Journal Of Islamic Denominations

Journal Of Islamic Denominations

A Semantic and Ontological Critique of Fakhr al-Rāzī’s View of God’s Essential Attributes

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Reza Nosrati Moomivandi 1
Mohammad (Jalal Al-Din) Maleki 2
hassan ramazani 3
1 PhD student of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
2 Assistant professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
3 Assistant professor, Seminary of Qom and Vesf Cultural Institute, Qom, Iran
10.22034/jid.2023.236650.2046
Abstract
The problem of divine essence and attributes is widely recognized as one of the most significant issues in theoretical and transmitted disciplines. Understanding the nature of God provides motivation for a deep connection with the absolute perfection, whereas worship based on ignorance is less effective in this regard. Consequently, the discussion surrounding God's essence and the characterization of its attributes holds great significance. In fact, the problem of divine essence and attributes can be categorized into three distinct areas: semantics, ontology, and epistemology. Regarding semantics, there exist multiple accounts. The attributes commonly referred to as the "seven attributes"—knowledge, power, hearing, seeing, will, life, and word—can be understood through mystical, philosophical, theological, and sharia perspectives. Furthermore, the ontology of attributes and their connection to the divine essence encompass various dimensions. One aspect involves the identification of the essence and attributes, which entails the rejection of the independent existence of the attributes. This viewpoint is shared among adherents of sharia, philosophers, and mystics. According to Ashʿarite theologians, including Fakhr al-Rāzī, the divine attributes are dependent on the divine essence, resulting in their distinction. On the other hand, Miʿtazilites purportedly assert that the essence serves as a representation of the attributes. Fakhr al-Rāzī himself holds distinctive perspectives, such as emphasizing the relational nature of knowledge and the intrinsic nature of the divine word. Additionally, in his definition of power, he includes the permissibility of both action and omission within the actions of a free agent. This article explores Fakhr al-Rāzī's viewpoints regarding the semantics and ontology of the essence and attributes.
Keywords
Divine essence
the seven attributes
semantics
ontology
Fakhr al-Rāzī
Subjects
Ahmadvand, Marouf Ali. 1389 Sh. Rābiṭi-yi dhāt wa ṣifāt ilāhī. Qom: Boostan-e Ketab.
Allahbedashti, Ali. 1399 Sh. Mabānī-yi falsafī-yi ʿilm kalām Islāmī. Qom: Kalam Muʿasir Publications.
Ashʿarī, Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī, al-. 1975. Al-Ibāna ʿuṣūl al-diyāna. Medina: al-Jamiʿa al-Islamiyya.
Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, al-. 1396 AH. Sharḥ asmāʾ Allāh al-ḥusnā. Cairo: Maktab al-Kulliyyat al-Azhariyya.
Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, al-. 1407 AH. Al-Maṭālib al-ʿāliya min al-ʿilm al-ilāhī. Edited by Muhammad Abd al-Salam Shahin. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-ʿArabi.
Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, al-. 1410 AH. Al-Mabāḥith al-mashriqiyya. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-ʿArabi.
Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, al-. 1428 AH. Al-Ishāra fī ʿilm al-kalām. Edited by Muhammad Hamid. Cairo: Maktabat al-Azhariyya li-l-Turath.
Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, al-. 1989. Al-Masāʾil al-khamsūn fī uṣūl al-dīn. Cairo: al-Maktab al-Thiqafi.
Ibn al-ʿArabī, Muḥyī l-Dīn. 1392 AH. Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya. Edited by ʿUthman Yahya. Egypt: n.p.
Ikhwān al-Ṣafā. 1405 AH. Rasāʾil ikhwān al-ṣafāʾ wa-khillān al-wafāʾ. Qom: Islamic Propagation Office.
Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, al-. 1403 AH. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dar Ihyaʾ al-Turath al-ʿArabi.
Narāqī, Muḥammad Mahdī, al-. 1357 Sh. Al-Lumʿat al-ilāhiyya wa-l-kalimāt al-wajīza. Edited by Jalaloddin Ashtiani. Tehran: Iranian Association of Philosophy.
Sabzawārī, Mullā Hādī, al-. 1428 AH. Sharḥ al-manẓūma. Edited by Mohsen Bidarfar. Qom: Bidar Publications.
Sajjadi, Seyyed Jafar. 1375 Sh. Iṣṭilāḥāt farhang ʿulūm falsafī wa kalāmī. Tehran: Amir Kabir.
Shahristānī, Abū l-Fatḥ, al-. n.d. Al-Milal wa-l-niḥal. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
Shīrāzī, Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad, al-. 1383 AH. Al-Asfār al-arbaʿa. Beirut: Dar Ihyaʾ al-Turath al-ʿArabi.
Shīrāzī, Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad, al-. 1386 Sh. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb. Tehran: Sadra Islamic Philosophy Foundation.
Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. 1416 AH. Nihāyat al-ḥikma. Qom: Islamic Publishing Institute.
Tahānuwī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, al-. 1996. Mawsūʿa kashshāf iṣṭilāḥāt al-funūn. Beirut: Maktaba Nashirun.
Tilimsānī, Sharīf al-Dīn Muḥammad, al-. 1431 AH. Sharḥ maʿālim uṣūl al-dīn Fakhr al-Rāzī. Oman: Dar al-Fath.
Ṭūsī, Khwāja Naṣīr al-Dīn, al-. 1416 AH. Qawāʿid al-ʿaqāʾid. Qom: Management Center of the Seminary.
Zunnūzī, Mullā ʿAbd Allāh, al-. 1361 Sh. Al-Lumuʿāt al-ilāhiyya. Edited by Jalaloddin Ashtiani. Tehran: Institute for Cultural Studies and Research, University of Tehran.