Abu'l-Husayn al-Basri (died 436/1044) was a
Mu'tazilite
jurist 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'').
He was a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
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
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
, and it was a century before his teachings were revived and espoused by the
Mu'tazili scholar
Ibn al-Malahimi in
Khorezm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, where they gained recognition as a school of
Mu'tazili theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
References
*Madelung, W and Schmidtke, S (eds) ''Abu-I-Husayn al-Basri's Mu'tazili Theology among the Karaites in the Fatimid Age'' BRILL Amsterdam September 2006
Mu'tazilites
11th-century writers
Year of birth unknown
1044 deaths
11th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
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