Files
Abstract
In examining Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s (d. 606/1210) approach to the surah structure as a form of argumentation, the present dissertation seeks to refine our understanding of the medieval contribution to the literary study of the surah. Known as the Sultan of rational theologians (sulṭān al-mutakallimīn), al-Rāzī focuses on how ideas, in the Qurʾanic text, are discussed or debated with the aim of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. Depending primarily on al-Rāzī’s encyclopedic exegetical commentary Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb (The Keys to the Unseen), the present study explores al-Rāzī’s utilization of his dialectical, logical, theological and rhetorical training to examine the literary architecture of the Qurʾanic text. His structural analysis of the flow of the surah material reveals that he is fully au fait with the challenges and consequences of this unconventional approach. For instance, he establishes the case that the Qurʾān is essentially dialectical in nature. In this regard, he surveys the content of the Qurʾān to affirm that the Qurʾān is replete with “disputations,” and that the art of disputation is the profession of the prophets (ḥirfat al-anbiyāʾ). He goes further to propose that the interpretation of the Qurʾān requires a theologian-exegete who can identify the theological objectives and persuasive techniques that, in his view, explain the logical flow of the Qurʾanic text. Practically speaking, he identifies some iterative thematic pairs and structuring patterns (ʿādāt al-Qurʾān) that he considers to be inextricably connected with Qurʾanic argumentation and persuasion. In his view, understanding how the Qurʾān argues is an essential guide for explicating the juxtaposition of the discourse units within the surah as well as the literary architecture of many surahs. Furthermore, the study highlights al-Rāzī’s engagement with the philosophical and Muʿtazilite tradition, which is sometimes normalized and adopted in his approach to the arrangement of the Qurʾanic text.
Hermeneutically, al-Rāzī’s deliberate consideration of the surah as a unified composition prompts him to counter exegetical taqlīd. This is evidenced in his critique of many cases of abrogation (naskh) and causes of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl) that he considers to be breaking the flow of the surah text. Moreover, he utilizes the notion of Qurʾanic unified composition to endorse some original interpretations that are not supported by the transmitted reports (āthār). Furthermore, al-Rāzī’s exegetical approach does not remain a solitary voice. Instead, his approach to the surah structure marks a turning point in medieval exegetical practice. This profound impact is evidenced in the integration of his remarks on the structural and dialectical dimensions of the surah in later genres of Sciences of the Qurʾān (ʿūlūm al-Qurʾān) and Qurʾanic commentaries. For instance, both Badr al-Dīn al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1392) and Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) include the examination of the thematic connectedness of the surah (munāsabāt) and the dialectal reasoning in the surah (jadal) as parts of ʿulūm al-Qurʾān. Additionally, al-Rāzī’s method in approaching the surah structure is followed closely by many later exegetes, such as Burhān al-Dīn al-Nasafī (d. 687/1288), Niẓām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī (d. 728/1328), Shams al-Dīn al-Iṣfahānī (d. 749/1348), and the Ḥanbalite exegete Ibn ʿĀdil (d. ca.808/1405).