A Comparative Study of Saint Paul and Fakhri Razi on Faith

• Main Authors: Ghorban Elmi, Hamed Nazarpour najafabadi
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: University of Isfahan 2014-09-01
• Series: Comparative Theology
• Subjects: Faith; Paul; Fakhr Razi; Trust; Acknowledge
• Online Access: http://uijs.ui.ac.ir/coth/browse.php?a_code=A-10-244-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1
• ISSN: 2008-9651; 2322-3421

Faith has a central place in Abrahamic religions. Jewish, Christian and Moslem thinkers have conducted several studies of the notion of faith and offered different ideas. Fakhri Razi and Saint Paul, two thinkers from Islamic and Christian religious traditions, have commented on the matter at length and these comments and ideas are studied in this essay.    Paul the Apostle (died 64 AD) is the most famous and influential Christian figure and is known as the second founder of Christianity. He has an indispensable role in formulating Christian doctrines. At first, he was a Jew and after the revelation of Jesus, converted to Christianity and dedicated himself to evangelism. The only credible reports and first hand sources about the lives and beliefs of Paul are the Acts of the Apostles and his letters and epistles in the Bible.    The background of the debate on faith should be sought for in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, belief means trusting in God, relying on Him, and recognizing and acknowledging the special relationship that God has established with Israel. In the New Testament, belief has a significant position too. Faith in the New Testament is more epistemic and cognitive and means certain belief and conviction. According to Paul faith is the basic principle of Christianity and outstanding feature of Christians and the main cause of salvation. In the early Christianity, Paul offers the most extensive and most profound exposition of faith.    In defining faith, Paul uses Greek word «pistis» which means confidence, faith and trust. In definition of faith, he says: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope will be, and faith is the certainty of what we believe, although we are not able to see them "(Hebrews, 11/1). He mentions Abraham as a distinguished example for introducing true faith and faithful. Faith in Jesus means to trust or have confidence in Jesus Christ. According to Paul, faith is based on hope in things which have been promised. This hope is rooted in faith in God. In Paul’s view, faith and hope strengthen themselves.    In some cases, Paul defines faith as recognition and acceptance. According to Paul, verbal confession and belief in heart are degrees of faith. Verbal confession has not been mentioned as the condition of faith but the condition of perfect faith, salvation and receiving divine promises. Faith is the source of love and numerous virtues. The path of salvation begins with faith, and then a man walks into trust, hope and love which are products of faith and strengthen faith.    In Islam, faith is an important notion. Faith in Quran is counted as the condition of acceptance of good act, its value, attaining pure existence, achieving benefit from the best collection of God’s gifts and guarantor of prosperity and salvation of man. Fakhr Razi (543-606 AH) was a Moslem theologian, commentator and philosopher and follower of the Ash'ariah. He trained many students and wrote numerous books on theology, exegesis, philosophy and mysticism. Faith literally in Fakhr Razi’s view means to acknowledge, to trust and secure. In explaining the meaning of faith, he distinguishes between God’s faith, Prophet (PBUH)’s faith and believers’ faith. That God is faithful, Razi argues, means He is verifier and security provider. That Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was faithful implies he knew that the rules and laws are revelation from God and their reporter is God’s infallible angle, not the misleading Satan.    Fakhr Razi offers various definitions of believers’ faith some of which are developed according to issues of faith and some others according to constituents of faith. He sometimes defines faith as acknowledging what we necessarily know that belong to the religion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) along with the belief. Occasionally he defines faith as confession of whatever God has made obligatory. Moreover, in several cases, he says that heart is the abode of faith and faith is the act or attribute of heart. In various cases, Razi defines faith as knowledge in heart and verbal confession. He believes that faith is based on knowledge in heart, verbal confession and bodily action. He emphasizes that action lies outside the faith and is the result of it. In one case he defines faith as reasonable belief. Based on this definition, faith must be built upon reason and argument, and if a man’s faith isn’t reasonable, he will not be a believer. Confession by heart, thus, stands at the foundation of Razi's definition of faith. He holds that the verbal confession and practice are results of confession and cognition by heart.    Although these two scholars have theorized in two different religious traditions and belong to two different periods and have different status and influence in their own religious tradition, they have many similar perceptions in many cases on faith. So comparing their perspectives can help us to understand the meaning and importance of faith in Christian and Islamic traditions.    Faith in their thought is a pivotal element that is the basis of religion and the main factor of salvation. As to the literary meaning of faith, both refer to trust. They define faith as acceptance and belief in truth of divine word that has come to us through divine messengers. They believe that their Prophets were faithful and accepted Divine Word and trusted on Him. Both emphasize on verbal confession. Paul and Razi hold that practice is the result and fruit of faith, not the condition of its realization. Another similarity is that both of them point out that faith is a gift and grace.    Of course, there are differences in their opinions regarding this issue. As  literary meaning of faith, Razi adds acceptance and safety to trust. His emphasis is on the meaning of trust, acknowledgment and belief and seeks their reality in peace. According to Razi, believing is a matter of keeping oneself in peace and safety. Paul's definition of faith underlines the believing and having trust in the fulfillment of God's promises, but Razi looks for a comprehensive definition of faith which includes all issues of faith. Generally speaking, Paul lays more stress on trust than Razi. Another important difference is that Jesus in Paul’s thought is divine, but the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Fakhr Razi’s thought is a man who is the messenger of God. Paul believes that verbal confession is necessary for a full blown faith and salvation, but Razi believes that verbal confession is necessary for realization of faith. Razi also speaks of God being faithful that means He is verifier and security provider. Unlike Fakhr Razi, Paul resorts to the notion of hope in defining faith in some cases (hope to fulfill promises of God).