Tafsir al-Razi (book)
 | |
| Book Information | |
|---|---|
| Author | Muhammad b. 'Umar al-Razi |
| Religion | Sunni |
| Language | Arabic |
| Subject | Quranic exegesis |
| Number of Volumes | thirty-two |
| Publication Information | |
| Publisher | Maktab Tahqiq Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi |
| Place of Publication | Lebanon |
| Publication Year | 1420 AH |
| Format | Ruq'i |
Tafsīr al-Fakhr al-Rāzī, also known as al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr and Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb, is the most important and comprehensive work of Fakhr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Rāzī, a theologian of the Ashʿarī school (a school of Sunni Islamic theology) and a Qur'anic commentator of the sixth and seventh centuries AH (twelfth and thirteenth centuries CE). Written in Arabic, it is one of the major Sunni works of tafsīr (Qur'anic exegesis). Its considerable length earned it the name al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr (“The Great Commentary”).
Author
Fakhr al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥasan al-Taymī al-Bakrī al-Ṭabaristānī al-Rāzī, commonly known as Fakhr al-Rāzī, was a distinguished Iranian scholar. He was born in Rayy in 544 AH (1149 CE) and passed away in Herat in 606 AH (1210 CE). He was also known by the titles Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Imām al-Rāzī, Imām Fakhr al-Rāzī, and Imām al-Mushakkikīn. His father, Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ʿUmar ibn Ḥusayn al-Ṭabaristānī, was himself a distinguished scholar and mystic who had moved from Amol to Rayy
Content of the Book
Tafsīr al-Fakhr al-Rāzī comprises thirty-two volumes, is organized into chapters, and includes an extensive introduction. Its treatment of each surah (a chapter of the Qur'an) begins with information about its name, place of revelation, and number of verses. Al-Rāzī then quotes the verses, explains their relationship to the preceding verses, and presents and examines reports concerning the Companions (those who met the Prophet Muhammad as believers) and the Successors (the generation of Muslims who learned from the Companions). He also addresses abrogation (the superseding of an earlier religious ruling by a later revelation) and the terminology of hadith (reports transmitting the words, actions, or approvals of the Prophet Muhammad or an Imam).
He then breaks down the verse or verses into smaller units of meaning and examines them through a series of questions, considering linguistic, literary, theological, legal, and philosophical perspectives before presenting his own view. Alongside theological and philosophical questions—including the vision of God, divine justice, and determinism and free will—the commentary also addresses the Shi'a belief in the Imamate (the divinely appointed leadership of the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad) of an infallible Imam.
Quoting the Verse of Tabligh for Ghadir[1]
The Verse of Tablīgh (the verse commanding the Prophet to convey God’s message) reads:
«یا أَیُّها الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ ما أُنزِلَ إِلَیْکَ مِن رَبِّکَ وَ إِن لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَما بَلَّغْتَ رِسالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ یَعْصِمُکَ مِنَ النّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا یَهْدِی الْقَوْمَ الْکافِرینَ»
“O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not, you will not have conveyed His message. God will protect you from the people. Indeed, God does not guide the disbelieving people.” (Qur'an, Sūrat al-Māʾida, verse 67)
It is one of the well-known verses associated with the event of Ghadir Khumm. According to numerous reports, it was revealed concerning Ali (peace be upon him), his wilāya (divinely ordained authority and spiritual guardianship), and his succession to the Prophet.
This view is unanimously held by Shi'a scholars, and many Sunni Qur'anic commentators and hadith scholars also believe that the verse was revealed in connection with this event. Despite this widely recognized association, some Sunni scholars have sought to redirect its occasion of revelation to other matters, such as plots by Jews or the invitation of Jews to Islam, by offering alternative interpretations.
Nevertheless, numerous reports in authoritative Sunni sources affirm that the verse was revealed at Ghadir Khumm in connection with the designation of Ali (peace be upon him) as the walī (the holder of authority and guardianship) and successor of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
Among the prominent Sunni scholars is Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī,[2]who, despite his particular theological commitments, mentions in his commentary that the Verse of Tablīgh was revealed in honor of Ali (peace be upon him). This acknowledgment indicates the strength and reliability of the reports concerning the verse’s revelation at Ghadir Khumm.
Footnotes
Sources
- Ghadir dar Ayineh-ye Ketab, Muhammad Ansari.