A Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Fakhr al-Razi and Allamah Tabataba'i's Exegetical Approaches on the Interpretation of Verse 59 of Surah Al-An'am

Document Type : Academicm and Research

Authors

1 PhD student at Tarbiat Modares University

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University

10.22091/ptt.2026.14323.2536

Abstract

Verse 59 of Sūrat al-Anʿām, which discusses the comprehensiveness of God’s knowledge, represents a major point of disagreement in Islamic theology and Qurʾānic interpretation. This study offers a comparative analysis of how Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s theological–rational method and ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s ontological–contextual framework shape their readings of the verse. Based on library and documentary research, the study draws on authoritative tafsīr sources and modern scholarship. The results show that the divergence between the two exegetes arises from differences in analytical outlook and methodological foundation. Fakhr al-Rāzī, employing rational argumentation, presents the verse as a purely rational statement affirming the absolute fixity of divine decree in the Ashʿarite deterministic framework. He interprets the verse through the rhetorical device of listing particular cases to indicate the totality of divine knowledge. In contrast, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, guided by the principle of interpreting the Qurʾān through the Qurʾān, situates the verse within a hierarchical ontological system that maintains internal coherence while allowing for badāʾ and the effectiveness of human will. Ultimately, their disagreement expresses a deeper confrontation between two intellectual systems: one emphasizing determinism and passivity, the other dynamism and human agency.

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Comparative Interpretation Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 May 2026

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