ABSTRACT
In his Mafdtih al-Ghayb, al-Razi gives a metaphysical explanation of verse 2 of surah al-Racd, in which the sun and the moon are mentioned as being "compelled to be of service" by Allah (wa sakhkhara al-shams w^l-qamar}. He says that the celestial bodies (al-ajrdm al-falakiyyah), including the sun, the moon and the stars, are like all other material
bodies (al-ajsdm) in their receptivity to motion (al-harakah) and rest (alsukun). The fact that the celestial bodies are in perpetual motion when it is equally possible, from the metaphysical point of view, for them to be in perpetual rest, indicates that motion has been determined for them, and not rest. Metaphysically, the two physical states, motion and rest, are equally possible of being actualized in the external world, and so, there is no intrinsic reason why one physical state (motion) should have preponderance over the other (rest). The physical, actual fact that the celestial bodies are in a state of motion and not rest, even though both modes of being are equally possible for them metaphysically, is clear indication that their motion is not of their own accord, but of the determination (takhsls) of a transcendent determiner (mukhassis) who has determined for them the state of motion instead of rest.
