'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Amr al-Awza'i (ePub)

'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Amr al-Awza'i (c.707-774) was Umayyad Syria's most influential jurist, part of a generation of scholars who began establishing the first formal structures for the preservation and dissemination of religious knowledge. Following the Abbasid revolution, they provided a point of stability in otherwise unstable times.

Despite his close ties to the old regime, al-Awza'i continued to participate in legal and theological matters in the Abbasid era. Although his immediate impact would prove short-lived, his influence on aspects of Islamic law, particularly the laws of war, endures to this day.

CONTENTS
Foreword

Introduction

Al-Awza'i's Biography

1 THE SOURCES

2 AL-AWZA'I'S JURISPRUDENCE

Law in the Formative Period of Islam

Al-Awza'i's Fiqh

Evaluating Al-Awza'i as a Legal Scholar

3 AL-AWZA'I'S SCHOLARLY MILIEU

Pro-Umayyad Friends and Rivals

The Hanafis: Al-Awza'i's Foes

The Malikis

4 AL-AWZA'I'S THEOLOGY

Damascus as a Theological Center

Al-Awza'i's Theological Views

Al-Awza'i and the Qadarites

Conclusions: Al-Awza'i's Theology

5 AL-AWZA'I AND THE POLITICAL ELITE

Al-Awza'i and the Umayyads

Surviving the Fall of the Umayyads and the Abbasid Revolution

Al-Awza'i and the Abbasids

Al-Awza'i's Post-Revolutionary Life

Conclusion: Evaluating Al-Awza'i as a Political Figure

6 AL-AWZA'I'S LEGACY

Al-Awza'i's Students

Al-Awza'i's Regional Persistence

Al-Awza'i's Legal Legacy

Al-Awza'i in Modern Times

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index