Description :

 

 

Imam Fakhr al-Din Razi’s Tafsir, The Great Exegesis, also known as Mafatih al-Ghayb, is one of the great classics of Arabic and Islamic scholarship. Written in the twelfth century, this commentary on the Qur’an has remained until today an indispensable reference work. The Great Exegesis is a compendium not only of Qur’anic sciences and meanings, but also Arabic linguistics, comparative jurisprudence, Aristotelian and Islamic philosophy, dialectic theology and the spirituality of Sufism.

 

The present volume is the first ever translation into English from 'The Great Exegesis' and focuses on the first chapter of the Qur’an, the Fatiha. This scholarly yet accessible translation gives readers a thorough understanding of the most commonly recited chapter of the Qur’an; it also opens up for readers a window into the thought and practice of one of Islam’s greatest theologians.

 

 

 

 

Reviews :

 

‘Dr. Sohaib Saeed offers us a meticulous and readable translation of a masterpiece of Qur’anic exegesis by the great Muslim intellectual Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, whose goal was to illuminate every possible shade of meaning of the Muslim Revelation, from moral-ethical and legal, to rational and allegorical-mystical, not to mention linguistic, grammatical and historical. A must-read for every serious student and connoisseur of the Qur’an.’---_{Alexander Knysh, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA}.

 

 

 

 

About the Author  :

He is 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 (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 memorised 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.


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.

 

Table of Contents :

 

---Acknowledgements,

---Foreword,
---Translator’s Introduction.
 

The Great Exegesis : Volume 1 : The Fatiha,

Book [I] : Sciences Derived from the Isti??dha,
 

Part One : Literary Aspects of the Isti??dha,

---Chapter Two: Sounds, Letters and their Rulings,
---Chapter Three: Nouns, Verbs and Particles,
---Chapter Four: Various Categorisations of the Noun,

---Chapter Five: Rulings Concerning Genus Nouns and Derived Nouns,

---Chapter Six: Inflected and Uninflected Nouns,

---Chapter Seven: Inflection of Verbs.

Part Two : Narrated and Rational Exegesis of the Isti??dha,
---Chapter Eight: Juristic Issues Connected to the Isti??dha,

---Chapter Nine: Rational Enquiries Concerning the Isti??dha,
---Chapter Ten: Spiritual Allusions of the Isti??dha,
---Chapter Eleven: Further Enquiries Associated with the Isti??dha.

Book [II] : The Basmala,

---Chapter One: Introductory Enquiries
---Chapter Two: Concerning the Recitation and Writing of the Basmala,
---Chapter Three: Concerning the Name (Ism),
---Chapter Four: Names Denoting Actual Attributes,

---Chapter Five: Names Denoting Relative Attributes,

---Chapter Six: Names Denoting Eliminative Attributes,
---Chapter Seven: Names Denoting Combinations of Actual & Relative Attributes.

---Chapter Eight: Remaining Issues Pertaining to Divine Names,

---Chapter Nine: The Name Allah,

---Chapter Ten: The Names al-Rahman  and al-Rahim,

---Chapter Eleven: Spiritual Allusions of the Basmala.

Book [III] : The Fatiha,

---Chapter One: Names of this Sura,
---Chapter Two: Virtues of this Sura,
---Chapter Three: Rational Wisdoms Derived from this Sura,
---Chapter Four: Juristic Issues Connected to this Sura,

---Chapter Five: Exegesis of Surat al-Fatiha [Verse by Verse]
-------All praise is for God...
-------Lord of the worlds  (Q.i.2),
-------The Compassionate, the Merciful  (Q.i.3),
-------Master of the Day of Judgment  (Q.i.4),
-------You we worship...
-------And from You we seek help  (Q.i.5),
-------Guide us upon the straight path  (Q.i.6),
-------The path of those on whom You have bestowed favour...
-------Not of those who incur wrath, nor of those who are astray (Q.i.7)
Chapter Six: Exegesis of Surat al-Fatiha as a Whole,
-------Rational Subtleties Derived from this Sura,
-------The Approaches of Satan,
-------How the Fatiha Contains All the Requisite Knowledge of the Beginning, the Middle and the End,
-------God’s Division of the Prayer into Two Halves,
-------The Prayer is the Ascension of the Gnostics,
-------On Divine Superiority and Greatness,
-------Subtleties Concerning All praise is for God & the Five Divine Names in this Sura,
-------The Reason for the Basmala Containing the Three Names,
-------The Reason for the Fatiha Containing the Five Names,
-------Concluding Observation.

 

 

---Appendix: Persons Cited in the Text,
---Bibliography,
---Index.     

 

 

 

 

 

Also see Qur'anic Sciences,
Also see Tafsir and Tafsir Studies.

Also see Islamic Theology | Kalam.

 

 

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*Dimensions : 23.4 x 15.6cm.