Authors · Islamic scholarship
Ibn Ḥazm
علي بن أحمد ابن حزم
384–456 AH
Born in Cordoba, Ibn Ḥazm experienced the political crises of al-Andalus before concentrating on teaching and writing.
At a glance
- Law and argument
- Al-Muḥallā · المحلى
- His Zahiri approach prioritises the apparent meaning of texts and rejects analogy as a legal foundation.
Timeline
- 384 AHBirth
- 456 AHDeath
Biographical overview
- Full name
- Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥazm
- Arabic name
- علي بن أحمد ابن حزم
- Birth
- 384 AH
- Death
- 456 AH
Life and education
Born in Cordoba, Ibn Ḥazm experienced the political crises of al-Andalus before concentrating on teaching and writing.
Sources [1]
Understanding the work
Al-Muḥallā discusses legal questions through their evidence. Al-Iḥkām fī uṣūl al-aḥkām presents his legal method, emphasising the apparent meaning of texts. Al-Fiṣal examines religions and doctrines.
Sources [1]
Method and contribution
His Zahiri approach prioritises the apparent meaning of texts and rejects analogy as a legal foundation. In Al-Muḥallā, he presents opinions before discussing their evidence. Its polemical tone belongs to the genre; an argument should be distinguished from the force of its wording.
Sources [1]
Transmission and legacy
His work extends beyond law to religions, logic and literature. Ṭawq al-ḥamāma explores love and human relationships. This range shows one author working in several genres, each with different aims and ways of reading.
Sources [1]
A guide to reading
Identify the question and the author’s legal school. Distinguish the quoted evidence, its interpretation and the preferred ruling. Technical discussions often require prior knowledge: definitions and other schools’ arguments clarify the reasoning without making every position a unanimous consensus.
Sources [1]
Selected works
Al-Muḥallā · المحلى
Law and argumentLegal questions, evidence and discussion of juristic positions.
Al-Iḥkām fī uṣūl al-aḥkām · الإحكام في أصول الأحكام
Law and argumentA study of legal sources and methods of interpretation and inference.
Al-Fiṣal · الفصل
Theology and beliefAn exposition and discussion of questions of belief and theology.
Ṭawq al-ḥamāma · طوق الحمامة
Ethics and spiritual lifeA literary treatise on love, its forms and human relationships.
Biographical sources and references
References for further reading on the life and works of Ibn Ḥazm: