{{Infobox_Philosopher 
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  <!-- Philosopher Category -->
|  region          = Persian scholar
|  era             = Medieval era
|  color           = #B0C4DE 

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|  image_name      = Persian version by Balami of Universal History by Tabari.jpg|
|  image_caption   = Bal'ami's 14th century Persian version of ''Universal History'' by Tabari

  <!-- Information -->
|  name             = <small>'''Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari'''<small/>
|  birth          =  224AH <br>Amol, Tapuria, Persia
|  death       =  310AH 
|  school_tradition =  Jariri 

<br>
}}

'''Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari''' (Persian exegetes of the Qur'an, most famous for his ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' (''History of the Prophets and Kings'') and ''Tafsir al-Tabari''.

==Name==
Tabari (Persian: طبری), Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari, His name means "father of Jafar, named after the Prophet Muhammad, son of Jarir, from the province of Tabaristan". 

==Biography==
He was born in Amol, Tabaristan some twenty kilometres south of the Caspian Sea) in the winter of 838-9. <ref> Rosenthal, Franz, "The Life and Works of al-Tabari" in volume 1 of History - see Bibliography, pp. 5-134, this reference pp. 10-11 </ref> He was precocious <ref> ibid p. 15 </ref> He left home to study in A.H. 236 <ref> ibid pp. 15-16 </ref> (850-1) when he was twelve. He retained close ties to his home town. He did return at least twice, the last time in A.H. 290 (903) when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness and led to his quick departure <ref> ibid p. 11 </ref>. 

He first went to Ray (Rages), where he remained for some five years <ref> ibid p. 16 </ref> . A major teacher in Rayy was Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Razi already in his seventies <ref> ibid p. 17 </ref>. Ibn Humayd had taught in Baghdad and was now retired in his native city. Among other material, ibn Humayd taught Jarir Tabari the historical works of al-Sirah'', his life of Muhammad <ref> ibid p. 18 </ref>. Tabari was thus introduced in youth to pre-Islamic and early Islamic history. Tabari quotes ibn Humayd frequently. Beyond the names of at least two of them, we know little about Tabari's other teachers in Rayy <ref> ibid p. 17 </ref>. 

Then he went to Baghdad to study from ibn Hanbal, who, however, had recently died <ref> ibid p. 19 </ref>. This was in late 241 <ref> ibid </ref> (late 855 or early 856). Tabari possibly made a pilgrimage prior to his first arrival in Baghdad <ref> ibid </ref>. He left Baghdad probably in 242  <ref> ibid p. 20 </ref>(856-7) to travel through the southern cities of Basra, Kufah and Wasit. <ref> ibid p. 19 </ref> There he met a number of eminent and venerable scholars. <ref> ibid p. 20 </ref>

On his return to Baghdad, he took a tutoring position from the vizier Ubaydallah b. Yahya b. Khaqan. <ref> ibid p. 21 </ref> This would have been before A.H. 244 (858) since the vizier was out of office and in exile from 244 to 248 <ref> ibid p. 20 </ref>(858-9 to 862). There is an anecdote told that Tabari had agreed to tutor for ten dinars a month, but his teaching was so effective and the lad's writing so impressive that the teacher was offered a tray of dinars and dirhams. The ever ethical Tabari declined the offer saying he had undertaken to do his work at the specified amount and could not honourably take more <ref> ibid p. 22 </ref>. This is one of a number of stories about him declining gifts or giving gifts of equal or greater amount in return <ref> ibid </ref>.

In his late twenties he travelled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt <ref> ibid p. 23 </ref>. In Beirut he made the highly significant connection of al-Abbas b. al-Walid b. Mazyad al-'Udhri al-Bayruti (c.169-270/785-6 to 883-4) <ref> ibid </ref>. Al-Abbas instructed Tabari in the Syrian school's variant readings of the Qur'an and transmitted through his father al-Walid the legal views of al-Awza'i, Beirut's prominent jurist from a century earlier <ref> ibid </ref>.

Jarir Tabari arrived in Egypt in 253 (867) <ref> ibid p. 27 </ref>. There he was among the "Famous Four"
who met there who were all named Muhammad: Ibn Jarir, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Harun, and Ibn Nasr <ref> ibid p. 29 </ref>.

Some time after 256/870 Tabari returned to Baghdad <ref> ibid p. 31 </ref>, possibly making a pilgrimage on the way <ref> ibid </ref>. If so, he did not stay long in the Hijaz <ref> ibid </ref>. Tabari had a private income from his father while he was still living and then the inheritance <ref> ibid p. 14 </ref>. He took money for teaching. He never took a government or a judicial position <ref> ibid p. 36 </ref>.

==Personal Characteristics==
He is described as having a dark complexion, large eyes and a long beard. He was tall and slender <ref> ibid p. 40 </ref> and his hair and beard remained black until he was very old. He was attentive to his health, avoiding red meat, fats and other unhealthy foods <ref> ibid </ref>. He was seldom sick before his last decade when he suffered from bouts of pleurisy <ref> ibid </ref>. When he was ill, he could treat himself to the approval of physicians. He had a sense of humour, though serious subjects he treated seriously. He had studied poetry when young and enjoyed writing, reciting and participating in poetic exchanges. It is said that he was asked in Egypt about al-Tirimmah and was able to recite this seventh century poet's work for Egyptians who had merely heard al-Tirimmah's name.  

He was witty and urbane, clean and well mannered <ref> ibid p. 41 </ref>. He avoided coarse speech, instead displaying refined eloquence <ref> ibid p. 4o </ref>. He had a good grounding in grammar, lexicography and philology. Such were considered essential for Qur'anic commentary. He knew Persian and was acquainted with the origins of various foreign loan words in Arabic from a number of other languages.

Tabari never married <ref> ibid p. 33 </ref>. There is a description of his normal day: rising early for prayer, studying till early afternoon, publicly praying the afternoon prayer, reciting Qur'an and teaching Qur'an, and then teaching law, etc. until late.

He died in Baghdad on February 17, 923 <ref> ibid p. 78 </ref>.

thumb|right|Персидская миниатюра к Истории пророков и царей ат-Табари (персидская версия Балами). [[XIV век]]
'''Ат-Табари''' (, нисба по месту происхождения из по-арабски. 

В арабской исторической литературе он занимает одно из первых мест, как «отец мусульманской историографии».  Автор «Тарих ал-русул ва-л-мулук» — «Истории пророков и царей» (полное заглавие: «История царей и их жизнь, рождений пророков и известий об них, и того, что случилось во время каждого из них»). Это всеобщая история от сотворения мира до персидская версия Истории, составленная чагатайская версия, а также труды исламских историков и географов, пользовавшихся полным текстом ат-Табари. 

Другой opus magnum ат-Табари — великий тафсир, или комментарий к Корану; из-за объёма и оригинальности суждений (некоторые трактовки использовались предводителями восстаний) текст не имел широкого хождения, однако до нас дошёл и сейчас считается классикой исламского богословия.

Табари оставил труды и по другим предметам, в особенности по законоведению.

По почину арабиста де Гуе в XIX веке образовался особый международный комитет для издания Истории. Профессор Козегартен предпринял издание сочинения Табари, с латинским переводом, и с 1838 по 1853 г. выпустил 3 тома, т. е. не более 5% всего сочинения. На русском языке выходили «Избранные отрывки» ат-Табари (в Ташкенте).