IMAM FAKHR AL DIN AL RAZI

WASIAT IMAM FAKHR ADDIN AL RAZI

2008-08-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

نسخة وورد

خواطر حول

وصية الإمام فخر الدين الرازي

رحمه الله تعالى

بقلم

الأستاذ العلامة سعيد فودة

حفظه الله تعالى

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه الطيبين الطاهرين، أما بعد ،،

قال صاحب طبقات الشافعية الكبرى الإمام المحقق ابن السبكي: (8/90)

أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ، إذناً خاصاً، أخبرنا الكمال عمر بن إلياس بن يونس المَرَاغي، أخبرنا التقي يوسف أبي بكر النسائي بمصر، أخبرنا الكمال محمود بن عمر الرازي، قال: سمعت الإمام فخر الدين يوصي بهذه الوصية لما احتُضِر لتلميذه إبراهيم بن أبي بكر الأصبهاني.

يقول العبد الراجي رحمة ربِّه، الواثق بكرم مولاه، محمد بن عمر بن الحسن الرازي، وهو أول عهده بالآخرة وآخر عهده بالدنيا، وهو الوقت الذي يلين فيه كل قاسٍ، ويتوجه إلى مولاه كل آبق.

أحمد الله بالمحامد التي ذكرها أعظم ملائكته في أشرف أوقات معارجهم ونطق بها أعظم أنبيائه في أكمل أوقات شهاداتهم، وأحمده بالمحامد التي يستحقها، عَرَفتها أو لم أعرفها، لأنه لا مناسبة للتراب مع ربِّ الأرباب.

وصلواته على ملائكته المقربين، والأنبياء والمرسلين، وجميع عباد الله الصالحين،

اعلموا أخلاّئي في الدين، وإخواني في طلب اليقين أن الناس يقولون: إن الإنسان إذا مات انقطع عمله وتعلقه عن الخلق، وهذا مخصص من وجهين الأول أنه إن بقي سنة عمل صالحٌ صار ذلك سبباً للدعاء والدعاء له عند الله تعالى أثر، الثاني ما يتعلق بالأولاد وأداء الجنايات.

أما الأول فاعلموا أني كنت رجلاً محباً للعلم، فكنت أكتب من كلِّ شيء شيئاً لأقف على كميته وكيفيته، سواءً كان حقاً أو باطلاً، إلا أن الذي نطق به في الكتب المعبتر، أن العالم المخصوص تحت تدبير مُدَبِّره المنـزه عن مماثلة التمحيزات، موصوف بكمال القدرة والعلم والرحمة، ولقد اختبرت الطرق الكلامية والمناهج الفلسفية، فما رأيتُ فيها فائدةً تساوي الفائدة التي وجدتها في القرآن، لأنه يسعى في تسليم العظمة والجلال لله، ويمنع عن التعمق في إيراد المعارضات والمناقضات. وما ذاك إلا للعلم بأن العقول البشرية تتلاشى في تلك المضايق العميقة، والمناهج الخفيّة، فلهذا أقول:

كل ما ثبت بالدلائل الظاهرة مِنْ وجوب وجوده ووحدته، وبراءته عن الشركاء كما في القدم والأزلية والتدبير والفعالية، فذلك هو الذي أقول به، وألقى الله به، وأما ما ينتهي الأمر فيه إلى الدقة والغموض، وكل ما ورد في القرآن والصحاح المتعين للمعنى الواحد فهو كما قال، والذي لم يكن كذلك أقول:

يا إله العالمين، إني أرى الخلق مطبقين على أنك أكرم الأكرمين وأرحم الراحمين فكل ما مدَّه قلمي أو خطر ببالي: فأستشهد وأقول: إن علمتَ مني أني أردتُ به تحقيق باطل أو إبطال حق، فافعل بي ما أنا أهله، وإن علمت مني أني ما سعيتُ إلا في تقديسٍ اعتقدت أنه الحق، وتصورت أنه الصدق. فلتكن رحمتك مع قصدي لا مع حاصلي، فذلك جُهْدُ المِقلِّ، وأنت أكرم من أن تضايق الضعيف الواقع في ذلة، فأغثني وارحمني واستر زلتي واهج حَوْبتين يا مَنْ لا يزيد ملكه عرفانُ العارفين، ولا ينقص ملكه بخطا المجرمين، وأقول:

ديني متابعة الرسول محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكتابي القرآن العظيم، وتعويلي في طلب الدين عليها، اللهم يا سامع الأصوات، ويا مجيب الدعوات وما مقيل العثرات أنا كنت حسن الظن بك، عظيم الرجاء في رحمتك وأنت قلت: أنا عند ظن عبدي بي. وأنت قلت "أمَّن يجيب المضطر إذا دعاه" فهب أني ما جئت بشيء فأنت الغني الكريم، فلا تخيِّب رجائي، ولا تردَّ دعائي، واجعلني آمناً من عذابك قبل الموت وبعد الموت وعند الموت، وسهَّل عليَّ سكرات الموت، فإنك أرحم الراحمين.

وأما الكتب التي صنفتُها، واستكثرتُ فيها من إيراد السؤالات فليذكرني مَنْ نظر فيها بصالح دعائه، على سبيل التفضل والإنعام، وإلا فيحذف القول الشيء، فإني ما أردت إلا تكثير البحث، وشحذ الخاطر، والاعتماد في الكل على الله.

الثاني: وهو إصلاح أمر الأطفال، فالاعتماد فيه على الله.

ثم إنه سرد وصيته في ذلك إلى أن قال:

وأمرت تلامذتي، ومَنْ لي عليه حق إذا أنا مِتُّ، يبالغون في إخفاء موتي، ويدفنوني على شرط الشرع، فإذا دفنوني قرأوا علي ما قدروا عليه من القرآن، ثم يقولون: يا كريم، جاءك الفقير المحتاج، فأحسن إليه هذا آخر الوصية. انتهى كلام ابن السبكي.

أقول:

فانظر رحمك الله إلى هذه الوصية ما أدق معانيها، وأحلى مبانيها، وهي تدل على عمق علم الرازي، وحسن توكله على الله تعالى، وإخلاصه له في عمره كله إلى أن مات.

والإمام الرازي معلومٌ مَنْ هو، ولا يحط مِنْ قدره إلا مَنْ على قلوبهم غبَشٌ وانحراف، ولا يعرف حقيقة فضله إلا مَنْ طالع كتبه مريداً الاستفادة.

والإمام ابن الخطيب معلومٌ لدى الكافة أنه على طريقة الأشعري في الاعتقاد، بل هو الذي أسس من المتأخرين قواعد الطريقة وحقق مسائلها وردّ على مخالفيها، نشرهافي البلاد حتى اعتمدت كتبُه في معظم الأقطار ونسي الناس كتب المتقدمين، وعكفوا على كتبه، لجودتها ودقتها وحسن ترتيبها، وهذا كله معلوم.

ولكن، بعض الناس ممن لا تحصيل عندهم في علم أصول الدين، والذين لم تتشذب نفوسهم بمطالعة كتب القوم، وهؤلاء يتميزون بجلاقة في الطباع، وركاكة في الدماغ، وتعصب ظاهر - يدعون أنهم مجتهدون، وحقيقة حالهم التقليد الأعمى، وهؤلاء يغلب عليها التجسيم والتشبيه إما بلسان الحال أو المقال. هؤلاء الناس أجزم أنهم لا يتذوقون كلمات الإمام، ولا يعرفون من حاله إلا ما يسمعون ممن هو مثلهم في الصفات، وهم في هذا كاذبون.

وهؤلاء الناس، لم يظهروا في هذه الأوقات فقط، بل كانوا يظهرون ما بين زمان وزمان، عندما يجدون شوكةً تدافع عنهم وتحمي أغلوطاتهم مِن شوكات الحكام، ينبزون في مختلف الأعصار يدعون أنهم يسيرون على طريق السلف الصالح، وأنهم على عقيدة الإمام أحمد، وهم منهم براءٌ. وحالهم حقيقة ما وصفناه، بعيدون عن تذوق الحقائق، والشعور بالرقائق، قساة أجلاف.

وإحفاد هؤلاء، برزوا في هذا الزمان، تدعمهم بعض الدول، لمصالح سياسية لا تخفى على نبيه، وسبق أن نبهنا إليها، يستغلهم بعض الحكام وهؤلاء يسيرون خلفهم كالبله والعميان، ويوهمون الناس أنهم على شيء وليسوا هم على شيء.

ولا نريد أن نسترسل في وصف أحوالهم، فنحيد عن المقصود، فنقول وبالله التوفيق:

كثيراً ما سمعت منذ بداية مطالعاتي، منذ سنين عديدة، وكذا قرأتُ من كتب لبعض الناس مثل ابن تيمية وابن القيم، وغيرهم ممن سار على نهجهم أن الرازي كان على عقيدة، ثم غيرها في آخر حياته وتراجع عنها وكتب هذا في وصيته لطلبته !!

وأنا كنتُ في بداية الطلب أستغرب هذا، فالرازي الذي له هذا التفسير الذي يدل على علم واسع وعقل نبيه، وله كتب عديدة تدل على فضله ودقة تفكيره، هل كان في كل هذه الكتب على خطأ لم يتنبه إليه إلا عند الممات هذا غريب!!

أنا لا أنكر أنه ممكن، ولكنه يبقى غريباً، ولغرابته فالأصل في الإنسان الذي يسير على قواعد مطَّردة في النظر والتدبر أن لا يصدقه لأول نظرة، وإن كان الراوي ابن تيمية، هذا ما كنت أقوله في أيام صباي، وزاد هذا المعنى ثباتاً في نفسي ما صرتُ أعلمه وأتبينه على مر الأيام من أن ابن تيمية وغيره ممن يتبعه يخالف منهج الإمام الرازي في العقائد، بل هو تقريباً ضدٌّ له، ولما اتضح لي هذا المعنى، صرتُ لا أستبعد أن ابن تيمية يروج هذا القول وغيره في كتبه، لا لأن الرازي فعلاً تراجع عما كان يعتقد، بل ليستطيع ابن تيمية أن يتخذ من هذه الحادثة إن صحت -وهي لا تصح كما سنرى- مِعوَلاً يهدم به مذهب الرازي، ليتهيأ له أن يبني ما يريد بعد ذلك.

وبدا لي هذا التفسير في تلك الأيام منطقياً معقولاً، لا سيما وأنني كنت أقرأ لابن تيمية كثيراً، وكذلك للرازي، وكنتُ أرى الكثير من المسائل التي ينتقد فيها ابن تيمية الإمام الرازي غير محق فيها، وكان في بعض الأحيان يصور مراد الرازي على غير حقيقته، وأحياناً يبالغ في الرد عليه.

هذا كله وغيره كثير كان يخطر في خاطري في تلك الأيام، ولكن لم أكن مستطيعاً لإثبات التراجع أو ضده بشكل قطعي ولكن ترجيحاً، وسبب هذا أنني لم أطلع علىوصية الإمام، حتى حصلت على قِطَعٍ منها في بعض الكتب، وكان يترجح لي من هذه القطع أن الرازي لم يتراجع، وما نسبه التراجع إليه إلا تلبيس كما مضى، ولكن لم أستطع الجزم بعد التراجع، لأني لم استطع الحصول على النص الكامل للوصية.

وكنت عند هذا مطمئناً إلى ما وصلت إليه من الحكم، ولكن كنت أتمنى أن أحصل على النص الكامل ليزداد هذا الاطمئان.

وبقيت هكذا فترة، حتى يسر الله تعالى لي الحصول على قطعة كافية من الوصية، في كتاب الطبقات الكبرى لابن السبكي رحمه الله تعالى، وعندما ألقيتُ عليها نظرة أطمأن قلبي وجزمتُ بما كنت قد توصلت إليه بالنظر، واكتفيت بهذا.

ولكن قلت بعد مدَّةٍ، لا بد أن أوثق هذا الكلام كله لكي يكون حجة على كل من يخوض في هذا الأمر، فكتبت هذه الكلمات.

أقول –وبالله التوفيق-:

لقد بالغ هؤلاء "المتمسلفون" في ادعاءاتهم وشذوذهم، وبالغوا في المماداة في أغلاطهم، حتى تعدّوا على أئمة الإسلام واتهموهم زوراً وبغير وجه حق.

وقد رأينا تهافت ما ادعوا في حق الإمام الجويني، وما كذبوا به على الإمام السنوسي، وعندي الكثير من هذه المفتريات على العديد من الأئمة أدعوا الله تعالى أن يوفقني إلى تلخيصها لتكون شاهدة على افترائهم، وسنبين الآن ما يتعلق بالإمام الرازي رحمه الله تعالى.

يدَّعون أن الإمام الرازي تراجع عن مذهب الأشاعرة في مسألة الصفات والنصوص المعلومة التي يجري فيها الخلاف.

هذا هو مدعاهم، ويجب علينا نحن قبل أن نقول كلمتنا أن نوضح مدعاهم هذا ثم بعد اتضاحه فأنا أجزم أن تهافته سيظهر لكل من له عقلٌ سليم.

أولاً: يجب أن نُعَرِّف بمذهب الأشاعرة في هذه المسألة. فنقول:

مذهب أهل السنة والجماعة كلهم ومنهم الأشاعرة أن الله تعالى لا يشابه أحداً من خلقه، لا في ذاته ولا في صفاته ولا في أفعاله. وإن كل ما خطر على قلب بشر من صورة أو كيفية فيجب نفيه عنه تعالى، لأن الصورة والكيف منتفيان في الأصل عنه تعالى.

وهم يقولون بتنـزيه الله تعالى عن صفات البشر والحوادث والأجسام وكل ما يلزم عن كون الشيء جسماً وهي لوازم الأجسام مثل: الكون في الأمكنة والحركة والحجم والكيف والتركيب وغير ذلك.

وبناءً على هذا فالنصوص التي نقرأها في الكتاب والسنة، فيتوهم منها بعض الناس معنى لا يليق بالله تعالى مما مضى وغيره، ويقولون إن هذا هو الظاهر من هذه النصوص، فنقول: ليس هذا هو الظاهر، بل هذا هو ما تتخيله أنت ظاهراً، ولا ظاهرٌ إلا الحق، فتعالى الله تعالى أن يجعل كلامه ظاهراً في أمرٍ باطلٍ، وإنما الباطل هنا هو التوهم الذي ظهر في نفسك، وما هذا إلا لأنك ردئ فكرٍ وغير مدرك لأقلِّ ما يجب إثباته لله تعالى، فالظاهر إنما هو وهمٌ قام في فكر إنسانٍ جلف الطباع، تصور لطباعه هذه إن هذا المعنى هو الظاهر من النص.

فلما ظهرت هذه المشكلة عند فساد تذوق الناس للغة العربية وضعف عقائدهم في الله تعالى وغلبة الأمور الحسية والتوهمات النفسية، احتاج العلماء إلى أسلوب يعالجون به هذه المشكلة، ويكون هذا الأسلوب واضحاً متميزاً مدرَكاً مضبوطاً بقواعد تنسجم مع اللغة والأمور الصحيحة المعلومة من الدين بالضرورة، ويكون سهلاً ودقيقاً في نفس الوقت، متلائماً مع ما كان عليه السلف الصالح المشهود لهم بالخيرية، ملائماً لطباع عامة الناس قدر الاستطاعة.

فتوصل علماء الأمة من الأشاعرة إلى توضيح مذهب محقق لكل هذه الشروط متكون من مرتبتين: الأولى وهي الأصل سموها التفويض، والثانية وهذه لا يلجأ إليها إلا عند الحاجة سموها التأويل، كلا هاتين المرتبتين حقٌّ ولا تعارض بين الواحدة والأخرى.

ومعنى التفويض: هو تفويض هذه النصوص إلى الله تعالى وعدم الخوض فيها والإيمان بها على سبيل الإجمال، أي الإيمان بما علم الله أنه الحق، وإمرارها كما جاءت بلا كيف ولا معنى، مع تنـزيه الله تعالى عن الاتِّصاف بشيء من سمات نقص كما مر، وهذا هو الذي كان عليه جمهور السلف، كانوا لا يخوضون في هذه الأمور ولا يتكلمون فيها، بل ينهون عامة الناس عن الكلام فيها، ويأمرونهم بتنـزيه الله تعالى عن سمات النقص.

والمرتبة الثانية وهي التأويل ومعناها: هي أن اللفظ الذي توهم بعض الناس أن ظاهره هو التجسيم والتشبيه وإثبات الجوارح والأدوات والحركات وغير ذلك من معاني باطلة، وقد بيّنا نحن كيف توهم هؤلاء الناس هذا الوهم، ولما كان بعض الناس لا يكتفون بالطريق الإجمالي في تنـزيه الله كما مر في مرتبة التفويض، إمّا لفساد معتقدهم كالحشوية، أو لأنهم مفسدون في الدين ويستغلون هذه النصوص في التشكيك في أصول التوحيد ليسهل عليهم بعد ذلك نشر مذاهبهم الباطلة، أقول لما كانت هذه الأصناف موجودة في الناس ولا يخلو زمان منها، احتج إلى أسلوب تفصيلي لصدِّ مَنْ كانت هذه حالة. يتم بهذا الأسلوب تفهيمه أن اللفظ ليس ظاهره ما فهمته ولا هو ما تبادر إلى ذهنك أو توهمته، مما هو تشبيه محض مضاد للتوحيد، بل الظاهر هو معنى يليق بالله تعالى، ويتم بيان هذا الأمر لهؤلاء الناس بواسطة أسلوب التأويل الذي حاصله: أنه صرف اللفظ عن ظاهره المتوهم لمدى الأنفس الخبيثة أو الجلفة إلى معنى صحيح لقرينةٍ، وهذه القرينة إما أن تكون لفظية أو حالية.

وتفصيل هذا الأسلوب موضح في المطوَّلات، وقد لجأ بعض السلف إلى هذا الأسلوب لما واجهوا الحالات التي ذكرناها.

ومما مضى تبين أن كلا من الأسلوبين أو المرتبتين حق صريح ووارد عن السلف الصالح ولا تناقض بينهما؛ لأنهما في الحقيقة تكملان بعضهما البعض.

ويلاحظ من شرحنا لهذين الأسلوبين أنَّ الأصل هو التفويض، ولا يلجأ إلى الثاني إلا لأسباب إما تفهيم قاصرٍ عن إدراك الحق أو ردّ شبهة لمشكك خبيث الطبع والقصد؛ لغاية إعزاز الدين وإظهار أنه الحق الذي لا عوج فيه.

ما دام المذهب قد اتضح، وتجلى أنه بالحق صرح، نعود إلى الكلام عن الإمام فخر الدين الرازي، فنقول: هذا هو الذي كان عليه فخر الدين الرازي، وهذا هو الذي مات عليه الإمام، لم يحدث أنَّه تراجع عن هذا كله، ولا عن بعض منه. وبيان هذا كما يلي:

كان الإمام فخر الدين في بداية حياته ولدى اشتهاره وقبل حيون وفاته كثير المناظرات مع المبتدعة من الحشوية وغيرهم ممن ضل عن فهم المعنى الحق، وكان يجول في البلدان يتحدى من خالف مذهب الإسلام فيناظره ويبين له سقم كلامه وضعف حجته وبيانه.

ومعظم كتبه التي كتبها في حياته إما كانت رداً على الحشوية أو الفلاسفة أو على من غلط من المعتزلة وغيره من الناس.

ولم يصمد أمامه إنسان، فأخرس الألسنة وأزال الباطل وثبت دعائم الحق، على حسب الطاقة، رحمه الله.

والرجل عندما يكون هذا حاله لا بد أن يتمسك بأسلوب التأويل، الذي مرَّ بيانه فلا يمكن عند المناظرة مع هؤلاء الناس أن يقول لهم –خصوصاً الحشوية لأن الخلاف إنما هو معهم في هذه المسألة- فوِّضوا العلم إلى الله تعالى، كيف وهم يعتقدون أن ما يقولون به إنما هو كلام الله تعالى والظاهر الصريح الذي لا يجوز العدول عنه إلى غيره، بل لا بدَّ مِنْ بيان أن الأمر الذي يدعون أنه ظاهرٌ وواضح، هو في الحقيقة باطل لا شك في هذا، وهذا لا يتم إلا باستعمال أسلوب التأويل، فهو الآلة التي تذبح بها خِرَاف الباطل. وهذا هو ما كان عليه الإمام في عامة كتبه لأن حالة الناس الذين كان يواجههم كانت تفرض عليه ذلك.

فلما اقتربت الوفاة، وحان الانتقال إلى الدار الآخرة، عاد الإمام الفخر الرازي إلى الأصل، لأنَّ مطلوب المرء في تلك الحال إنما هو السلامة، وتفويض الأمر إلى الله تعالى هو السلامة، وقد بيَّنا ذلك في الرد على الشوكاني في رسالته التحف، فلتنظر هناك.

والناظر في وصيته المذكورة لا يرى فيها ثبرياً من مذهبه الذي كان عليه، بل يرى منها تفويض أمره إلى الله تعالى، والاعتراف بأنه لم يكن ليخوض في ما خاض فيه إلا اعزازاً للدين واستجابة لأمر الله تعالى بالذب عنه ضد الزائغين والمعتدين، فهو يتبرأ من كل خطأ وقع فيه لا على التعيين ويرجو أن يرحمه الله تعالى بما وفقه فيه من الإصابة. وهذا الحال هو حال المخلصين.

وهو ينبه في الوصية إلى أن أسلوب القرآن في تبليغ التوحيد هو خير الأساليب، وكيف ينكر هذا إنسانٌ والقرآن كلام الله تعالى ؟! ولكن الإنسان مطلوب منه الدفاع عن هذا الدين بقدر وسعه وطاقته. وبعد هذا أقول لمن أراد الحق:

أين ذكر الإمام الرازي في وصيته أنه تراجع عن مذهبه ؟

هل قال الإمام الرازي رحمه الله: إن الله في مكان وله حدٌّ وله جارحة إلى غير هذا من الترهات والتشبيه الذي تمتلئ به نفوس من يغلطون عليه ؟

كيف يقول بهذا وهو ينص في وصيته على "أن العالم المخصوص تحت تدبير مُدَبِّره المنـزه عنه مماثلة التحيزات" هذا كلامه، وهو نفىٌ صريح في أن الله ليس في مكان ولا في جهة ولا له بعض ولا أعضاء. وهذه هي الأمور التي يدعي هؤلاء الناس من الأغبياء أن الرازي رجع إليها، ونحن نرى من صريح كلامه أنه نفاها.

ونـزيد هنا كلاماً لمن أراد أن يستفيد:

الإمام الرازي كان يدعو إلى التفويض حتى قبل كتابة هذه الوصية أي في أثناء مصاولته للناس ومناظرته معهم، وعلى هذا لا يكون هناك أي وجه لكلام المتسلفة الأغبياء، ودليل هذا أنه قال في كتاب المعالم: "… فلم يبق إلا الإقرار بمقتضى الدلائل العقلية القطعية، وحمل الظواهر النقلية إما على التأويل وإما على تفويض علمها إلى الله سبحانه وتعالى، وهو الحق" هذا كلامه في هذا الكتاب، وهو صريح أنه لا يقول بحرمة التفويض ولا بحرمة التأويل، ولكنه ترجح لديه أن التفويض هو الحق أي الأرجح وذلك لما ذكرناه من أنه الأسلم.

وذكر أيضاً هذا المعنى في كتاب الأربعين "… فلم يبق إلا أن تصدق الدلائل العقلية ويشتغل بتأويل الظواهر النقلية أو يفوض علمها إلى الله" هذا هو كلامه الذي يقطع كلام كل إنسانٍ بعده، فالأشاعرة عندهم فيما بينهم خلاف هل التأويل أرجح أو التفويض مع اتفاقهم على تنـزيه الله تعالى. أما خلافهم مع غيرهم من الحشوية ومع أذيال هؤلاء من المتمسلفة في هذا الزمان فهو دائر بين التنـزيه الذي يقول به الأشاعرة وأهل السنة، وبين التشبيه والتجسيم الذي يقول به هؤلاء، خذلهم الله تعالى.

وبهذا يكون قد ظهر بحول الله وقوته تهافت مَن ادعى أنَّ الإمام الرازي قد تراجع عن مذهبه، وبأن هذا ما هو الأكذب على أهل الحق

والحمد لله رب العالمين

13/8/1992م

Al Tafsir`Fakhr Ar-Razi:Tafsir Al-Kabir

2008-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Al Tafsir Fakhr Ar-Razi (Tafsir Kabir) (Arabic Only)
Hardback 11 Books (32 Volumes)
Published By Dar Al Fikr Beirut, Lebanon

Al-Tafseer al-Kabir: This is the work of Imam Fakhr al-din al-Razi (died 606 Hijrah). Its real name is Mafatih al-Ghayb, but is popularly known as Tafseer Kabir'. Imam Razi is an imam of the theology of Islam, therefore, great emphasis has been laid in his tafseer on rational and scholastic debates and on the refutation of false sects'. But, the truth is that this tafseer is, in its own way, a unique key to the Qur'an as well. Furthermore, the pleasing way in which the meanings of the Qur'an have been clarified and the mutual link of the Qur'anic verses established, is all too praise-worthy. Most likely, Imam Razi himself wrote down his tafseer as far as Surah al-Fath. Onwards from there, he could not complete. So, the remaining part of the tafseer, from Surah al-Fatiha to the end, was completed by Qadi Shihab al-Din ibn Khalil al-Khawli al-Dimashqi (died 639 Hijrah) or Shaykh Najm al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qamuli (died 777 Hijrah). (Kashaf al-Zunun v. 2, p. 477)

Imam Razi has particularly emphasised scholastic debates and the refutation of false sects in accordance with the dictates of his time, and while doing so, his discussions have become too lengthy at several places, therefore, some people have made the following comment on his tafseer: 'There is everything in this (book) except the tafseer.' But this comment is a terrible injustice to Tafseer Kabir. That which is the truth has already been stated above, namely, that this tafseer enjoys a high rating as far as the resolution of the meanings of the Qur'an is concerned. But, there are places where he has explained verses of the Qur'an while moving away from the consensus of the ummah, however, such places are very thinly spread out in this book

About Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi

Born 543AH/ 1149, Rayy, Iran

Died 606AH/ 1209, near Hert, Khwrezm

Muhammad ibn `Umar ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Husayn Abu `Abd Allah al-Qurashi, al-Bakri, al-Taymi, al-Tabaristani al-Shafi`i, known as Ibn al-Khatib and as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was born in Rayy near present-day Tehran in AH 543 or 544/ad 1149-50 and died in 606AH/1209), Shaykh al-Islam, the imam of the learned scholars of kalam and the foundations of belief, a major jurist of the Shafi`i school, specialist of usul, Commentator of the Qur'an, Philologist, genealogist, heresiographer, logician, Mathematician, Astronomer and physician.

An ocean that contains more pearls than the ocean.' The principal spokesman of Ahl al-Sunnah in his time, he refuted all the sects with which he came into contact, particularly the multifarious groups of the Mu`tazila, Shi`a, and Hashwiyya as well as the Jews and Christians. A student of his father Khatib al-Rayy Diya' al-Din `Umar and Majd al-Din al-Jili al-Maraghi principally, then Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi and Kamal al-Din al-Simnani, he memorized early on Imam al-Haramayn's work in kalam entitled al-Shamil. He began his scholarly career in poverty and died at sixty-three at the height of fame and wealth, poisoned, it is said, by the Karramiyya of Herat who were envious of his great following among the princes of Khurasan.

He traveled widely before settling in Herat (in modern Afghanistan). The author of more than 100 books (on subjects as diverse as medicine, mineralogy, and grammar), he gained fame and wealth through his scholarship and skill in debate, in which he often presented unorthodox views fully and favorably before refuting them. Though this led to accusations of heresy, it has preserved information about little-known sects. His works include one of the major commentaries on the Qur'an, The Keys to the Unknown (or The Great Commentary), and Collection of the Opinions of Ancients and Moderns,

Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi from Encyclopedia Britannica

2007-01-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

born 1149, Rayy, Iran
died 1209, near Herat, Khwarezm

in full Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn 'umar Ibn Al-husayn Fakhr Ad-din Ar-razi Muslim theologian and scholar, author of one of the most authoritative commentaries on the Qur'an in the history of Islam. His aggressiveness and vengefulness created many enemies and involved him in numerous intrigues. His intellectual brilliance, however, was universally acclaimed and attested by such works as Mafatih al-ghayb or Kitab at-tafsir al-kabir (“The Keys to the Unknown” or “The Great Commentary”) and Muhassal afkar al-mutaqaddimin wa-al-muta'akhkhirin (“Collection of the Opinions of Ancients and Moderns”).

Ar-Razi was the son of a preacher. After a broad education, in which he specialized in theology and philosophy, he traveled from country to country in an area comprising present-day northwestern Iran and Turkistan and finally settled in Herat (now in Afghanistan). Wherever he went, he debated with famous scholars and was patronized and consulted by local rulers. He wrote about 100 books and gained fame and wealth. It was said that wherever he rode, 300 of his students accompanied him on foot; when he moved from one city to another, 1,000 mules carried his possessions, and there seemed no limit to his silver and gold.

Ar-Razi lived in an age of political and religious turmoil. The empire of the Baghdad caliphs was disintegrating; its numerous local rulers were virtually independent. The Mongols were shortly to invade the region and strike the final blow against the caliphate. Religious unity, too, had long since crumbled: in addition to the division of Islam into two major groups—the Sunnites and the Shi'ites—countless small sects had developed, often with the support of local rulers. Sufism (Islamic mysticism), too, was gaining ground. Like the philosopher al-Ghazali, a century earlier, ar-Razi was a “middle-roader” who attempted, in his own way, to reconcile a rationalistic theology and philosophy incorporating concepts taken from Aristotle and other Greek philosophers with the Qur'an (Islamic scripture). This attempt inspired al-Mabahith al-mashriqiyah (“Eastern Discourses”), a summation of his philosophical and theological positions, and several commentaries on Avicenna (Ibn Sina), as well as his extremely wide-ranging commentary on the Qur'an (Mafatih al-ghayb or Kitab at-tafsir al-kabir) which ranks among the greatest works of its kind in Islam. Equally famous is his Muhassal afkar al-mutaqaddimin wa-al-muta'akhkhirin, which was accepted from the first as a classic of kalam (Muslim theology). His other books, in addition to a general encyclopaedia, dealt with subjects as varied as medicine, astrology, geometry, physiognomy, mineralogy, and grammar.

Ar-Razi was not only a persuasive preacher but also a master of debate. His ability to refute the arguments of others, together with his aggressiveness, self-confidence, irritability, and bad temper, made many enemies for him. His worldly success made others jealous of him. Moreover, on occasion he could show extreme malice. With his connivance, his elder brother, who openly resented his success, was imprisoned by the Khwarezm-Shah (ruler of Turkistan) and died in prison. A famous preacher with whom he had quarrelled was drowned by royal command. It is reported, however, that one incident persuaded him to cease attacks against the Isma'ili—a Shi'ite sect of Islam also known as Seveners because they believe that Isma'il, the seventh imam (spiritual leader), was the last of the imams. After ar-Razi had taunted the Isma'ili as having no valid proofs for their beliefs, an Isma'ili gained access to him by posing as a pupil and pointed a knife at his chest, saying: “This is our proof.” It has been suggested further that ar-Razi's death was not from natural causes, but that he was poisoned by the Karramiyah (a Muslim anthropomorphist sect), in revenge for his attacks on them.

Ar-Razi loved disputation so much that he went out of his way to present unorthodox and heretical religious views as fully and as favourably as possible, before refuting them. This habit gave his opponents grounds for accusing him of heresy. It was said: “He states the views of the enemies of orthodoxy most persuasively, and those of the orthodoxy most unconvincingly.” His thorough presentations of unorthodox views make his works a useful source of information about little-known Muslim sects. He was thus a good devil's advocate, though he maintained firmly that he championed only orthodoxy.

Ar-Razi was a many-sided genius and a colourful personality who was regarded by some Muslims as a major “renewer of the faith.” According to tradition, one such was due to appear each century, and al-Ghazali had been the one immediately before ar-Razi. His aim, like al-Ghazali's, was doubtless to be a revitalizer and reconciler in Islam, but he did not have al-Ghazali's originality, nor was he often able to make readers aware of his personal religious experience, as al-Ghazali could. His genius for analysis sometimes led him into long and tortuous arguments, yet he compensated for these shortcomings by his very wide knowledge, which incorporated most disciplines—even the sciences—into his religious writings. In the centuries after his death, Muslim philosophers and theologians were to turn to his works frequently for guidance.

John A. Haywood

Additional Reading
M.M. Sharif (ed.), A History of Muslim Philosophy, vol. 1, pp. 642–655 (1963); Youssef Mourad, La Physiognomie arabe, et le Kitab al-Firasa de Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1939); for information about ar-Razi's medical works, see C. Elgood, A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate (1951); and Fathalla Kholeif, A Study on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and His Controversies in Transoxiana (1966), containing a useful introductory chapter; for information about Muslim sects, see A.S. Tritton, Muslim Theology (1947); articles in the Encyclopaedia of Islam; and ar-Razi's great commentary, Mafatih al-ghayb (various printings).

copy paste from:http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033610/Fakhr-ad-Din-ar-Razi

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi by JOHN COOPER

2007-01-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (1149-1209)

Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was one of the outstanding figures in Islamic theology. Living in the second half of the sixth century ah (twelfth century ad), he also wrote on history, grammar, rhetoric, literature, law, the natural sciences and philosophy, and composed one of the major works of Qur'anic exegesis, the only remarkable gap in his output being politics. He travelled widely in the eastern lands of Islam, often engaging in heated polemical confrontations. His disputatious character, intolerant of intellectual weakness, frequently surfaces in his writings, but these are also marked by a spirit of synthesis and a profound desire to uncover the truth, whatever its source. A number of his metaphysical positions became well known in subsequent philosophical literature, being cited more often than not for the purposes of refutation. His prolixity and pedantic argumentation were often criticized, but he was widely considered the reviver of Islam in his century.

1. Theology and philosophy
2. Metaphysics

1. Theology and philosophy

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was born in Rayy near present-day Tehran in ah 543 or 544/ad 1149-50. Like his predecessor al-Ghazali, he was an adherent of the Shafi'i school in law and of the theology of Ash'arism (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila). He was attracted at an early age to the study of philosophy, in which he soon became proficient. In his late twenties, he visited Khwarazm and Transoxania, where he came in contact with some of the last theologians in the Mu'tazilite tradition. Although he endured hardship and poverty at the beginning of his career, on returning to Rayy from Transoxania he entered into the first of a series of patronage relations with rulers in the east which contributed to his reputedly considerable wealth and authority.

Al-Razi's skill in polemic ensured that controversy followed him in his subsequent sojourns in Khurasan, Bukhara, Samarqand and elsewhere (he is said to have visited India). He consequently made several dangerous enemies, including among them the Karramiyyah (an activist ascetic sect, staunch defenders of a literal interpretation of scripture and of anthropomorphism), the Isma'ilis, and the Hanbalites, each of whom apparently threatened his life at various points. Al-Razi settled finally in Herat, where he had a teaching madrasa built for him, and where he died in ah 606/ad 1209.

In the religious sciences, al-Ghazali had legitimized the use of logic, while at the same time attacking those key metaphysical doctrines of the philosophers which most offended against orthodox doctrine. This move prepared the ground for the subsequent incorporation of philosophical argumentation into theology. It was through al-Razi that this marriage was most completely effected in the Sunni world. His major theological works all begin with a section on metaphysics, and this was to become the pattern for most later writers.

The problem of how far al-Razi should be considered a philosopher (rather than a theologian) is complicated by changes of view during the course of his life, and by his highly disputatious and often intemperate personality, which he himself acknowledged. His style is marked by an extensively ramifying dialectic, often ending in highly artificial subtleties, and is not easy to follow. The relentlessness and sometimes obvious delight with which al-Razi used this method to home in on his victims earned him among philosophers the sobriquet of Iman al-Mushakkikin (Leader of the Doubters). Nevertheless, al-Razi was scrupulous in representing the views he set out to criticize, manifesting his concern to lay out a rigorous dialectic in which theological ideas could be debated before the arbitration of reason. This predictably brought him under subsequent attack from those who believed that upholding orthodox doctrine was the primary task of theology, one of whom remarked that in al-Razi's works 'the heresy is in cash, the refutation on credit'.

One of al-Razi's major concerns was the self-sufficiency of the intellect. His strongest statements show that he believed proofs based on Tradition (hadith) could never lead to certainty (yaqin) but only to presumption (zann), a key distinction in Islamic thought. On the other hand, his acknowledgement of the primacy of the Qur'an grew with his years. A detailed examination of al-Razi's rationalism has never been undertaken, but he undoubtedly holds an important place in the debate in the Islamic tradition on the harmonization of reason and revelation. In his later years he seems to have shown some interest in mysticism, although this never formed a significant part of his thought.

Al-Razi's most important philosophical writings were two works of his younger days, a commentary (sharh) on the physics and metaphysics of Ibn Sina's Kitab al-isharat wa-'l-tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions) (see Ibn Sina) and another work on the same subject, al-Mabahith al-mashriqiyya (Eastern Studies), which is based in large part on the latter's al-Shifa' and al-Najat as well as al-Isharat, but in which al-Razi frequently preferred the views of Abu 'l-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. after ah 560/ad 1164-5). Also of great philosophical interest is his theological text Muhassal al-afkar (The Harvest of Thought). Perhaps al-Razi's greatest work, however, is the Mafatih al-ghayb (The Keys to the Unknown), one of the most extensive commentaries on the Qur'an, running to eight volumes in quarto and known more popularly as simply al-Tafsir al-kabir (The Great Commentary). As its more orthodox detractors have been happy to point out, this work, which occupied al-Razi to the end of his life and was completed by a pupil, contains much of philosophical interest.

The person who did the most to defend Ibn Sina, and philosophy in general, against the criticisms of al-Razi was Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, whose commentary on the Kitab al-isharat was in large measure a refutation of al-Razi's opinions. Al-Tusi also wrote a Talkhis al-muhassal al-afkar (Abridgement of the Muhassal al-afkar), where he likewise undertook a criticism of many of the philosophical criticisms in the Muhassal al-afkar.
2. Metaphysics

Al-Razi was associated by later authors with the view that existence is distinct from, and additional to, essence, both in the case of creation and in the case of God, and that pure existence is merely a concept (see Existence). This view is at variance with the Ash'arite and Mu'tazilite positions, as well as with that of Ibn Sina and his followers. Al-Razi only departed from this view in his commentary on the Qur'an, where he went back to a more traditional view that in God essence and existence are one.

Another challenge to the philosophers for which al-Razi achieved fame was his refutation of the emanationist principle ex uno non fit nisi unum (only one can come from one.) In Ibn Sina's formulation, if an indivisible single thing were to give rise to two things, a and b, this would result in a contradiction, for the same single thing would be the source of both a and of not-a ( TeX equation). Al-Razi's refutation was based on the claim that the contradictory of 'the emanation of a' is 'the non-emanation of a', not 'the emanation of not-a'. On a related point, he originally denied the possibility of a vacuum, but in his Mafatih he argues for its existence, and for the power of the Almighty to fill it with an infinity of universes.

The philosophers, following Ibn Sina, held knowledge to be an inhering in the knower of the form of the thing known, and that consequently God knew only universals and not particulars, knowledge of the latter implying inadmissible changes in God's essence as particulars changed (see Immutability). For the most part theologians were opposed to thus restricting God's knowledge, on the grounds that he was omniscient (see Omniscience). Al-Razi upheld the theological side of the debate through postulating that knowledge involved a relation between the knower and the thing known, so that a change in the thing known would produce a change in the relation but not in the essence of the knower. This notion of a relation involved the substitution of a philosophical term, idafa (relation), for a theological one, ta'alluq (connection), in an argument about the attribute of knowledge which belonged essentially to Abu 'l-Husayn al-Basri's Mu'tazilite school.

In ethics, al-Razi held that God alone, through revelation, determines moral values for man, it being these which give rise to praise and blame. God himself was beyond the moral realm and acted from no purpose extraneous to himself, be it out of pure goodness or for the benefit of his creation. Following al-Ghazali, and before him al-Juwayni, al-Razi's solution to the problem posed for divine subjectivists by God's threats of punishment and reward was to acknowledge a subjective rational capacity within man allowing him to understand what causes him pleasure and pain and thus enabling him to perceive where his advantage lies. In his 'Ilm al-akhlaq (Science of Ethics) al-Razi built upon al-Ghazali's ethical writings, particularly from the Ihya' 'ulum al-din, providing a systematic framework based on psychology, again under the influence of al-Baghdadi (see Ethics in Islamic philosophy).

On the question of free will, al-Razi took a radical determinist position and rejected outright the Ash'arite doctrine of kasb (acquisition). Al-Razi postulated two factors necessary for the production of an action: the power to do it or not to do it, and a preponderating factor, the motivation, which leads to the action being performed or not. Once the preponderating factor exists together with the power, either the act comes about necessarily or else it becomes impossible. Al-Razi pushed this essentially Mu'tazilite thesis, which is also similar to Ibn Sina's thinking, to its logical conclusion, arguing that both the power and the preponderating factor had to be created by God for the result to exist necessarily, and hence that all human actions have been produced through God's determination. We thus appear to be free agents because we act according to our motives, but in reality we are constrained. A consequence of this theory when it is applied to God's own acts is that since God acts through his power, he must himself either act through constraint (if there is a preponderating factor in this case) or else by chance (if there is not), both of which conclusions violate the central Sunnite position that God is a totally free agent. Those who came after al-Razi felt that he had never adequately solved this difficulty, and he himself confessed that, whether from the point of view of reason or of tradition, there was in the end no satisfactory solution to the free will problem (see Free will).

Al-Razi held the Ash'arite position that God could re-create what had been made inexistent, and this formed the basis of his literal understanding of bodily resurrection. However, he also expressed views which were influenced by the theory of the late Mu'tazili Ibn al-Malahimi, who held the contrary position on the restoration of non-existence, that the world did not pass into non-existence but its parts were dissociated, and that the essential of these parts were reassembled on the resurrection. This ambivalence on al-Razi's part perhaps reflects the changes in his position on atomism, which he vehemently denied in his earlier purely philosophical works but of which he was more supportive towards the end of his life.

See also: al-Ghazali; Ibn Sina; Islamic theology; al-Tusi
JOHN COOPER
Copyright © 1998, Routledge.
List of works
al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1185) al-Mabahith al-mashriqiyya fi 'ilm al-ilahiyyat wa-'l-tabi'iyyat (Eastern Studies in Metaphysics and Physics), Hyderabad: Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-Nizamiyyah, 1923-4, 2 vols; repr. Tehran, 1966. (One of al-Razi's most important philosophical texts.)

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1239) al-Tafsir al-kabir (The Great Commentary), Cairo: al-Matba'ah al Bahiyyah al-Misriyyah, 1938, 32 vols in 16; several reprints. (Al-Razi's commentary on the Qur'an, completed by his pupil al-Khuwayyi; useful in many places as in indication of his later philosophical positions.)

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1209) Muhassal afkar al-mutaqaddimin wa-'l-muta'akhkhirin min al-'ulama' wa-'l-hukama' wa-'l-mutakallimin (The Harvest of the Thought of the Ancients and Moderns), Cairo: al-Matba'ah al Bahiyyah al-Misriyyah, 1905. (Printed with al-Tusi's Talkhis al-Muhassal at the bottom of the page and al-Razi's al-Ma'alim fi usul al-din (The Waymarks and Principles of Religion) in the margin.)

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1209) Kitab al-nafs wa-'l-ruh wa sharh quwa-huma (Book on the Soul and the Spirit and their Faculties), ed. M.S.H. al-Ma'sumi, Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1968; trans. M.S.H. al-Ma'sumi, Imam Razi's 'Ilm al-akhlaq, Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1969. (Al-Razi's work on ethics.)

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1209) Sharh al-Isharat (Commentary on the Isharat). (No critical edition of al-Razi's commentary on Ibn Sina's Kitab al-isharat has appeared. Portions can be found in S. Dunya (ed.) al-Isharat wa-'l-tanbihat, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1957-60, 4 parts, 3 vols in 2; also in al-Isharat wa-'l-tanbihat, Tehran: Matba'at al-Haydari, 1957-9, 3 vols. Both these editions contain al-Tusi's commentary as well as parts of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's commentary, to which al-Tusi is responding. The Tehran edition also contains Qutb al-Din al-Razi's commentary, which set out to adjudicate between al-Tusi and al-Razi.)

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (before 1209) Lubab al-Isharat (The Pith of the Isharat), ed. M. Shihabi in al-Tanbihat wa-'l isharat, Tehran: Tehran University Press, 1960; ed. A. 'Atiyah, Cairo: Maktabat al-Kharji, 1936/7. (Al-Razi's epitome of Ibn Sina's work, written after he had completed his commentary.)

References and further reading
Abrahamov, B. (1992) 'Fakhr al-Din al-Razi on God's Knowledge of Particulars', Oriens 33: 133-55. (Discussion of a key point of difference between Islamic theologians and philosophers.)

Arnaldez, R. (1960) 'L'oeuvre de Fakhr al-Din al-Razi commentateur du Coran et philosophe' (The Works of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Qu'ranic Commentator and Philosopher), Cahiers du Civilization médiévale, Xe-XIIe siècles 3: 307-23. (In this article, Arnaldez has dug into al-Razi's enormous commentary on the Qur'an to come up with his mature philosophical ideas. Can be compared with McAuliffe (1990) and Mahdi's response to McAuliffe.)

Arnaldez, R. (1989) 'Trouvailles philosophiques dans le commentaire coranique de Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî ', Études Orientales 4: 17-26. (A follow-up to Arnaldez (1960).)

Ibn Sina (980-1037) Kitab al-Isharat wa-'l-tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions), trans. A.-M. Goichon, Livre des directives et remarques, Beirut and Paris, 1951. (Introduction and notes by the translator. Contained in the notes are a number of al-Razi's comments from his commentary on this work, as well as some of al-Tusi's criticisms of al-Razi.)

Kholeif, F. (1966) A Study on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and His Controversies in Transoxania, Pensée Arabe et Musulmane 31, Beirut: Dar al-Machreq Éditeurs. (Arabic text and English translation of al-Razi's text of sixteen questions (philosophical, logical, legal) broached with scholars in Transoxania; gives a good idea of al-Razi's style. Also contains a list of al-Razi's works.)

Kraus, P. (1936-7) 'Les "Controverses" de Fakhr al-Din Razi' (The 'Controversies' of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi), Bulletin de l'Institut d'Egypte 19: 187-214. (An important early study of the 'controversies' translated in Kholeif (1966). An English translation appears in 'The controversies of Fakhr al-Din Razi', Islamic Culture 12, 1938: 131-53.)

McAuliffe, J.D. (1990) 'Fakhr al-Din al-Razi on God as al-Khaliq', in D.B. Burrell and B. McGinn (eds) God and Creation: An Ecumenical Symposium, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 276-96. (An examination of al-Razi's late philosophical theology, with particular reference to the problem of creation; see also M. Mahdi's response in the same volume (297-303) on the general question of al-Razi as philosopher.)

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AL-FAKHR AL-RAZI by Dr.G.F. Haddad

2007-01-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

AL-FAKHR AL-RAZI
by Dr.G.F. Haddad

Muhammad ibn `Umar ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Husayn1 Abu `Abd Allah al-Qurashi, al-Bakri, al-Taymi, al-Tabaristani al-Shafi`i, known as Ibn al-Khatib and as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (543-606), Shaykh al-Islam, the imam of the learned scholars of kalam and the foundations of belief, a major jurist of the Shafi`i school, specialist of usul, Sufi, commentator of the Qur'an, philologist, genealogist, heresiographer, logician, and physician. "An ocean that contains more pearls than the ocean." The principal spokesman of Ahl al-Sunna in his time, he refuted all the sects with which he came into contact, particularly the multifarious groups of the Mu`tazila, Shi`a, and Hashwiyya as well as the Jews and Christians. A student of his father Khatib al-Rayy Diya' al-Din `Umar and Majd al-Din al-Jili al-Maraghi principally, then Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi and Kamal al-Din al-Simnani, he memorized early on Imam al-Haramayn's work in kalam entitled al-Shamil. He began his scholarly career in poverty and died at sixty-three at the height of fame and wealth, poisoned, it is said, by the Karramiyya2 of Herat who were envious of his great following among the princes of Khurasan.

A superb teacher, al-Razi could debate and preach in both Arabic and Persian, and he answered gracefully and at length the questions of the scholars of all four schools in Herat. He would often break into emotional states while preaching, moving to tears whoever listened to him. He was expelled from Khwarizm and Transoxiana by the Mu`tazila and returned to his native Rayy where he authored a series of works which achieved widespread fame in a short time. Among them:3

1. Al-Tafsir al-Kabir, also known as Mafatih al-Ghayb, among the greatest commentaries of Qur'an in Islam, in twelve to thirty volumes depending on the edition, he spent the last fifteen years of his life working on it and did not finish it. The commentator Abu Hayyan criticized its prolixity in acerbic terms.4
2. `Isma al-Anbiya'.
3. Bahr al-Ansab.
4. Kitab al-Mantiq al-Kabir.
5. Al-Mahsul wa al-Muntakhab, in which he amended Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Basri al-Mu`tazili al-Shafi`i's (d. 463) al-Mu`tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh.
6. Al-Arba`in.
7. Nihaya al-`Uqul
8. Al-Bayan wa al-Burhan fi al-Radd `ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Tughyan
9. Al-Mabahith al-`Imadiyya fi al-Matalib al-Ma`adiyya
10. Al-Mabahith al-Mashriqiyya.
11. Ta'sis al-Taqdis fi Ta'wil al-Sifat, a methodical refutation of the anthropomorphists. Ibn Taymiyya attacked it in a book entitled al-Asas Radd al-Ta'sis.
12. Irshad al-Nuzzar ila Lata'if al-Asrar.
13. Al-Zubda.
14. Al-Ma`alim fi Usul al-Din, a commentary on Abu al-Ma`ali al-Juwayni's Luma` al-Adilla.
15. Al-Ma`alim fi Usul al-Fiqh
16. Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna
17. Sharh Nisf al-Wajiz li al-Ghazzali
18. Sharh al-Isharat.
19. Al-Mulakhkhas fi al-Falsafa.
20. Al-Matalib al-`Aliyya.
21. Al-Milal wa al-Nihal.
22. Sharh Kulliyyat al-Qanun fi al-Tibb.
23. Manaqib al-Shafi`i.
24. Sharh Siqt al-Zand li Abi al-`Ala'.
25. Al-Tariqa al-Baha'iyya fi al-Khilaf. Siraj al-Din al-Ghaznawi translated it into Arabic from its original Persian.
26. Sharh Mufassal al-Zamakhshari.
27. `Uyun al-Hikma.
28. The spurious Asrar al-Nujum on magic and divination, falsely attributed to the Imam.5

Imam al-Razi said in his "Testament" (wasiyya):

I have explored the ways of kalam and the methods of philosophy, and I did not see in them a benefit that compares with the benefit I found in the Qur'an. For the latter hurries us to acknowledge that greatness and majesty belong only to Allah, precluding us from involvement into the explication of objections and contentions. This is for no other reason than because human minds find themselves deadened in those deep, vexing exercises and obscure ways [of kalam and philosophy].

Therefore, I say that everything that stands established by literal proofs concerning the necessity of Allah's existence, His oneness, His exemption from any and all partners, as well as His beginninglessness and pre-existence, His disposal of all things, His exclusive efficacy: that is what I also believe, and what I hope to meet Allah with.

As for what is ultimately subtle and unclear, as well as all that is mentioned in the Qur'an and the sound books of hadith that specifically bears one meaning: it is all exactly as the text says. Whatever is otherwise, I say: O God of the worlds, I see that all of creation concur that You are the most generous of all generous ones, and the most merciful of them; therefore, concerning anything I wrote or thought, I bear witness that if You saw that I tried to declare true something false, or declare false something true, then do with me as I deserve; but if you saw that I only tried to declare transcendent whatever I considered truly transcendent, and believed so truthfully, then let Your mercy be commensurate with my intention, not with my outcome....

As for the books which I authored and in which I listed and explicated countless questions, let whoever looks into them remember me kindly and pray for me out of compassion and benevolence, or else, strike out any wrong words. For I did not intend other than abundant investigation and the sharpening of thought, all the while relying upon Allah.6

Ibn al-Subki quotes the following lines of poetry from Imam al-Razi:

The daring of minds ends in shackles, Most of mankind's undertakings are folly. Our souls are indifferent to what our bodies do, And the sum of our lives is affliction and harm. We did not benefit from our lifelong search Except in collecting what these said, and those. Atop many a mountain men have triumphed And gone, while the mountains remained. How many men and states have we seen Goaded to disappear one and all.

Al-Razi is, with al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, among those to whom Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi frequently refers in his books.

Main sources: Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra 8:81-96 #1089; Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya 1:-396-398 #366.

NOTES

1In Ibn Qadi Shuhba: Ibn `Umar Ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan.

2 The Karramiyya are the followers of Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram al-Sijistani (d. 255) who used to say: "Allah is a body unlike bodies" and "Allah is firmly seated on the throne and He is in person (dhâtan) on the upper side of it." Al-Shahrastani, al-Milal wa al-Nihal (1:108) and al-Dhahabi, Siyar (10:10). Al-Baghdadi gave an exhaustive description of their doctrines in al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (1977 ed. p. 202-214).

3List taken from Ibn al-Subki's TSK, Ibn Qadi Shuhba, and Hajji Khalifa's Kasfh al-Zunun (1:224, 2:1198, 2:1527, 2:1561, 2:1864).

4To the point he said: "One of the scholars said that his Tafsir contains everything but Tafsir!" In Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun (1:431) and elsewhere.

5Al-Dhahabi included an entry on Imam al-Razi in his compendium of narrator-discreditation entitled Mizan al-I`tidal in which he says: "He [al-Razi] authored a book named Asrar al-Nujum which contains blatant sorcery." Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I`tidal. Ibn al-Subki in TSK (8:88) rejects this attribution as spurious and rightly attributes its mention to al-Dhahabi's anti-Ash`ari bias, noting that since al-Razi is not even known as a hadith narrator he did not belong in the Mizan in the first place - the latter being a compendium of narrators whose name was brought up in connection with narrator-discreditation. `Abd al-Karim ibn Khaldun al-Maghribi al-Maliki in the introduction to his Tarikh and Ibn Qadi Shuhba cite the book as al-Sirr al-Maktum fi Mukhataba al-Shams wa al-Nujum and similarly cast doubt on the authenticity of its attribution to al-Razi.

6In Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (8:91-92).

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