Ma`rifat Adyan

The main objective of this study is a comparative examination of the nature of religion in the thought of Baruch Spinoza and ‘Allāmah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Ṭabāṭabā’ī to demonstrate how the differences in their views are rooted in their divergent philosophical foundations. This research addresses this issue using a descriptive-analytical and comparative method, relying on the principal works of both thinkers. The findings show that Spinoza, with a rationalist approach based on an ontology of a single substance, considers religion to be action based on the knowledge of God. He regards the Bible as a historical and ethical text and views revelation as more practical in the realm of action than in the realm of attaining truth. In contrast, ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī, relying on a hierarchical ontology (the principality and gradation of existence) and an approach that recognizes reason alongside revelation and innate nature (fiṭrah) as sources of religious knowledge, considers religion to be a fiṭra-based guide for achieving human felicity (sa‘ādah). This comparative study reveals that the fundamental difference between Spinoza's rationalist religion and ‘Allāmah's fiṭra-based religion is a direct consequence of their differing ontological foundations. Thus, the present research, while clarifying the points of similarity and difference between these two thinkers, emphasizes the decisive role of metaphysical presuppositions in shaping the philosophy of religion.