Abu al-Husayn al-Basri
Mu'tazilite jurist and theologian
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Abu'l-Husayn al-Basri (c. 980–1044 CE) was a Mu'tazilite jurist, physician and theologian. He wrote al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh (The Canon of the Foundations of Jurisprudence), a major source of influence in informing the foundations of Islamic jurisprudence until Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's al-Mahsul fi 'Ilm al-Usul (The Compilation of the Fundamentals of the Legal Sciences).[3]
Abu'l-Husayn al-Basri | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 370 H (980 CE) |
| Died | 436 H (1044 CE) |
| Era | Islamic golden age |
| Main interest(s) | Usul, Medicine |
| Notable work | al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh |
| Occupation | Scholar of Islam |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Mu'tazila |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi[1][2] |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
He was a physician as well as a disciple of the Mu'tazilite judge Abd al-Jabbar in Rey. He challenged some of his master's teachings and eventually compiled a huge (two volumes; 1500 pages) critical review of the arguments and proofs used in Islamic scholastic theology. This, he summarised in al-Mu'tamad and included a critique of the qualifications of a legist. His works were generally handed down among students of medicine, and it was a century before his teachings were revived and espoused by the Mu'tazili scholar Ibn al-Malahimi in Khorezm in Central Asia, where they gained recognition as a school of Mu'tazili theology.[4]
