The tenth leading jurisprudent: Dawud al-Zahiri (270/883)
Abu Sulayman Dawud b. 'Ali b. Khalaf al-Isbahani (al-Zahiri; 200—270/816—883), was the first jurist to use the plain-sense meaning (zdhir) of the Qur’an and Sunnah and to reject all other principles such as such as personal judgement (ray) and analogy (qiyas).
A disciple of Is-haq b. Rahawayh, Abu al-Thawr, and others, he was an ascetic who, toward the end of his life, was recognized as the top scholar in Baghdad. His son Abu Bakr b. Dawud and others received their knowledge of law from this mujtahid, who was very partial to al-Shafi'i. After compiling two works on al-Shafi'i’s virtues and praising him, he established his own legal school based on the plain meaning of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Furthermore, he considered the scriptural texts to provide all answers, thereby limiting the sources of legal rulings to the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the Companions’ consensus. He clarified the principles of legal hermeneutics and prohibited the use of qiyas as a source of legal rulings. The Zahiris believed that it was not possible to determine the divine purpose behind particular scriptural texts or legal rulings, and they proclaimed that the first one to use qiyas was the Devil.The Zahiri legal school first spread eastward, then westward. It remained active in the Andalus until the fifth/11th century. It emerged in the fourth/tenth century in Iraq, Iran, Khurasan, Oman, and Sind; however, the number of its followers decreased and it eventually disappeared. All that remains is found in books and encyclopedias ofjurisprudence that present it as a historical Sunni legal school. The Muwahhidun caliphate adopted the Zahiri school of law during the reign of Caliph Ya'qub b. Mansur (580-595/1184-1199). Ibn al- Nadim reported that Dawud compiled around 157 works, among them Kitab Ibtal al-Taqlid, Kitab Ibtal al-Qiyas, Kitab al-Khabar al-Wahid, and Kitab al-Hujja5
Notes
1 Muhammad Yusuf al-Kandahuli, Hayat al-Sahaba, ed.
Hisham al-Bukhari (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-'Asriyya, 2012), 13: 225-7; 'Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf, 'Ilm Usul al-Fiqh (Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 2003), 107-8.2 Muhammad b. Hasan al-Hajjuji al-Tha'alibi al-Fasi, Al-Fikr al-Samifi Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1976), 271-3.
Muhammad Anis Mustafa al-Khalili, Fiqh al-Ikhtilaf: Mabadi’ uhu wa-Dawabituhu (Beirut: alMaktaba al-'Asriyya, 2011), 92-4; Shah Walyyullah Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Rahim al-Faruqi Dahlawi, Al-Insaf fi Bayan Asbab al-Ikhtilaf (Beirut: Dar al-Nafa’is, 1978), 30-2; Muhammad 'Ali al-Sayis, Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1990), 84-86; Muhammad Abu Zuhra, Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-'Arabi, 1987), 84-6.
Wael Hallaq, The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 155.
Muhammad al-Khadari Baik, Tarikh al-Tashri" al-Islami, ed. Khalid al-'Attar (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr,
1995), 149-50.
See 'Abd al-Rahman al-Jazari, Al-Fiqh da al-Madhahib al-Arba"a (Beirut: Al-Maktaba al-'Asriyya, 2012); Muhammad Anis Mustafa al-Khalili, Fiqh al-Ikhtilaf: Mabadi’ uhu wa-Dawabituhu (Beirut: Al-Maktaba al-'Asriyya, 2011), 97-101; Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad Ibn Qudama, Manaqib al-A imma al-Arba a, ed. Sulayman Muslim al-Hurra (Riyadh: Dar al-Mu ayyad, 1995); Muhammad Taja, Al-Madhahib al-Fiqhiyya al-Islamiyya, (Damascus: Dar Qutayba, 2004); Sayf al- Din Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Shashi, Hilyat al- Ulama ’fi Ma difat Madhahib al-Fuqaha ’, ed. Yasin Ahmad Ibrahim Daradikh, vols 1-8 (Amman, Jordan: Maktabat al-Risala al-Haditha, 1988); Muhammad 'Abd al-Majid al-Asmandi, Tariqat al-Khilaf fi Fiqh al-A’ imma al-Aslaf ed. Muhammad Zaki 'Abd al-Barr (Cairo: Makatabat Dar al-Turath, 1990); Al-Khudari Baik, Tarikh al- Tashri ", Taysir Usul al-Fiqh, 358-60.
'Abdullah ibn As'ad ibn 'Ali ibn Sulaiman al-Yafi'i, Mir ’at al-Jinan, vol. 1, 330-2; Al-Shirazi, Tab- aqat al-Fuqaha’, 86; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol.
1, 372; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 342-51; Al-Shahrastani, Abu al-Fath b. 'Abd al-Karim, Al-Milal wa-l-Nihal, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifa, 1986), 46; Mustafa b. 'Abdullah al-Qusyantini Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun "an Asami al-Kutub wa- l-Funun, vol. 2 (Baghdad: Maktabat al-Mutanabbi, 1994), 556; Muhammad b. Hasan al-Tha'alibi al-Hajjuji, Al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami, ed. Ayman Salih Sha'ban, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1995), 410-34.Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami " al-Bayan, vol. 2, 181-2.
Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima, 427.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami " al-Bayan, vol. 2, 183.
Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 107.
Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 256.
Ibid., 282.
Ibid., 284.
Abu Bakr Ahmad b. 'Ali al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad/Madinat al-Salam: Akhbar Muhad- dithiha wa-Dhikr Quttaniha al- "Ulama ’ min ghayr Ahliha wa-Waridiha, ed. Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf, vol. 13 (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 2001), 338, 342 and 426-7.
Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 107.
Fuat Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al- Arabi, trans. Mahmoud Fahmi Hijazi, 'Arafa Mustafa and 'Abdullah Hijazi, vol. 3 (Riyadh: Jami'at al-Imam Mu hammad ibn Sa'ud al-Islamiyya, Idarat al-Thaqafa wa- l-Nashr, 1983), 37-50.
Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun, vol. 2, 556-7.
Al-Tha' alibi, Al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami, vol. 2, 412-15.
Ibid., vol. 2, 212-13.
Abu al-Fadl al-Yahsubi al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik wa-Taqrib al-Masalik li-Ma rifat A lam Madh- hab Malik, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1967), 102-279; Burhan al-Din Ibrahim Ibn Far- hun, Al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhabfi Ma"rifat A "yan "Ulama’ al-Madhhab (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya,
1996), 56-79; Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 175; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 251; Al- Yafi'i, Mir at al-Jinan, vol. 1, 387-90; Al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha ’, 67-8; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 1, 465-8; Al-Suyuti, Al-Mamalik bi Manaqib Sayyidina al-Imam Malik, 2-61; Al- Zawawi, Manaqib Sayyidina al-Imam Malik, 14-56; Al-Tha'alibi, Al-Fikr al-Sami, vol.
2, 446-63. Al-Suyuti, Tadrib al-Rawi, vol. 1, 109-10.Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 192-3.
Zawawi, Manaqib Sayyidina Malik, 25.
Al-Suyuti, Tadrib al-Rawi, vol. 1, 88-9; Malik b. Anas, Al-Muwatta’, ed. Muhammad Fu'ad Baqi, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar Hasan al-Turath al-'Arabi, 1985), 5-9.
Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 193.
Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 338-41; Ibn Farhun, Al-Dibaj, vol. 1, 75; Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 204-7; Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al- Arabi, vol. 3, 141.
28 Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 251—4; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 352—4; Al-Shirazi, Ta- baqat al-Fuqaha, 71—3; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 80—2; Al-Tha'alibi, Al-Fikr al-Sami, vol. 2, 464—7.
29 Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 352.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Abu Bakr Ahmad Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, ed. 'Abd al-Qadir Mustafa, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabi, 1970), 56—73.
33 Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 92—3.
34 Al-Shafi'i, Kitab al-Risala, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-'Ilmiyya), 39, 598—9.
35 Ibn al-Qayyim, I ‘lam al-Muwaqqi ‘in, vol. 4, 121—2; Al-Shafi'i, Kitab al-Risala, 596—8.
36 Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 353.
37 Hashim Ma'ruf al-Hasani, Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Ja‘fari Ard wa-Dirasa, ed. Muhammad Jawad Mughniya (Cairo: Dar al-Nashr li-l-Jami'iyin, 1991), 225.
38 Abu Zuhra, Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-'Arabi), 644.
39 Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al- Arabi, vol. 3, 269—3.
40 Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 115—20; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 384; Al-Shirazi, Tab- aqat al-Fuqaha', 76; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 1, 393—5; Al-Tha'alibi, Al-Fikr al-Sami, vol. 3, 436—7; Al-Yafi'i, Mirat al-Jinan, vol. 1, 351—2.
41 Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 376.
42 Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al- Arabi, vol. 3, 244.
43 Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Hatim, Kitab al-Jarh wa-l-Ta‘dil, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar Hasan al-Turath al-'Arabi, 1952), 191.
44 Ibid; Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 115.
45 'Abdullah Muhammad al-Jabburi, Fiqh al-Imam al-Awza i: Awwal Tadwin li-Fiqh al-Imam, 2 vols (Baghdad: Matba'at al-Irshad, 1977).
46 Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al- Arabi, vol. 3, 248.
47 Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 166; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 339; Al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha', 78; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 1, 457—8.
48 Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 378—4.
49 Ibid., 383.
50 Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 93.
51 Ibn al-Qayyim, I ‘lam al-Muwaqqi ‘in, vol. 1: 23—7; Al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha', 91—2; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 224—7; Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 325—43; Al-Tha'alibi, Al-Fikr al-Sami, vol. 3, 20—8.
52 Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya explicitly reflected upon Ahmad b. Hanbal’s principles in detail in his I ‘lam al-Muwaqqi ‘in, vol. 1, 24—8.
53 Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 378—9.
54 Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi, vol. 3, 193; Al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha', 92, 101—2; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 220; Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 10, 322; Al-Tha'alabi, Al- Fikr al-Sami, vol. 3, 19—20; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 355; Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 80.
55 Al-Shirazi, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha', 92, 101—2; Ibn 'Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 2, 317; Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya, vol. 11, 47; Al-Tha'alabi, Al-Fikr al-Sami, vol. 3, 29; Ibn al-Nadim, Al-Fihrist, 362—4; Al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik, vol. 1, 93; Ibn Khaldun, Al-Muqaddima, 428; Sezgin, Tarikh al-Turath, vol. 3, 253; Taj al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi iyya al-Kubra, ed. Mahmud al- Tanahi and 'Abd al-Fattah Muhammad al-Hilw, vol. 2 (Cairo: Matba'at 'Isa al-Halabi, 1966), 284.
Selected bibliography and further reading
Abu Zuhra, Muhammad. Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-'Arabi, 1987).
Anas, Malik ibn. Al-Muwatta'. Ed. Muhammad Fu’ad Baqi (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-'Arabi, 1985).
Bsoul, Labeeb. Formation of Islamic Jurisprudence: From the Time of the Prophetic to the Middle of the 4th Century (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).
Hajjuji, Muhammad b. Hasan al-Tha'alibi. Al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami. Ed. Ayman Salih Sha'ban, 2 vols (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1995).
Ibn Abi Hatim, Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman. Kitab al-Jarh wa-l-Tadil (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al- Turath al-'Arabi, 1952).
Ibn Farhun, Burhan al-Din Ibrahim. Al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab fi Ma'rifat A'yan 'Ulama' al-Madhhab (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1996).
Ibn 'Imad, 'Abd al-Hayy b. Ahmad. Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Akhbar man Dhahab. Ed. Mustafa 'Abd al-Qadir 'Ata (Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, 1980).
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Muhammad Abu Bakr. Klam al-Muwaqqi'in 'an Rabb al-Alamin. Ed. 'Abd al- Ra’uf Sa'd (Beirut: Dar al-Jalil, 1996).
Ibn Qudamah, Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad. Manaqib al-A'imma al-Arbaa. Ed. Sulayman Muslim al-Hurra (Riyadh: Dar al-Mu’ayyad, 1995).
Jazari, 'Abd al-Rahman al-. Al-Fiqh 'la al-Madhahib al-Arba'a (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-'Asriyya, 2012).
Qadi 'Iyad, Abu al-Fadl al-Yahsubi al-. Tartib al-Madarik wa-Taqrib al-Masalik li-Ma'rifat A 'lam Madhhab Malik (Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1967).
Sayf al-Din, Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Ahmad. Hilyat al- 'Ulama' fi Ma 'rifat Madhahib al-Fuqaha. Ed. Yasin Ahmad Ibrahim Daradikh (Amman, Jordan: Maktabat al-Risala al-Haditha, 1988).
Shafi'i, Muhammad b. Idris. Kitab al-Risala. Ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-'Ilmiyya, 1978).
Shirazi, Abu Is-haq Ibrahim b. 'Ali al-Fayruzabadi. Tabaqat al-Fuqaha'. Ed. Ihsan 'Abbas (Beirut: Dar al-Raid al-'Arabi, 1970).