New study analyses Razi's intellectual aims

Source: OUP.

Razi: Master of Quranic Interpretation and Theological Reasoning by Tariq Jaffer repositions the central aims of Razi's intellectual programme with original research on the methods of Razi's Quranic interpretation and theological reasoning.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1148 to 1210) was a leading representative of Sunni orthodoxy in medieval Islam. He was the first intellectual to exploit the rich heritage of ancient and Islamic philosophy to interpret the Quran, writing on the disciplines of theology, Quranic exegesis, and philosophy, jurisprudence, medicine, physiognomy, astronomy, and astrology. After his death in 1210 his works became standard textbooks in Islamic institutions of higher learning. 

Razi investigates his contributions to the Islamic intellectual tradition, connecting his thought to the history of philosophical and scientific ideas in Islamic civilisation. Jaffer uncovers the development of Razi's appropriation of methods and ideas from ancient and Islamic philosophy into a unified Quranic commentary—and consequently into the Sunni worldview. 

The author shows that the genre of Quranic commentary in the post-classical period contains a wealth of philosophical material that is of major interest for the history of philosophical ideas in Islam and for the interaction of the aqli (عقلي) or 'rational' and naqli (نقلي), 'traditional', sciences in Islamic civilisation. Jaffer also demonstrates how Razi reconciled the opposing intellectual trends of his milieu on major methodological conflicts.

The book was published by OUP USA in January 2015. The 256-page hardback (ISBN 978-0-19-994799-7) is also available as an e-book.