A Critique of Fakhr ʾal-Dīn al-Rāzī's Theory of " Creation of Acts" and its Influence on his Understanding of Qur anic Verses

In this essay the most important arguments of Fakhr ʾal-Dīn al-Rāzī for the theory that all acts are created only by God (khalq al-aʿmāl) are investigated. In the course of this investigation each of his three arguments rejecting the necessity of free will and all his thirteen arguments for proving his theory of occasional cause (kasb) are refuted. Subsequently, Fakhr ʾal-Dīn al-Rāzī’s interpretations of the Qur’an which are under the influence of this theory are criticized. In order to accomplish this, all of the Qur’anic verses, which as a result of this theory are interpreted by him in a way incongruous with their apparent meaning, are presented. His interpretations are evaluated taking into consideration other Qur’anic verses, the apparent meaning of the verses at issue, and the circumstances of their revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), and it is concluded that none of the interpretations of Fakhr ʾal-Dīn al-Rāzī which are based on the theory of the “creation of acts” are valid.