a comparative analysis of oliver leaman’s encyclopedia of the quran with ʿallāmah ṭabāṭabā’ī’s al-mīzān on the topic of the creation of man

The quran: an encyclopedia, edited by oliver leaman, is the second research work in the form of a quranic encyclopedia in the western world. in this encyclopedia, under the entry, “insan/nas,” (human) the author of this entry, ahmet albayrak, addresses topics such as the creation of human beings, the psychological nature of the human, and the mission of humanity. this article aims to evaluate this entry through a comparative study with the views of ʿallāmah ṭabāṭabā’ī in tafsīr of al-mīzān on the same topic. based on the comparative analysis, it is evident that the author of the entry on “insan” in leaman’s encyclopedia has presented the discussions in a broad and imprecise manner, lacking a detailed and in-depth examination of the issue, and has failed to provide a sufficient explanation of the topic of the creation of human being. in contrast, the author of al-mīzān has meticulously addressed all physical and spiritual dimensions of the creation of man from the perspective of the quran and has offered a well-structured classification of the creation of man in the quran, its roots and origins, as well as the manner and stages of human creation in the quran.