Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī and the Knowledge of God in Pre-Modern Qurʾānic Exegesis: Beyond Certainty in Language and Epistemology

This article examines the epistemological framework developed by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606 AH / 1210 CE), with a particular focus on his approach to the knowledge of God (maʿrifat Allāh) and the methodological interplay between rational theology and Qurʾānic exegesis. al-Rāzī’s intellectual course reflects a nuanced shift from epistemological optimism to a form of critical skepticism, ultimately leading to a reconfigured epistemology that attempts to reconcile rational inquiry with spiritual insight. His writings exemplify a significant linguistic shift and turn that problematizes the traditional claim to certainty in religious knowledge. At the same time, al-Rāzī proposes a hierarchical model of knowledge in which he sees speculative theology as a universal science and Qurʾānic exegesis as a particular application of it.