Abu Hatim al-Razi

Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi (died c. 322 AH / 933-34 CE) was a leading da'i — an Ismaili Shia missionary and organizer — and a philosopher active in and around Rayy, in north-central Persia. The Ismailis were a branch of Shia Islam who, in this period, were spreading an underground religious-political movement (the da'wa, "the summons") on behalf of an awaited messianic leader.

By tradition Abu Hatim was born in Rayy around the mid-ninth century; the year is not securely recorded. As chief da'i of the region he won influential converts, reportedly including the local governor of Rayy and several Daylamite warlords who were then carving out states across northern Iran. When Rayy passed out of friendly hands he left the city (c. 311/924) and operated among the mountain principalities of Daylam and the Caspian region, deploying subordinate missionaries as far as Isfahan, Azerbaijan, and Jurjan.

His standing later collapsed — sources report a falling-out with the warlord Mardavij, in one account after a predicted date for the messiah's appearance failed. He fled and took refuge with a ruler named Muflih in Azerbaijan, where (or, by other reports, in Daylam) he died.

Abu Hatim is best known for two works: Kitab al-Islah, an early Ismaili statement of a Neoplatonic worldview, and A'lam al-nubuwwa ("The Proofs of Prophecy"), which preserves his arguments defending prophecy against the freethinking physician Abu Bakr al-Razi. His engagement with Greek-derived philosophy makes him an important cross-tradition figure.