Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, Sayyed ‛Abbās, blind musician and educator active in teaching music to the blind in Isfahan.
Also known as Mu‛īn Ṭabāṭabāʾī and simply Ṭabāṭabāʾī.He was born on 6 September 1936/15 Shahrīvar 1355 in Tehran. At the age of sixteen, due to a mistake by a school health officer who administered the wrong eye drops, he lost the sight of one eye, and shortly thereafter became completely blind. Despite this, he continued his studies up to the ninth grade and, after receiving his diploma, enrolled in the National Conservatory of Music (established 1949/1328). There he studied musical techniques under masters such as Hussein-‛Ali Vazīrī-tabār (1906–1958/1285–1337), Hūshang Ẓarīf (1938–2019/1317–1398), and Hasan Manūchehrī (1934–2010/1313–1389). At that time, institutions such as the National Conservatory of Music, the Imperial Organization for Social Services (founded 1947/1326), and the Labor and Training Center (founded 1948/1327) provided musical education to the blind, creating opportunities for their professional development and employment.1
After completing his studies at the conservatory, Mu‛in-‛Abbāsī obtained a diploma in music. His principal instrument was the flute, but he was also skilled in playing and teaching the violin, accordion, and goblet drum (tunbak). He possessed a pleasant singing voice; however, his focus was on teaching the techniques of vocal training, the fundamentals of solfège, and ear training, and he generally refrained from public singing.2
In the late 1950s/1330s, Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī was appointed as an art instructor and was sent to the city of Malāyer. In 1959/1338, he married a sighted woman there. Shortly afterward, he moved to Isfahan and, in 1961/1340, founded the Bārbud Music Institute in the Shekarī Arcade on Chahār-Bāgh* Avenue. His goal in establishing this institute was to identify and nurture musical talents in Isfahan and neighboring towns. At Bārbud, blind students such as Khusru Chenārīyān, Eskandar Ābādī, and Jamshīd Nūr-Bakhsh, and groups of sighted learners, studied instrumental and vocal performance under his guidance.3 Among his students was the renowned singer Ali-Reza Eftekhārī (born 1958/1337), who studied violin with him in childhood. After hearing the voice of Naṣrullāh Mu‛īn (born 1951/1330), Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī also invited him to join the Bārbud training courses. In addition to instruction, the Bārbud Institute, through his dedication, became a gathering place for artists, a venue for performances, and a center for artistic consultation.4
Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī collaborated with educational centers for the blind, such as the Christoffel* School and the Nūr-Āʾīn College*, where he taught blind students various musical instruments and skills according to their individual talents. He used the Braille system in teaching his visually impaired students. He also worked with the National Radio and Television of Iran, performing violin in artistic programs. In addition, he played music at public events and celebrations organized by governmental offices and local institutions. In 1963/1342, he married again in Isfahan, this time to a blind woman, Mrs. Takhshīdeh-pūr, and they had two daughters, Muzhgān and Shuhre, both of whom later became active in artistic and cultural fields.5
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979/1357, with the changing attitudes toward music and the closure of several cultural and educational institutions, Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī’s musical activities were interrupted. Following the dissolution of organizations dedicated to the blind and the transfer of their resources to the newly established Welfare Organization (founded 1980/1359), he was employed there as an arts instructor. However, due to new restrictions, he resigned in 1981/1360 and moved to Mehr-shahr, Karaj. During the Iran–Iraq War, when patriotic songs and anthems flourished, he was invited to teach music and choir to school students. In 1987/1366, he founded the Bārbud Institute of Mehr-shahr, managed by his daughter Muzhgān, which continues to operate today.6
In 1991/1370, Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī returned to Isfahan. With the renewed cultural openness of the postwar period, he resumed his musical activities, reopening the Bārbud Institute of Isfahan and entrusting its management to his daughter Shuhre. During this time, he collaborated with institutions for the blind such as Haft-Tīr and Fāṭeme al-Zahrā in Isfahan, where he once again taught singing and instrumental performance to the blind teenagers. He also traveled to nearby towns such as Najaf-ābād* and continued teaching and providing artistic consultation until the late 2000s/1380s.7
After more than seven decades of educational and artistic service, Sayyed ‛Abbās Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī passed away in Isfahan on 7 August 2024/1403 and was buried in the Artists’ Section of Bāgh-e Reḍvān Cemetery* in the same city.8
/Muhammad Nouri and Yadullah Qorbali/
Bibiography
Ābādī, Eskandar. Interview by Muhammad Nouri, February 2025/1403.
Behzādpūr. Interview by Yadullh Qorbali, February 2025/1403.
Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, ‛Abbās. “Sayyed ‛Abbās Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī (Ṭabāṭabāʾī)” (interview). Interview by Maryam Qāsemī. Daftar-e Farhang-e Ma‛lūlīn, 2020/1399.
Retrieved Nov. 4, 2025, from https://handicapcenter.com/?p=27844
Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, Muzhgān. Interview by Yadullh Qorbali, February 2025/1403.
Nouri, Muhammad, and Shād-kām, Manṣūr. dāʾerat al-ma‛āref-e nābīnāʾī va nābīnāyān. Qum: Tāvānmandān, 2023/1402.
Nūrī, Ali. farhang-nāme-ye mūsīqī-ye ma‛lūlān: fa‛‛ālān, āthār, rukhdadhā, tashakkulhā va taḥavvulāt-e tārīkhī. Qum: Tavānmandān, 2019/1398.
Sa‛īdī, Ali. “dar-guzasht-e yek hunarmand-e pīshkesvat-e mūsīqī-ye Iranī.” Mehr News Agency, 2024/1403.
Retrieved Nov. 4, 2025, from https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6191172
- Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, ‛Abbās, 2020/1399; Nouri and Shād-kām, vol. 3, p. 1742; Nūrī, pp. 266–267. [↩]
- Ābādī, interview dated February 2025/1403; Muzhgān Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, interview dated February 2025/ Bahman1403.[↩]
- ‛Abbās Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, 2020/1399; Muzhgān Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, interview dated February 2025/Bahman 1403.[↩]
- Behzādpūr, interview dated February 2025/ Bahman1403; Ābādī, interview dated February 2025/1403.[↩]
- Ābādī, interview dated February 2025/Bahman1403; Muzhgān Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, interview dated February 2025/1403.[↩]
- Muzhgān Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, interview dated February 2025/Bahman1403.[↩]
- Muzhgān Mu‛īn-‛Abbāsī, interview dated February 2025/Bahman 1403; Sa‛īdī, 2024/1403.[↩]
- Sa‛īdī, 2024/1403.[↩]
