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Fakhr od-Din Razi, the famous Iranian Sunni Muslim theologian, exegete and polymath
Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 25th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan in 544 AH, the famous Iranian Sunni Muslim theologian, exegete and polymath Mohammad ibn Omar ibn Husayn al-Taymi al-Tabaristani, popularly known as Fakhr od-Din Razi, was born in the city of Rayy, which is now a southern suburb of modern Tehran. He first studied with his father, and later under Majd al-Jili, who was a student of Ghazali. His commentary on the holy Qur'an titled “Tafsir al-Kabir” is the most varied and many-sided of all extant works of the kind.
He has analyzed and admitted the merits of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and has explicitly said on the basis of reliable narrations concerning ayah 33 of Surah Ahzaab that the Verse of Purity relates to Hazrat Fatema Zahra, Imam Ali and their sons Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), and does not include the wives of the Prophet as some allege. He taught at Rayy, journeyed all over the eastern Islamic world, as far as Khwarezm and the court of Sultan Shams od-Din Aibak of Delhi in the east. He settled in Herat where he became head of an academy, and passed away in this same city. In his later years, he also showed interest in mysticism, though this never formed a significant part of his thought. He also wrote on medicines, physics, astrology, literature, history and law. Among his several compilations, mention can be made of the encyclopedic work "Jame' al-Oloum".
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