Differences in Human Personality between This World and the Hereafter: Allameh Tabatabaʾi's Account

Honarjo, Mohsen; Honarjoo, Mahdi

doi:10.22034/imjpl.2026.24467.1268

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Mohsen Honarjo ¹
Mahdi Honarjoo ²

¹ Department of Law, Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute, Qom, Iran.

² Department of History and Civilization, Faculty of History and Civilization, University of Islamic Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.22034/imjpl.2026.24467.1268

Abstract

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: This study examines how human personality can differ between worldly and eschatological life while personal identity endures. "Personality" is an etic analytical category, not a modern theory attributed to Tabatabaʾi. Moving beyond accounts centered on reciprocal character formation or soul–body unity, the analysis examines changing functions of embodiment, cognition, and conduct.
METHOD & FINDING: An interpretive close reading of al-Mīzān and selected philosophical works compares claims across these three dimensions and tests them against apparently contrary Quranic scenes. Passages are read in context, with explicit exegetical statements distinguished from philosophical inference. The soul grounds continuity; the worldly body is a setting of gradual formation, whereas eschatological embodiment discloses acquired qualities. Worldly knowledge is mediated and can be heedless; the hereafter unveils deeds and divine ownership without conferring omniscience. Speech, nourishment, and other postmortem acts are real, although they primarily express a formed disposition rather than create new earthly merit.
CONCLUSION: The proposed model moves from worldly formation through the closure of earthly testing at death to eschatological disclosure. It distinguishes the continuing subject from changing bodily qualities and explains why false speech, limited knowledge, and action can occur after death. The account requires an individuated soul; resemblance between bodies alone cannot establish numerical identity. Further comparison with contemporary identity theories and differentiation among postmortem stations would refine this reconstruction.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Main Subjects

The Meaning of Life

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Differences in Human Personality between This World and the Hereafter: Allameh Tabatabaʾi's Account

References

References

Volume 13, Issue 46 - Serial Number 2June 2026Pages 49-66

Volume 13, Issue 46 - Serial Number 2
June 2026
Pages 49-66