Al-Raghib al-Isfahani

Al-Raghib al-Isfahani (November 954, Isfahan - 1108) was one of the Islamic scholars of the 11th century, with a command of Arabic, in the subject of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir). His date of birth is not known with certainty. Adnan el-Cevherî gives his date of birth as 343 AH. He died in the year 502 AH (1108/1109) after the Hijra. He was originally from Isfahan and lived in Baghdad.

Biography

El-Râgib el-İsfahânî, as is understood from his name, was born in Isfahan, but his exact date of birth is unknown.

El-İsfahânî's school in kalam is close to that of al-Ash'ari. In a work titled el-İtiqâdât, El-İsfahânî rejects both the Mu'tazila and the Shia, showing that the views to which these two beliefs adhere are without justification. Although there are those who claim that he was a member of the Mu'tazila faction, Fahreddîn-i Râzî (Fakhr al-Din al-Razi) reported in his work Esâs üt-Takdîs that he was of the Ahl al-Sunna belief.

El-İsfahânî was against the free-thinking of the Ihwan al-Safa (Brethren of Purity) and preferred creationism. According to el-İsfahânî's definition, the concept of justice is "retaliation in kind" for evil.

His works

His works deal with various subjects, from ethics to linguistics and Islamic philosophy.

Al-Raghib al-Isfahani's scholarly power shows itself most in the field of tafsir. His voluminous tafsir, information about which is available up to the end of Surah al-Ma'ida, and his introduction (muqaddima) on the methodology of tafsir are important. In the introduction he touches on subjects concerning the language-meaning relationship. In the first three chapters he focuses on the division of the word and the relationship between the utterance and the meaning.

As a man of letters, el-İsfahânî also had a command of Arabic literature. His literary anthology, carefully classified according to its subjects, carried great weight among the educated class and was known as a work worthy of respect. He was also one of the early Muslim writers who fused religious and philosophical ethics.

List of his works

Ez Zeria ilâ Mekarim'iş Şeria: It is stated that this printed work was used by Imam al-Ghazali as a reference source that he never kept away from his side.

Hall'u Muteşabihât'il Kur'an

El-Mufredat fî Gharib el-Kur'an: This work explains the lexical meanings of the words of the Qur'an, their derivations, and their connections to one another. This, one of his most famous works, printed several times, has also been translated into Turkish.

Tefsir'ul Kur'an: He was unable to complete this work, a book of tafsir.

Sources

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