Tafsir al-Kabir (al-Razi)
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Tafsir al-Kabir ("The Large Commentary", also known as Mafatih al-Ghayb, "Keys to the Unknown") is a classical Islamic Tafsir book, written by the well-known Persian Islamic theologian and philosopher Muhammad ibn Umar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149-1209).[1] The book is an exegesis and commentary on the Qur'an, and is ten volumes in length. It is not unusual for contemporary works to use it as a reference.
Overview
In Islamic theology, Razi's major work was the Tafsir-e Kabir (The Great Commentary), his eight-volume Tafsir (exegesis) on the Qur'an, also named as Mafatih al-Ghayb (The Keys to the Unknown). This work contains much of philosophical interest.
One of [his] major concerns was the self-sufficiency of the intellect. [...] [He] believed [that] proofs based on tradition (hadith) could never lead to certainty (yaqin) but only to presumption (zann), a key distinction in Islamic thought. [...] [However] his acknowledgement of the primacy of the Qur'an grew with his years. [...] [Al-Razi's rationalism] undoubtedly holds an important place in the debate in the Islamic tradition on the harmonization of reason and revelation. In his later years, he also showed interest in mysticism, although this never formed a significant part of his thought.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Qur'anic Studies - An Introduction to the Science of Tafsir
- ↑ John Cooper (1998), "al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din (1149-1209)", Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Routledge), retrieved 2010-03-07