Refinement of Characters According to Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī

(تهذيب الأخلاق عند الراغب الأصفهاني)

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of refinement of characters according to one of prominent Muslim scholars; Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī. This article aims to reveal his position on this subject by presenting his ideas in defining characters, the factors from which characters originate, whether they are good or bad, the reason for their difference and the possibility of changing them as well as the ways to refine them. This study is based on the analytical method. The study concludes that characters according to Al-Aṣfahānī, has several meanings, and it has factors that cause its emergence and differences, and this characters, according to him, are subject to change, while refinement of them is necessary because of its relation with the purpose of creation of mankind; to construct the earth, to worship The Creator, and to play the role as caliph of Allah in this earth. According to him its refinement should be applied through knowledge and worship, and it is necessary to consider the Sharia as one of the means of disciplining it.