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Fatwa CenterStudying Al-Asfahaani's book 'Mufradaat Al-Quran'
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. I am a student of knowledge, and my question is regarding the book Al Mufradaat by Ar-Raaghib Al-Asfahaani, who is of the Ash‘ari creed. Is it ok to take knowledge from it as a person of Ahl-us-Sunnah as the book is about the Arabic morphology in the Quran? May Allaah grant you success for your efforts...
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is no harm on you, dear brother, in benefiting of Ar-Raaghib Al-Asfahaani's book Mufradaat Al-Quran. There is no doubt that this book is one of the most important books in its field. In his book Ma‘aajim Mufradaat Al-Quran, Dr. Ahmad Hasan Farahaat wrote:
"Almost all the leading Muslim scholars agreed on the fact that Mufradaat Alfaath Al-Quran by Ar-Raaghib Al-Asfahaani comes at the top of the many books written on this topic. There is no author in the field of Quran sciences or a student of knowledge or a scholar of Tafseer (exegesis) who lived after Ar-Raaghib Al-Asfahaani who did not feel great respect and admiration for this great work that is considered a major breakthrough in this field of knowledge and an important turning point in the history of the Quranic dictionaries." [Ma‘aajim Mufradaat Al-Quran, printed by King Fahd Glorious Quran Printing Complex in Madeenah]
Imaam Ath-Thahabi 
described Ar-Raaghib Al-Asfahaani as follows, "The well-versed, skillful, brilliant researching scholar Abu Al-Qaasim Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Mufadhdhal Al-Asbahaani, nicknamed Ar-Raaghib, the author of great books." [Siyar A‘laam An-Nubalaa']
The fact that the book contains Ta’weel (figurative interpretations of the Divine Names and Attributes) following the approach of the Ash‘aris does not prevent benefiting from it. Were we to abandon all the books that include incorrect approaches, we would abandon many of the great books of scholars, and many Islamic books would be rejected. Rather, we should avail ourselves of the books of these scholars and avoid the mistakes which they committed, especially those related to ‘Aqeedah (the Islamic Creed). We should refer to the opinions of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) regarding any such differences.
Allah knows best.
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