Ma`rifat Kalami

The "Ṭīnat traditions" (narrations concerning the primordial clay/nature) constitute an important part of the transmitted sources of Islamic anthropology, having been a focal point of attention and disagreement among scholars from various dimensions. The strong connection between the content of these traditions and numerous issues concerning human nature necessitates research into the "dimensions of their authoritativeness (ḥujjiyya)." The aim of this study is to ascertain, through a descriptive-analytical method, the perspective of 'Allāmah Miṣbāḥ Yazdī—one of the foremost pioneers in the Islamization of the humanities—regarding the "dimensions of the authoritativeness of the Ṭīnat traditions." Based on this research, from the viewpoint of 'Allāmah Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, the Ṭīnat traditions are abundant in terms of transmission (ṣudūr), are intended to express reality (jihāt al-ṣudūr), and no valid impediment has rejected them. However, he considers these traditions as ambiguous (mutashābih) in terms of "the extent of their signification" (ḥadd al-dalāla) due to their prima facie implication of determinism (jabr); nevertheless, given the relativity of ambiguity, the ambiguity present in these traditions is resolvable and does not impair their authoritativeness. In view of the aforementioned dimensions, it can be concluded that, according to 'Allāmah Miṣbāḥ Yazdī's perspective, the Ṭīnat traditions are, in general—apart from detailed rijalī and dalālī examinations of each tradition—valid and authoritative (ḥujja), and their constitutive, implicative, and commitment-based contents should be the focus of attention and analysis in theological and anthropological matters.