Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi

For the hadith scholar, see Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idris al-Razi.

Abū Ḥātim Aḥmad ibn Ḥamdān al-Rāzī (Persian: ابو حاتم احمد بن حمدان الرازی) was a Persian^[1] Ismaili philosopher of the 10th century, who died in 322 AH (932/933 CE).^[2][3] He was also the Da'i al-du'at (chief missionary) of Ray and the leader of the Ismaili da'wah in Central Persia.

Abu Hatim Ahmad Ibn Hamdan al-Razi
Died	322 AH (932/933 CE)
Philosophical work
Era	Medieval era
Region	Islamic philosophy
School	Isma'ilism
Main interests	Philosophy, Theology, Proselytism, Exegesis, Jurisprudence
Notable ideas	Precedence of Qadar over Qada

Life

He was born in Ray near modern Tehran. He was a contemporary of Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi and engaged in debates with him.

Works

• Al-Jāmiʿ, a book on jurisprudence.
• Kitāb aʿlām al-nubuwwa (The Proofs of Prophecy), a refutation of Abū Bakr al-Rāzī.^[4]
• Kitāb al-Iṣlāḥ (Book of the Correction), “the oldest extant Ismāʾilī work presenting a Neoplatonic world-view.”^[5] Written as a corrective to the views of his contemporary Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Nasafī.
• Kitāb al-Zīna (Book of the Ornament), on the superiority of the Arabic language and on religious terminology.

Bibliography

• Brion, Fabienne, “Philosophie et révélation : traduction annotée de six extraits du Kitâb A'lâm an-nubûwa d'Abû Hâtim ar-Râzî”, Bulletin de philosophie médiévale 28, 1986, p. 137-162.
• Brion, Fabienne, “Le temps, l'espace et la genèse du monde selon Abû Bakr al-Râzî. Présentation et traduction des chapitres I, 3 du « Kitâb a'lâm al-nubuwwa » d'Abû Hâtim al-Râzî”, Revue philosophique de Louvain, tome 87, n°74, 1989, p. 139-164.
• Khalidi, Tarif, parallel Arabic-English edition of Kitāb aʾlām al-nubuwwa (The Proofs of Prophecy), Brigham Young University Press, 2012, Islamic Translation Series (ISBN 9780842527873).
• Vajda, Georges, “Les lettres et les sons de la langue arabe d'après Abû Hâtim al-Râzî”, Arabica 8, 1961, p. 113-180.