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Fakhr al-Din al-Razi

 

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Fakhr al-Din al-Razi



 
 
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn al-Husayn al-Taymi al-Bakri al-Tabaristani Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (Arabic/Persian
Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
: ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????) or Fakhruddin Razi was a well-known Persian
Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
  Sunni Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 theologian
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 and philosopher. He was born in 1149 (543 AH) in Ray
Ray, Iran

Ray, also spelled Rey, Rayy, Rhages or Rages is the oldest existing city in the Tehran province, Iran....
 of Persia (today located in Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
) and died in 1209 (606AH) in Herat
Herat

Herat , classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herat province. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, Afghanistan, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan....
 (today located in Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
). He also wrote on medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, astrology
Astrology

Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of astronomical object and related details can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters....
, literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
, history
HIStory

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is a double album by Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995, and is Jackson's ninth. The first disc, named "HIStory Begins" consists of a selection of Jackson's greatest hits from the singer's past fifteen years, while the second, named "HIStory Continues" features new songs, with the...
 and law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
.

He should not to be confused with Rhazes, also known as al-Razi.

as born in Ray
Ray, Iran

Ray, also spelled Rey, Rayy, Rhages or Rages is the oldest existing city in the Tehran province, Iran....
 now a district of modern Tehran
Tehran

Tehran is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in Western Asia....
.






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Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn al-Husayn al-Taymi al-Bakri al-Tabaristani Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (Arabic/Persian
Persian language

name=Persian|nativename=|pronunciation=[f??r'si]|image=|caption=Farsi in Perso-Arabic script |states= Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain....
: ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????) or Fakhruddin Razi was a well-known Persian
Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
  Sunni Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 theologian
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 and philosopher. He was born in 1149 (543 AH) in Ray
Ray, Iran

Ray, also spelled Rey, Rayy, Rhages or Rages is the oldest existing city in the Tehran province, Iran....
 of Persia (today located in Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
) and died in 1209 (606AH) in Herat
Herat

Herat , classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herat province. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, Afghanistan, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan....
 (today located in Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
). He also wrote on medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, astrology
Astrology

Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of astronomical object and related details can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters....
, literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
, history
HIStory

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is a double album by Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995, and is Jackson's ninth. The first disc, named "HIStory Begins" consists of a selection of Jackson's greatest hits from the singer's past fifteen years, while the second, named "HIStory Continues" features new songs, with the...
 and law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
.

He should not to be confused with Rhazes, also known as al-Razi.

Biography

He was born in Ray
Ray, Iran

Ray, also spelled Rey, Rayy, Rhages or Rages is the oldest existing city in the Tehran province, Iran....
 now a district of modern Tehran
Tehran

Tehran is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in Western Asia....
. He studied Kalam
Kalam

Kalam is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theology principles through dialectic. In Arabic language the word literally means "speech"....
, Fiqh
Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law?based directly on the Quran and Sunnah?that complements Shariah with evolving Fatwa/interpretations of Ulema....
 and other Islamic sciences from his father, Diya'uddin known as Khatib al-Rayy. He then studied from Majduddin al-Jili and Kamal Samnani. He was from the Shafi`i
Shafi`i

The Shafi?i madhab is one of the four schools of fiqh, or religious law, within Sunni Islam. The Shafi?i school of fiqh is named after its founder, Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i....
 school of Islamic law and Asharite
Ash'ari

The Ash?ari theology is a school of early Kalam founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari . The disciples of the school are known as Ash'arites, and the school is also referred to as Ash'arite school....
 school of theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
. He was also known as Ibn al-Khatib and Khatib al-Rayy. According to some sources his family traced its lineage to the first Muslim Caliph
Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah....
, Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Abi Quhafa As-Siddiq was an early convert to Islam and a senior companion of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad. Throughout his life, Abu Bakr remained a friend and confidante of Muhammad....
. He is mostly called as Imam Razi in Iran and Afghanistan.

According to William M. Slane, "the relative adjectives al-Taymi al-Bakri indicate here that Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was a descendent of the Khalif abu Bakr, one of whose ancestors was Taym the son of murrah the son of Ka'b..."

Razi traveled to Khwarazm, Khorasan
Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan is a modern term for a geographic region spanning north-eastern Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and north-western Afghanistan....
 and Transoxiana
Transoxiana

Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and southwest Kazakhstan....
. He attracted a large number of students in each city that he went. He recorded the account of the places he visited, the scholars he met, and summaries of their discussions in his book Munazarat Fakhr al-Din al Razi fi Bilad Ma Wara' al-Nahr. As a result of his discussions in various cities, he found many opponents such as the Mutazilites, Hanbalites (who opposed philosophy and Kalam
Kalam

Kalam is the Islamic philosophy of seeking Islamic theology principles through dialectic. In Arabic language the word literally means "speech"....
), Batinites and Qarmatians
Qarmatians

The Qarmatians were a millenarian Ismaili group centered in Al-Hasa, where they established a Utopia#Religious utopia republic in 899 CE. They are most famed for their revolt against the Abbasid and particularly with their seizure of the Black Stone from Mecca and desecration of the Zamzam Well with Muslim corpses during the Hajj season of 9...
 of whose al-Razi criticized the teachings. Regarding his command on philosophy there is a famous incident, when he was training his students sitting in front of a pond. The pond was filled with water and Al-Razi through the means of arguments and phylosophical reasoning proved his students that the pond was empty. His students then threw him in the same pond when he started to drown and this time the students told him that the pond was empty and how come he is drowning in an empty pond? He settled in his late years of life in Herat
Herat

Herat , classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herat province. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, Afghanistan, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan....
 where a mosque was built for him and died in 1209.

Razi's most major works is Tafsir-e Kabir (The Great Commentary) (his Exegesis
Exegesis

Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text.Biblical exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of the Bible....
 (Tafsir
Tafsir

Tafsir is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. It does not include esoteric or mystical interpretations, which are covered by the related word Ta'wil....
) on the Quran), also named as Mafatih al-ghayb (The Keys to the Unknown). However, his most important philosophical works are Sharh al-Isharat (a commentary on Ibn Sina
Avicenna

, known as Abu Ali Sina Balkhi or Ibn Sina and commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna , was a Persian people polymath and the foremost Islamic medicine and Early Islamic philosophy of his time....
's Kitab al-isharat wa-'l-tanbihat), "al-Mahsul" in usul-al-fiqh and Mabahith al-mashriqya (Eastern Discussions).

The person who did the most to defend Ibn Sina's philosophy against the criticisms of al-Razi was Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, whose commentary on the Kitab al-isharat was in large measure a refutation of al-Razi's opinions.

In his "Wasaya" (Testament), which he wrote before his death, he writes:

Quotes


The world is a garden, whose gardener is the state;
The state is the sultan whose guardian is the Law;
The Law is a policy, which is protected by the kingdom;
The kingdom is a city, brought into being by the army;
The army is made secure by wealth;
Wealth is gathered from the subjects;
The subjects are made servants by justice;
Justice is the axis of the prosperity of the world.
Jami' al-'ulum

Ibn al-Subki quotes the following lines :

The daring of minds ends in shackles,
Most of mankind's undertakings are folly.
Our souls are indifferent to what our bodies do,
And the sum of our lives is affliction and harm.
We did not benefit from our lifelong search
Except in collecting what these said, and those.
Atop many a mountain men have triumphed
And gone, while the mountains remained.
How many men and states have we seen
Goaded to disappear one and all.


Works

His major works are:
  • Tafsir al-Kabir (al-Razi)
  • Mabahith al-mashriqiyya fi 'ilm al-ilahiyyat wa-'l-tabi'iyyat (Eastern Studies in Metaphysics and Physics)
  • Muhassal afkar al-mutaqaddimin wa-'l-muta'akhkhirin (The Harvest of the Thought of the Ancients and Moderns)
  • Kitab al-nafs wa l-ruh wa sharh quwa-huma (Book on the Soul and the Spirit and their Faculties)


  • al-Mahsul fi 'Ilm al-Usul
  • Sharh al-Isharat (Commentary on the Isharat of Ibn Sina)
  • al-Mutakallimin fi 'Ilm al-Kalam
  • Nihayat al 'Uqul fi Dirayat al-Usul
  • Risala al-Huduth
  • Kitab al-Mantiq al-Kabir (The Major Book on Logic)
  • Al-Bayan wa al-Burhan fi al-Radd `ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Tughyan
  • Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna
  • Sharh Nisf al-Wajiz li l-Ghazzali
  • Sharh Kulliyyat al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (A Commentary on major Rules in Medicines of Ibn Sina)


See also

  • List of Arab scientists
  • List of Iranian scientists

External links