Extracting al-Razi’s Quranic Notion on Epidemic from His Magnum Opus Mafatih al-Ghayb

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world has changed the landscape of human life post-21st century. The existence of such epidemic diseases has also been recorded in the world history of human civilization. Interestingly, the Quran, which was revealed fifteen centuries ago, also touches on the issue of pandemic or epidemic diseases that occurred to the previous generations and provides a reminder for the future generations. The Quran explains that epidemic diseases are one of the forms of worldly azab or punishment sent by Allah as a reminder of the damage and tyranny committed by human beings. The interpretation of epidemic diseases in the Quran has been parsed by a famous exegesis scholar, Imam al-Razi in his magnum opus, The Exegesis of Mafatih al-Ghayb. His masterpiece has brought a new dimension in understanding epidemic diseases through the combination of naqli and aqli approaches. Nonetheless, the collection of epidemic verses in The Exegesis of Mafatih al-Ghayb has been less frequently discussed. Therefore, this paper presents a study that identified and analyzed the verses related to epidemic diseases based on the views of Imam al-Razi. This study employed the qualitative method based on the text analysis approach using the Quran and The Exegesis of Mafatih al-Ghayb. This study found that the words rijz, rijs, and azab are synonymous with epidemics. These three words have certain characteristics that lead to the spread of the epidemic as stated by Imam al-Razi. Additionally, there are several holistic approaches stated by al-Razi in understanding epidemics and how to avoid them at present time and in the future. This approach needs to be understood by every layer of the society in order for the message of the Quran on epidemic diseases to be understood well and to curb the spread of epidemics.