Fawaid min Tafsir al-Razi ma al-taliq ala baadhiha - ضمن "Athar al-Mualimi
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dar Alam al-Fawa'id lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Fawa'id min Tafsir al-Razi ma'a al-Ta'liq 'ala Ba'diha (Selected Benefits from the Exegesis of al-Razi with Commentary on Some of Them) is a collection of scholarly notes and textual annotations compiled by the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani (1313–1386 AH / 1896–1966 CE) on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's monumental Quranic exegesis, Mafatih al-Ghayb .
Origin and Manuscript Context
The work was not composed by al-Muallimi as an independent treatise . Rather, it consists of marginalia and excerpts preserved across three pages (pp. 38–40) within a collective manuscript notebook (notebook no. 4645) housed at the Library of the Holy Mosque in Mecca (Maktabat al-Haram al-Makki al-Sharif) . In the collected works of the author (Athar al-Mu'allimi), the editors published these notes as the seventeenth treatise in the seventh volume, appending them directly to al-Muallimi's extended study on the authentic scope and continuation of al-Razi's exegesis (Hawla Tafsir al-Fakhr al-Razi wa-Takmilatih) .
Content and Method
The text brings together critical observations, theological critiques, and linguistic evaluations derived from al-Muallimi's reading of various surahs in al-Razi's exegesis:
- The Wisdom of the Recording Angels: Commenting on Surat al-Infitar ( وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ [al-Infitar: 10–11]), al-Muallimi observed that al-Razi fell short in addressing doubts regarding the purpose of assigning angels to record human deeds . Al-Muallimi systematically outlined several aspects of divine wisdom behind this, including deterring the accountable person from sinning under the mistaken assumption of concealment, reminding the heedless of God's omnipresent oversight, and engaging the angels in acts of worship through prescribed duties—analogous to the bearers of the Throne carrying it by divine power rather than out of intrinsic necessity .
- Theological and Exegetical Critiques: Al-Muallimi commented on al-Razi's discussion of Surat al-Naba' regarding God's knowledge of particulars, and examined al-Razi's assertion in Surat al-Muddaththir regarding the temporal precedence of the Creator over the created universe in light of his comments on Surat al-Hadid . On Surat al-Muddaththir ( وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا [al-Muddaththir: 31]), he proposed an alternative exegetical perspective applying the verse broadly to all people prior to their embracing faith .
- Linguistic and Conceptual Points: Al-Muallimi recorded notes on al-Razi's treatment of the soul in Surat al-Fajr, the nature of bodies in Surat al-Jinn, and the faith of incoming groups in Surat al-Nasr . On Surat Nuh ( مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا [Nuh: 13]), he reviewed al-Razi's rejection of interpreting raja' (hope) as fear (khawf), suggesting instead that waqar denotes tawqir (veneration), rendering the meaning: "Why do you not hope for the reward of venerating God?"
Answer updated