Abul-Qasim al-Hussein bin Mufaddal bin Muhammad, better known as Raghib Al-Isfahani (), was an eleventh-century Muslim scholar of Qur'anic exegesis and the Arabic language.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.
Biography Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani - was born in Isfahan as his name suggests, though his exact date of birth is not known.al-Raghib al-Isfahani, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Ed. Oliver Leaman. Oxford: Oxford Reference, 2012.
He died in the Hijri year 502, corresponding to 1108 on the Gregorian calendar.Sarra Tlili, Animals in the Qur'an, pg. 226. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 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.
Views Al-Raghib was suspected as Shia sympathizer, due to his statement for his love of Ahl al-Bayt. Meanwhile, some thought he was a Mu'tazilite.
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.
al-Raghib was opposed to the emanationism of the Brethren of Purity, preferring creationism instead.Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān, pg. 156. Ed. Oliver Leaman. London: Routledge, 2005. The concept of justice, according to al-Raghib's definition, is "equal retaliation" for wrongdoing.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.
Works His work covered topics ranging from ethics to linguistics to Muslim philosophy.Ethics in Islamic philosophy He authored a commentary on the Quran, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān. 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.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. 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. He was also noted as an early Muslim writer on the topic of blending religious and philosophical ethics.Rita Sommers-Flanagan and John Sommers-Flanagan, Becoming an Ethical Helping Professional: Cultural and Philosophical Foundations, pg. 38. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
References
Bibliography , Journal of Islamic Studies (1995) 6 (1): 51-75. Oxford Journals.