We have heard that you say regarding the book *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras min Alfaz al-Qur'an al-Karim* that what those who compiled it did is not permissible, and that the path they

The questioner : May Allah reward you. He says:The questioner : We have heard that you say regarding the book *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras li Alfaz al-Qur'an al-Karim*...

The Shaykh : The correct title is *Al-Mufahras*.

The questioner : *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras li Alfaz al-Qur'an al-Karim*, that what those who compiled it did is not permissible, and that their method which they used is not permissible. Is this correct?

The Shaykh : I hear more often than not things about myself that I did not say! And I hear more often than not things attributed to me that I did not say. But Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. If any one of you hears something from me that you find objectionable, it is obligatory for you to contact me to clarify and verify, because people may pose a question in a way that is not what is in their hearts, so the wording may differ from what is in the questioner's mind. And the answerer answers what? The wording, or what is in the questioner's mind? The wording. As the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said. So if the mufti answers according to the wording, while the questioner intended a different meaning, a statement is attributed to the mufti that contradicts what is in his mind. Perhaps the questioner asks, and his heart is thinking of distant things, and you tell him the answer, and he misunderstands the answer and transmits it according to his understanding. So the error is either in presenting the issue to the mufti, or in understanding the mufti's answer. And this happens often. But I say: if you hear from me or from any of the scholars a statement that you see as objectionable, strange, or unusual, it is not upon you except to contact him before attributing it to him. As for *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras*, I did not say that it is forbidden. Rather, I say that it is good and beneficial, and I benefit from it. It is in my library, and I refer to it often, and it is useful. Just as *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras fi Alfaz al-Hadith al-Nabawi* is also useful. In fact, it saves us a lot of time. Not this one, nor that one. But there is a book called "Tafsil Ayat al-Qur'an al-Karim" or "Tafsil Ayat al-Kitab al-Hakim"—I forgot the title—which gathers the verses that have one meaning in one place, and the verses that have one meaning in one place, and so on. Verses of encouragement alone, verses of warning alone, commands alone, prohibitions alone, verses of prayer alone, verses of zakah alone. This is what I do not see as correct, because this contradicts what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) intended by interweaving some meanings with others. It contradicts the fact that the Qur'an is *muthani* (repeated), in which rulings, promises, and threats are repeated. Were it not that we hold a good opinion of the one who authored it, we would say that this is a criticism of the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, you find zakah and prayer in one verse. So how do we separate zakah from prayer? And likewise purity and others. This is what I see as not to be possessed. I see that the Qur'an should remain according to its order, not according to the order of this one who arranged it, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is more knowledgeable and more wise than all His creation. As for *Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras* which directs you to the verse and its place in the surah, this is good and beneficial, and we benefit from it greatly. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah grant you success.