Ibn 'Aqil

Ibn 'Aqil

(born 1040, Baghad—died 1119) Islamic theologian. Trained in the tenets of the Hanbali school (see Ahmad ibn Hanbal), the most traditional school of Islamic law, he outraged his teachers by striving to incorporate liberal theological ideas into the tradition. He sought to use reason and logical inquiry to interpret religion, and he was influenced by the teachings of al-Hallaj. In 1066 he was appointed professor at the mosque of al-Mansur in Baghdad, but persecution by conservative theologians soon led to his retirement, and in 1072 he was forced to retract his beliefs publicly.