Fakhr al-Din al-Razi

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was a Persian-born Ash'ari theologian, Qur'an commentator and philosopher who taught across Khwarazm and Transoxiana and died in Herat. He engaged Ibn Sina's philosophy in close critical detail, testing its arguments, including the proofs for God, against theological and logical objections. His work shows kalam absorbing the technical apparatus of falsafa rather than simply rejecting it, and his critical commentaries shaped how Ibn Sina was read for centuries.

Key ideas

• Ibn Sina's philosophical arguments should be examined premise by premise, and many of them, including parts of his proofs, are open to serious objection.
• Theology can adopt the conceptual tools of philosophy while contesting its conclusions.
• He wrote a vast commentary on the Qur'an that brings philosophical and theological debate into scriptural interpretation.
• In ethics and theology he frequently weighs rival positions at length, sometimes leaving the question open.

Major works

• al-Mabahith al-mashriqiyya (Eastern Investigations)
• Sharh al-Isharat (commentary on Ibn Sina's Pointers and Reminders)
• Mafatih al-ghayb (The Keys to the Unseen, also called al-Tafsir al-kabir)
• al-Matalib al-'aliya (The Sublime Goals)

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