Ibn Hazm

Ibn Hazm (994–1064) was an Andalusian Muslim scholar whose work ranged across theology, law, history, poetry, and literature. He became the most prominent defender of the Zahiri school, which rejected legal reasoning by analogy.

Zahiri school: A school of Islamic law that privileges the apparent meaning of scripture and rejects analogical deduction. Ibn Hazm became its leading Andalusian advocate and developed its legal arguments.
Al-Muhalla: Ibn Hazm's extensive work of Islamic jurisprudence, presenting legal rulings and arguments from a Zahiri perspective. It is the fullest practical demonstration of his method across questions of law.
The Ring of the Dove: Ibn Hazm's treatise on love, combining literary reflection with accounts of emotion, conduct, and human relationships. It shows his range beyond jurisprudence through an influential account of love and its signs.
Córdoba Caliphate: The Umayyad caliphate in al-Andalus, centered in Córdoba and prominent from the tenth to early eleventh century. Ibn Hazm's elite family and early life were tied to the caliphal society that fragmented during his youth.
Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm: An alternate form of Ibn Hazm's name, incorporating his kunya, Abu Muhammad. The name appears in scholarly references to the same author and distinguishes his formal identity.
Islamic jurisprudence: The discipline of interpreting Islamic sources to derive legal rulings. His legal writings intervene in debates over how Islamic rulings should be derived.
Al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam: Ibn Hazm's treatise on the principles and sources of Islamic jurisprudence. It sets out the rules of evidence and interpretation that underlie his legal conclusions.
Al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa wa al-Nihal: Ibn Hazm's comparative work on religious communities, theological doctrines, and sectarian beliefs. It brings his polemical method to the study of religions and competing theological claims.
Fitna of al-Andalus: A prolonged civil conflict that broke apart the Córdoba Caliphate in the early eleventh century. The conflict disrupted his family fortunes and repeatedly unsettled his political and scholarly life.
Al-Baji: Abu al-Walid al-Baji was an Andalusi Maliki jurist and theologian who debated Ibn Hazm. Their disputes exemplify the contest between Zahiri positions and established Maliki scholarship in al-Andalus.

Linked from 1 page