Fakhr Rāzī’s View on the Arrangement of Topics in the Verse

Fakhr Rāzī and his like-minded colleagues say: The Book, wisdom, Torah and Gospel are mentioned with “and” (wāw), which indicates sequence. They explain this by saying that according to a narration from Ibn ʿAbbās, the Book means writing - that is, God taught Jesus (a.s.) how to write. Wisdom refers to knowledge, laws and general scientific and moral principles. The Torah refers to the book of Moses (a.s.), and the Gospel refers to the book of Jesus (a.s.). Their sequence is arranged such that if someone wants to learn a science, they must first know how to read and write, which is why it begins with “He teaches him the Book.” To acquire knowledge, understanding scientific laws and principles is necessary, which is why wisdom is mentioned next, followed by the Torah, since familiarity with the book of the previous prophet is necessary for affirming and validating his prophethood. Then one must learn the Gospel, which is Jesus’s own divine book.(383)

Some Shi’i and Sunni exegetes after Fakhr Rāzī have also accepted his view.(384)

Some notes on this view:

1. As previously discussed, the Book does not refer to writing in general but to the written scripture as a category.
2. What precedes the acquisition of higher knowledge is foundational knowledge that discusses some of the principles and fundamentals of wisdom.
3. The mentioned sequence appears generally correct, but it is not necessary with respect to miracles and divine knowledge of the unseen.
4. The sequence of the Torah and Gospel is a historical and accepted matter.