View text source at Wikipedia

Al-Raghib al-Isfahani

For other people named Al-Isfahani, see Al-Isfahani (disambiguation).
Abul-Qasim al-Hussein bin Mufaddal bin Muhammad
Personal life
DiedAH 502 (1108/1109)[1]
EraLater Abbasid era
Main interest(s)Muslim scholar of Qur'anic exegesis, Arabic language scholar
Notable work(s)Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceShafi'i
CreedAsh'ari[2][3]
Muslim leader
Influenced by

Abul-Qasim al-Hussein bin Mufaddal bin Muhammad, better known as Raghib [Raaghib] Isfahani (Persian: ابوالقاسم حسین ابن محمّد الراغب الاصفهانی), was an eleventh-century Muslim scholar of Qur'anic exegesis and the Arabic language.[1][4]

Biography

[edit]

Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani - was born in Isfahan as his name suggests, though his exact date of birth is not known.[5]

He died in the Hijri year 502, corresponding to 1108 on the Gregorian calendar.[5][6][7]

Views

[edit]

Al-Raghib was suspected as Shia sympathizer,[8] due to his statement for his love of Ahl al-Bayt. Meanwhile, some thought he was a Mu'tazilite.[9]

However, one of his works entitled al-I'tiqadat, al-Raghib attacks both the Mu'tazila and the Shi'a showing that questions about his adherence to either of these positions is groundless.[10][11][12]

al-Raghib was opposed to the emanationism of the Brethren of Purity, preferring creationism instead.[13] The concept of justice, according to al-Raghib's definition, is "equal retaliation" for wrongdoing.[14]

Works

[edit]

His work covered topics ranging from ethics to linguistics to Muslim philosophy.[15] He authored a commentary on the Quran, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān.[16] One of his most famous works was Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran.

As a man of letters, al-Raghib was also well-versed in Arabic literature. His literary anthology, which was carefully organized by topic, carried much weight and respect in intellectual circles.[17][18] He was also noted as an early Muslim writer on the topic of blending religious and philosophical ethics.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Islamic Manuscripts at the University of Michigan: Handlist Accessions 160-192". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  2. ^ Yassin Ghanem Jassim al-Aridi (2024). Classes of Ash'aris, notables of the people of the Sunnah and the community. Dar al-Kotob al-'Ilmiyya. p. 140. ISBN 9786144962350.
  3. ^ Al-Bayhaqi (1999). Allah's Names and Attributes. Vol. 4 of Islamic Doctrines & Beliefs. Translated by Gibril Fouad Haddad. Islamic Supreme Council of America. p. 92. ISBN 9781930409033. The Ash'ari grammarian al-Raghib al-Asfahani
  4. ^ S. Nomanul Haq, "Islamic Religious Doctrine." Taken from Religious Truth: A Volume in the Comparative Religious Ideas Project, pg. 129. Ed. Robert C. Neville. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. ISBN 9780791491607
  5. ^ a b al-Raghib al-Isfahani, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Ed. Oliver Leaman. Oxford: Oxford Reference, 2012. ISBN 9780199754731
  6. ^ Sarra Tlili, Animals in the Qur'an, pg. 226. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN 9781107023703
  7. ^ Hamid Mavani, Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to Post-Khomeini, pg. 42. Volume 9 of Routledge Studies in Political Islam. London: Routledge, 2013. ISBN 9781135044732
  8. ^ كِتاب الذريعة المُجلد 5 [The Book of Al-Dhari'ah, Volume 5] (in Arabic). 2014. p. 45. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  9. ^ كتاب سفينة البحار Volume 1 (in Arabic). p. 528. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. ^ Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P.; Lecomte, G. (1995). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. VIII (Ned-Sam) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 390. ISBN 9004098348.
  11. ^ "الراغب الأصفهاني، الحسين بن محمد" [Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani, Al-Hussein bin Muhammad]. The Simplified Arabic Encyclopedia (in Arabic). موسوعة شبكة المعرفة الريفية. 1965. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  12. ^ "RÂGIB el-İSFAHÂNÎ - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  13. ^ Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān, pg. 156. Ed. Oliver Leaman. London: Routledge, 2005. ISBN 9781134339754
  14. ^ Asghar Ali Engineer, "Islam, Women and Gender Justice." Taken from Liberating Faith: Religious Voices for Justice, Peace, and Ecological Wisdom, pg. 355. Ed. Roger S. Gottlieb. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. ISBN 9780742525351
  15. ^ Ethics in Islamic philosophy
  16. ^ Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed. (2017). "Commentator Key". The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary.
  17. ^ The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, pg. 149. Ed. and trns. Tarif Khalidi. Dissertation series / Society of Biblical Literature. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001. ISBN 9780674004771
  18. ^ Sahar Amer, Crossing Borders: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures, pg. 24. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. ISBN 9780812201086
  19. ^ Rita Sommers-Flanagan and John Sommers-Flanagan, Becoming an Ethical Helping Professional: Cultural and Philosophical Foundations, pg. 38. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN 9780470080108

Bibliography

[edit]