A Critical Analysis of Fakhr al-Rāzī’s objections to the reasons for the superiority of Imam ‘Alī in his Al-Araba‘īn fī uṣūl al-dīn

One major reason offered by the Shi‘a for Imam ‘Alī’s rightfulness for imamate and immediate succession of Prophet Muhammad is his superiority over all people except the Prophet. Fakhr al-Rāzī, a Sunni exegete and theologian, has in his book, Al-arba‘īn fī uṣūl al-dīn (The Forty in the principles of the religion), criticized the reasons for Imam ‘Alī’s superiority, such as al-Mubāhala Verse, being the first Muslim, being more knowledgeable, jihad, courage, and other hadiths implying his virtues. In this article, I deploy the views of Shiite scholars and adopt a descriptive and analytic method to consider Fakhr al-Rāzī’s objections. I conclude that none of his objections to the reasons for the superiority of Imam ‘Alī over others is valid.