Great Exegesis

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Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s commentary on the Qur’an, known as The Great Exegesis or Keys to the Unseen, is one of the great classics of Arabic and Islamic scholarship and 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 focuses on two Chapters from the Qur’an: Surat al-An‘am and Surat Ya-Sin. Razi’s commentary on Surat al-An‘am covers much ground, but the main themes are two areas of theological and philosophical argument: arguments against polytheism and for monotheism; and arguments against the Mu‘tazili view of divine and human will. In his commentary on Surat Ya-Sin, Razi presents this Chapter as an extended meditation on the principles of prophethood, monotheism and the Resurrection, all of which pertain to the action of the heart. Surat Ya-Sin is traditionally known as ‘the heart of the Qur’an’. This scholarly yet accessible translation gives readers a thorough understanding of two much-recited Chapters of the Qur’an; it also opens up for readers a window into the thought and practice of one of Islam''s greatest theologians.
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