Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i

Al-Awzāʻī
Born 707 CE
Baalbek, Lebanon
Died 774 CE (aged 66–67)
Beirut, Lebanon
Ethnicity Arab
Era Islamic golden age
Religion Islam
Jurisprudence Awza'i
Creed Sunni
Main interest(s) Hadith, Fiqh
Notable idea(s) Awza'i madhhab

For further information on the Awza'i madhhab see Awza'i.

Abu Amr Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr al-Awzai (Arabic: أبو عمرو عبدُ الرحمٰن بن عمرو الأوزاعي‎) (707–774) was the chief representative and eponym of the Awzai school of Islamic jurisprudence. Awzai was referred to by his tribe "Awza" (الأوزاع), part of Banu Hamdan.[1]

Biography

Apparently, born in Baalbek, Lebanon in 707, very little of al-Awzai's writings survive, but his style of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) is preserved in Abu Yusuf's (died 798) book Al-radd ala siyar al-Awzai, in particular his reliance on the "living tradition," or the uninterrupted practice of Muslims handed down from preceding generations. For Awzai, this is the true Sunnah of Muhammad (died 632). Awzai's school flourished in Syria, the Maghreb, and Muslim Spain but was eventually overcome by the Maliki school of Islamic law in the 9th century. However, given his authority and reputation as a Sunni Imam and pious ancestry, his views retain potential as a source of law and a basis for alternative legal approaches and solutions. He died in 774 and was buried near Beirut, Lebanon, where his tomb is still visited.[2]

Views

As with Malik ibn Anas, al-Awza'i holds that one is not permitted to kill civilians even if it seems necessary to achieve military objective, and declared that killing women and children is never permissible during warfare.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "سير أعلام النبلاء". shamela (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  2. ↑ John Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2003
  3. ↑ Jonathan AC Brown, Is Islam a Death Cult? Martyrdom and the American-Muslim Imagination. Yaqeen Institute. Retrieved 9-13-2017.
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