Abu l-Futuh al-Razi

Abu l-Futuh al-Razi

Personal Information
Full Name	al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Muhammad al-Khuza'i
Teknonym	Abu l-Futuh
Epithet	Jamal al-Din
Well-Known As	Abu l-Futuh al-Razi
Lineage	Khuza'a tribe
Well-Known Relatives	Nafi' b. Budayl b. Warqa' al-Khuza'i
Birth	c. 470/1078
Place of Birth	Ray
Death	552/1157 or 556/1161
Burial Place	Shrine of Hamza b. Musa b. Ja'far (a)
Scholarly Information
Professors	'Ali b. Muhammad al-Nisaburi al-Razi (father), 'Abd al-Rahman b. Ahmad al-Khuza'i, ...
Students	Ibn Shahrashub, Muntajab al-Din al-Razi, Ibn Hamza al-Tusi
Works	Rawd al-jinan wa rawh al-janan fi tafsir al-Qur'an

Abū l-Futūḥ Jamāl al-Dīn Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Khuzāʾī al-Nīshābūrī al-Rāzī (Arabic: ابوالفتوح جمال‌الدین حسین بن علی بن محمد الخزاعى النیشابورى الرازى) (b. c. 470/1078 - d. 552/1157 or 556/1161) famous as Abu l-Futuh al-Razi was one of the greatest Shi'a exegetes and hadith scholars of 6/12 century. He is the author of an exegesis of the Qur'an titled Rawd al-jinan wa rawh al-janan.

Birth and Lineage

The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was born around 470/1077 in the city of Ray. His lineage goes back to Khuza'a tribe and according to his own statement, his great-grandfather was Nafi' b. Budayl b. Warqa' al-Khuza'i, one of the companions of the Prophet (s).

Family

According to al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, his family had a special position among Shi'a scholars and they had fruitful writings and numerous books. Qadi Nur Allah Shushtari said that Abu l-Futuh was from a glorious and virtuous family and his lineage goes back to Budayl b. Warqa' al-Khaza'i who was a close companion of the Prophet (s). Throughout history, Khuza'a tribe were among pure Shi'a of Ahl al-Bayt (a).

Children

• Taj al-Din Muhammad al-Razi, about whom al-Hurr al-'Amili writes, "Taj al-Din Muhammad, son of Abu l-Futuh al-Razi al-Khuza'i was a teacher and leader of the people. He was a pious scholar."
• Sadr al-Din 'Ali al-Razi who was also a Shi'a scholar.

Great Scholars' Views about Him

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari writes, "al-Husayn b. 'Ali al-Khuza'i, known as al-Shaykh Abu l-Futuh al-Razi is the author of the famous Persian Exegesis of the Qur'an and one of the well-known scholars in exegesis of the Qur'an and theology. He is one of the most knowledgeable scholars of Arabic literature and one of the greatest hadith scholars.

Also Muhaddith Nuri says, "he was a teacher and leading scholar of exegesis and translation of the word of God. He was an erudite, a learned faqih, an exegete, and a man of literature who reached perfect degrees of knowledge."

Teachers

• 'Ali b. Muhammad al-Nishaburi al-Razi, father of Abu l-Futuh and the author of Masa'il al-ma'dum and Daqa'iq al-haqa'iq
• 'Abd al-Rahman b. Ahmad Khuza'i al-Nisaburi known as al-Mufid al-Thani (second al-Mufid)
• 'Abd al-Jabbar b. Muqri al-Razi known as al-Mufid al-Razi
• Al-Qadi al-Hasan al-Astarabadi
• Al-Sayyid Abu Samsam Dhu l-Faqar
• Al-Shaykh Abu 'Ali al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Tusi, son of al-Shaykh al-Tusi
• Abu l-Qasim Mahmud b. Umar al-Zamakhshari. He was a Sunni scholar and the author of al-Kashshaf exegesis of the Qur'an. Abu l-Futuh mentioned him as one of his teachers in his exegesis.

Students

• Rashid al-Din Muhammad b. Shahrashub al-Mazandarani known as Ibn Shahrashub, the author of Manaqib Al Abi Talib
• Muntajab al-Din al-Razi, the author of al-Fihrist
• Ibn Hamza al-Tusi
• Taj al-Din Muhammad b. al-Husayn, son of Abu l-futuh

Works

Rawd al-jinan wa ruh al-janan, The most important book of Abu l-Futuh

• Rawd al-jinan wa ruh al-janan; this book is the most famous work of Abu l-Futuh al-Razi.
• Ruh al-ahbab wa ruh al-albab fi sharh al-shihab; this book is a commentary on "Shihab al-akhbar" which is written by al-Qadi al-Quda'i al-Shafi'i and it is about maxims, sermons, and allegories attributed to the Prophet(s).
• Risalat Yuhanna; the book is as if quoted from a Christian character named Yuhanna and the book is about Imamate.
• Tabsirat al-'awam fi ma'rifat maqalat al-anam; in the beginning of this book, Abu l-futuh criticizes the ideas of al-Husayn b. Mansur al-Hallaj In next chapters, he answers some questions about Shi'a beliefs and defends Shi'a.
• Al-Risalat al-Husniyya; this book is about a discussion made by a girl named al-Husniyya who lived at the time of Harun al-Rashid. The book is in Persian and is against Sunni beliefs. It was frequently published with Hilyat al-muttaqin, book of al-Allamah al-Majlisi and also independently.
• Minhaj al-manahij; this is a research about the four major schools in Islam and supporting Imamate.
• Risala ijaza
• Exegesis of the Qur'an in Arabic.

Demise

It has been mentioned that he passed away in 552/1157 or 556/1161. According to his will, his body was buried in the city of Ray, in the shrine of Hamza b. Musa b. Ja'far (a) and near the shrine of 'Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani.