Ibn Hazm

Ibn Hazm

 in full Abu Muhammad 'Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Sa'id ibn Hazm

(born Nov. 7, 994, Córdoba, Caliphate of Córdoba—died Aug. 15, 1064, Manta Lisham, near Sevilla) Islamic scholar and theologian. Born in Spain, he lived through the civil war that ended the Spanish Umayyad caliphate and was afterward imprisoned for having supported it. As a leader of the Zahiri school of jurisprudence, he taught that legal theory must rely on a literal interpretation of the Qur'an and tradition. His beliefs were often attacked, and his books were burned in public. His scholarship included not only jurisprudence and theology but also logic, literature, and history. Famed for his mastery of Arabic, he wrote about 400 books, fewer than 40 of which survive.