The Sciences of the Qur`an (Ulum al-Qur`an) in Fakht al-Din al-Razi's book titled Mefatih al-Ghayb

ABSTRACT THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN (ULUM AL-QUR'AN) IN FAKHR AL-DIN AL-RAZI'S BOOK TITLED MAFATIH AL-GHAYB. The aim of this study is to examine the views of a famous exegete of the Qur'an, Muhammad b. 'Umar, known as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (543-606/1149-1210), concerning the so-called 'the sciences of the Qur'an {ulum al-Qur'any in his book titled Mafatih al-Ghayb. The thesis comprises of the two introductory chapters followed by the main part. In the first chapter, the biography of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi is presented, together with an account of his works, as well as an overview of the Mafatih al-Ghayb, the main source of this dissertation. In the second introductory chapter, an attempt is made to account for the genesis of the concept of lulum al-Qur'arC. I have also tried, in this chapter, to investigate the historical development of the discipline of 'the sciences of the Qur'an' and the possible topics that have been regarded as falling in the realm of this science, in order to limit the scope of my investigation in the following chapter. The main part of the study is also divided into two sub-chapters. First, I have sought to analyze certain concepts which have been considered by the modern scholarship as related to the history of the Qur'an, such as the meaning of the word 'Qur'an', the concept and the nature of revelation iyahy), etc. Second, I have tried to find and analyze, in the Mafatih of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, those topics which have been seen by the Muslim exegetes as falling under the ''ulum al-Qur'an' and related them to the general literature of ulum al-Qur'an. KEYWORDS: Muhammad b. 'Umar, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, sciences of the Qur'an, ulum al-Qur'an, al-Razi, Qur'an. XI