Index du grand commentaire de Fahr al-Din al-Razi.

• Author: Lawson, Todd

Compiled by MICHEL LAGARDE. Handbook of Oriental Studies, The Near and Middle East, vol. 22. Leiden: E. J. BRILL, 1996. Pp. 80 (English) + 359 (Arabic). HFI 260, $167.75.

This volume will be eagerly received by scholars of Islam. It is a veritable feast of information masquerading under the rather modest title Index. It is well organized and, for the most part, easy to use; it has to do with one of the most important minds in the history of Islamic thought, who lived at, and in some ways represents, the highest watermark of Islamicate culture just before the Mongol "occupation." Furthermore, it is in traditional book form, not digitized, encoded, marked up, Windows-compatible, or any of the rest of it. This in itself is encouraging.

The book is organized into two major indices: proper names and subjects (so it is important to look up al-mu tazila, for example, in both places). Both of these are in Arabic and together comprise 358 pages. An introduction, in French, provides interesting background for the genesis of the book, the major problems that had to be overcome to produce it, and the reasons for its present design. In addition, it provides a very useful glossary of the technical terminology of tafsir, a catalog of the numerous exegetical principles evident in the Tafsir kabir, and a special index for pursuing problems of the chronology of composition and indeed authorship. Finally, there is a synopsis of the three most important editions of the Tafsir: Cairo, 1933; Tehran, n.d.; Beirut, Dar al-Fikr, 1981. The Index is based on this last edition. But the synopsis provided allows it to be used with the two other editions. These interconnected apparatus work extremely well and the amount of information gathered and organized is breathtaking, demonstrating quite eloquently how scriptural commentary is also cultural commentary, history, philosophy, theology, and so on.

One major criticism is that the figure of Muhammad seems to have disappeared. Lagarde gives reasons for this (introduction, p. 15), saying that because his name appears so frequently, entries would far outstrip usefulness. But doesn't this point to a methodological problem in the study of Islam itself: what to do with Muhammad and how to do it? Such an index would doubtless be a lengthy and toilsome task, but I would think that Lagarde's apology here begs the question and calls for a proper response. Surely a meticulous study of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Muhammad is likely to...