recorded.
How editions are made and reviewedWho Tabsirah is for
Tabsirah is for scholars and students who need to check a translation against its source, trace a term or subject across an author’s works, or see what a passage rests on. It is also for readers without specialist training, who can use the glossary, commentary, and study notes while they read.
Why these two works
The collection opens with two works by ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī because they can be read together. Al-Manāmāt wa-l-Nubuwwāt is a short treatise on dreams, prophecy, and related questions. Al-Mīzān takes up many of the same questions in the course of Qurʾānic commentary. Linking the two shows how a focused argument relates to the author’s wider work and lets a reader compare his terminology and reasoning across different settings. Further authors and editions are in preparation.
Editions
2تبصرة tabṣirah — a clarifying sight; from Qurʾān 50:8. About Tabsirah