Examination of three Interpreters’ Viewpoints on the Issue of Creation of Actions (Zamakhsharī, Ṭabarsī, Fakhr Rāzī)

علوم قرآن و حدیث

Article 4, Volume 43, Issue 2 - Serial Number 87, February 2012   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/naqhs.v43i2.14534

Authors

Ḥasan Naqīzāda^* ; Akram Dehpahlavān

Abstract

Muslim theologians have since long time ago been debating over the application of created (makhlūq) to human actions. This debate has also appeared in exegetical explorations. In this respect, the approaches of the three schools of Mu‘tazilite, Ash‘arite, and the Shī‘ite to the afore-mentioned issue from the viewpoints of three exegetes, Zamakhsharī, Falkhr al-Rāzī, and Ṭabarsī, are thought-provoking. Zamakhsharī does not regard human actions as created by God and considers it as incompatible with the Divine justice and human will. Ṭabarsī’s view is also similar to that of Zamakhsharī. It is observed in this article that these two exegetes have entangled in the
challenge of presuming human actions out of the circle of God’s creatures.
In Fakhr Rāzī’s exegesis, however, although God is mentioned as the Creator of all the created things including the good and evil actions of the servants of God, his viewpoint has not manged to solve such dilemmas as Divine justice and human freedom.

Keywords

theological exegesis; creation of actions; Zamakhsharī; Ṭabrasī; Fakhr Rāzī