The Zahiri school or Zahirism is a

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

within

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. It was named after

Dawud al-Zahiri Dāwūd ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Ẓāhirī (; 815–883 CE / 199–269 AH) was a Sunni Islam, Sunnī Muslim Ulama, scholar, Faqīh, jurist, and Islamic theology, theologian during the Islamic Golden Age, specialized in the study of Sharia, Isl ...

and flourished in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

during the

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

under the leadership of

Ibn Hazm Ibn Hazm (; November 994 – 15 August 1064) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, traditionist, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Córdoban Caliphate, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpre ...

. It was also followed by the majority of Muslims in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

the Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a province and autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca being its capital and largest ...

, and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. The Zahiri school lost it's presence around the 14th-century. The school is considered to be endangered, but it continues to exert influence over legal thought. Today It is followed by minority communities in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The Zahiri school is characterized by strict adherence to literalism and reliance on the outward (''ẓāhir'') meaning of expressions in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and ''ḥadīth'' literature; the consensus (''ijmāʿ'') of the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions (''ṣaḥāba''), for sources of

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

(''sharīʿa''); and rejection of analogical deduction (''qiyās'') and societal custom or knowledge (''urf''), used by other schools of Islamic jurisprudence, although the anti-Hazm wing of Zahiris usually accept religious inference. After a limited success and decline in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the Zahiri school flourished in Islamic Iberia, particularly under the leadership of the Andalusian Muslim jurist

. The Zahiri school is said to have lingered on in various locations under various manifestations before being superseded by the Hanbali school.

History

Emergence

During his formative years, al-Ẓāhirī relocated from

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and studied the prophetic traditions (''ḥadīth'') and

Quranic exegesis Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

(''tafsīr'') with a number of notable Muslim scholars of the time,Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. II, C-G, pg. 182. Eds. Bernard Lewis, Charles Pellat and Joseph Schacht. Assist. J. Burton-Page, C. Dumont and V.L. Menage. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1971. Photomechanical print. including Abū Thawr, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

, , v.13, Entry 55, pp. 97–108Abu Ishaq al-Faqih, Tabaqat al-Fuqaha, pg.92 His study under renowned figures of traditionalist theology (''Atharī'') was in contrast to the views of his father, who was a follower of the less orthodox

Ḥanafī The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the use of reasoning ...

school.

Christopher Melchert Christopher Melchert is an American professor and scholar of Islam, specialising in Islamic movements and institutions, especially during the ninth and tenth centuries. A prolific author, he is professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the Uni ...

, The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th–10th Centuries C.E., pg. 179. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997.Dr. Omar A. Farrukh
ZaharismA History of Muslim Philosophy

Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project The Ahlul Bayt Digital Library Project (Ahlul Bayt DILP) is a non-profit Shi'a organization that features work from a group of international volunteers. It operates the website Al-Islam.org – whose stated objective is to digitize resources rela ...

Goldziher, pg.28 Indian Muslim reformist

Chiragh Ali Moulví Cherágh Ali (1844–1895) (also spelled Chirágh) was an Indian Muslim scholar of the late 19th century. As a colleague of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, he made a contribution to Muslim modernism and presented reformative thinking about the ...

has suggested that Ẓāhirī's school was, like that of Ibn Ḥanbal, actually a direct reaction to the Ḥanafī system of jurisprudence. The Ẓāhirī school was initially called the ''Dāwūdi'' school after Dawud al-Ẓāhirī himself, and attracted many adherents, although they felt free to criticize his views, in line with the Ẓāhirī school's rejection of legal conformity (''taqlīd''). Alongside the Ḥanbali jurists, Ẓāhiris constituted one of the major schools that originated from the '' Ahl al-Ḥadīth'' school, which advocated the superiority of the

, ''ḥadīth'' literature, and ''

sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

'' (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

during his lifetime) in legal jurisdiction, and denied the validity of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

(''‘āql'') as an independent source of Islamic law. By the end of the 10th century, members of the madhhab were appointed as

judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

(''qāḍī'') in

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, Firuzabad,

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Fustat Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Mus ...

, and

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

Umm al-Qura University Umm al-Qura University (UQU; ) is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was established as the College of Sharia (Islamic law) in 1949 during the reign of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud before being joined by new colleges and rena ...

professor

Abdul Aziz al-Harbi Abdul Aziz bin Ali al-Harbi () is a Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar and associate professor at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca. He is one of the founders and the current president of the Arabic Language Academy in Mecca.Muhammad's closest companions (''ṣaḥāba'') followed the methods and rulings of the Ẓāhirī school, and therefore it can be regarded as "the school of the first generation."Falih al-Dhibyani
Al-zahiriyya hiya al-madhhab al-awwal, wa al-mutakallimun 'anha yahrifun bima la ya'rifun
. Interview with

Okaz ''Okaz'' () is an Arabic Saudi Arabian daily newspaper located in Jeddah. The paper was launched in 1960 and its sister publication is '' Saudi Gazette''. The paper is simultaneously printed in both Riyadh and Jeddah and has offices all over Sau ...

. 15 July 2006, Iss. #1824. Photography by Salih Ba Habri.

Westward expansion

Parallel to the school's development in the east, Ẓāhirī ideas were introduced to North Africa by theologians of the

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

school who were engaged in lively debates with the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school, and to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

by one of Dawud al-Ẓāhirī's direct students. Unlike

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

lands, where the Ẓāhirī school developed in parallel and in opposition to other madhhabs (chiefly Hanafi,

Shafi‘i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist ...

, and

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

), in the West it only had to contend with its Maliki counterpart, which enjoyed official support of the Umayyad rulers. Starting in the late 9th century CE, an increasing number of "hir" scholars emerged in various regions of the Iberian peninsula, but none of their works have survived. It was not until the rise of the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

s that the Ẓāhirī school enjoyed official state sponsorship. While not all of the Almohad political leaders were Ẓāhirīs, a large plurality of them were not only adherents but were well-versed theologians in their own right. Additionally, all Almohad leaders – both the religiously learned and the laymen – were extremely hostile toward the Malikis, giving the Ẓāhirīs and in a few cases the Shafi‘is free rein to author works and run the judiciary. In the late 12th century, any religious material written by non-Ẓāhirīs was at first banned and later burned in the empire under the Almohad reforms.

Decline

The Ẓāhirī school enjoyed its widest expansion and prestige in the fourth Islamic century, especially through the works of

Ibn al-Mughallis Abdallāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad (), better known as Ibn al-Mughallis (), was a medieval Arab Muslim theologian and jurist.Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, trans. Franz Rosenthal. Vol. 1: General Introduction ...

, but in the fifth century it lost ground to the Hanbalite school.Mohammad Sharif Khan and Mohammad Anwar Saleem, ''Muslim Philosophy And Philosophers'', pg. 34. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House, 1994. Even after the Zahiri school became extinct in Baghdad, it continued to have some followers in Shiraz.

Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian-American academic, philosopher, theologian, and Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education ...

and

Morteza Motahhari Morteza Motahhari (; 31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) was an Iranian Twelver Shia scholar, philosopher, lecturer. Motahhari is considered to have an important influence on the ideologies of the Islamic Republic, among others. He was a co-found ...

, "The Religious Sciences." Taken from ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs''. p. 476. Ed.

Richard N. Frye Richard Nelson Frye (January 10, 1920 – March 27, 2014) was an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University. His professional areas of interest were Irania ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1999. Ẓāhirism maintained its prestige in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

until 788 A.H. and had an even longer and deeper impact in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In the 14th century C.E., the

Zahiri Revolt The Zahiri Revolt was a conspiracy leading to a failed coup d'état against the government of the 14th-century Mamluk Sultanate, having been characterized as both a political struggle and a theological conflict. While the initial support for the ...

marked both a brief rekindling of interest in the school's ideas as well as affirmation of its status as a non-mainstream ideology.

Al-Muhalla Kitab al-Muhallā bi'l Athār, also known as Al-Muhalla ("The Sweetened" or "The Adorned Treatise," ) is a book of Islamic law and jurisprudence by . It is considered one of the primary sources of the Zahirite (lit. apparent, manifest) school wit ...

, a medieval manual on Ẓāhirī jurisprudence, served in part as inspiration for the revolt and as a primary source of the school's positions. However, soon afterwards the school ceased to function and in the 14th century

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...

considered it to be extinct. With the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

and the loss of Iberia to Christian rule, most works of Ẓāhirī law and legal theory were lost as well, with the school only being carried on by individual scholars, once again on the periphery.

Wael Hallaq Wael B. Hallaq () is a Palestinian-Canadian scholar of Islamic studies and the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he has been teaching ethics, law, and political thought since 2009. He is considered a lea ...

has argued that the rejection of ''

qiyas Qiyas (, , ) is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran in Islamic jurisprudence, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new circumstance and cre ...

'' (analogical reasoning) in Ẓāhirī methodology led to exclusion of the school from the Sunni juridical consensus and ultimately its extinction in the pre-modern era.

suggests that the association of the Ẓāhirī school with

Mu'tazilite Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...

theology, its difficulty in attracting the right patronage, and its reliance on outmoded methods of teaching have all contributed to its decline.

Modern history

The Zahiri school became extinct around the 14th-century. It was sometimes characterized as a fifth school of thought (''

madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

'') within Sunni Islam, In particular, members of the

Ahl-i Hadith Ahl-i-Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith (, ''people of hadith'') is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Has ...

movement have identified themselves with the Ẓāhirī school of thought. In the modern era, the Ẓāhirī school has been described as "somewhat influential", though "not formally operating today". In particular, adherents of the modern-day Ahl-i Hadith movement in India and Pakistan have self-consciously emulated the ideas of the Ẓāhirī school and identified themselves with it.Daniel W. Brown, ''Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought'': Vol. 5 of Cambridge Middle East Studies, pp. 28 and 32.

, 1996. M. Mahmood, ''The Code of Muslim Family Laws'', p. 37. Pakistan Law Times Publications, 2006. 6th ed. The family of

Hasan al-Hudaybi Hassan al-Hudaybi (also Hassan al Hodeiby) () (December 1891 – 11 November 1973) was the second "General Guide", or leader, of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, appointed in 1951 after founder Hassan al-Banna's assassination two years earlie ...

reportedly was Zahiri. Modernist revival of the general critique by

– the school's most prominent representative – of Islamic legal theory among Muslim academics has seen several key moments in recent Arab intellectual history, including Ahmad Shakir's republishing of Al-Muhalla,

Muhammad Abu Zahra Muhammad Abu Zahra (; 1898–1974) was an Egyptian public intellectual and an influential Hanafi jurist. He occupied a number of positions; he was a lecturer of Islamic law at Al-Azhar University and a professor at Cairo University. He was also a ...

's biography of Ibn Hazm, and the republishing of archived epistles on Ẓāhirī legal theory by

Sa'id al-Afghani Sa'id al-Afghani was a professor of Arabic language and Arabic literature, literature at the University of Damascus. He was regarded as one of the 20th century's leading scholars in both fields.Adil SalahiScholars of renown: Saeed Al-Afghani Arab Ne ...

in 1960 and

Ihsan Abbas Ihsan Abbas (December 2, 1920 – July 30, 2003) was a Palestinian professor at the American University of Beirut, and was considered a premier figure of Arabic and Islamic studies in the East and West during the 20th century. The "author of over ...

between 1980 and 1983. In 2004 the

Amman Message The Amman Message () is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27 Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, and his advisor Sheikh Izz-Eddine Al-Tamimi. The messa ...

recognized the Ẓāhirī school as legitimate, although it did not include it among Sunni madhhabs, and the school also received recognition from

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

's former Islamist Prime Minister,

Sadiq al-Mahdi Sadiq al-Mahdi (; 25 December 1935 – 26 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Um ...

.Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, "An Overview of al-Sadiq al-Madhi's Islamic Discourse." Taken from ''The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought'', p. 172. Ed. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi'.

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...

, 2008. The literalist school of thought represented by the Ẓāhirī madhhab remains prominent among many scholars and laymen associated with the

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...

movement, and traces of it can be found in the modern-day

movement. The school experienced a revival in the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

. There have been attempts to revive the school in the mid-20th century.

Principles

Of the utmost importance to the school is an underlying principle attributed to the founder Dawud ibn 'Ali; who had robustly denounced the delicacies and ambiguities in ''

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

'' sciences. According to Dawud, the validity of religious issues is only upheld by certainty, and that speculation cannot lead to the truth. This certainty is to be determined by the outward or literal (''Zahir'') meaning of the

Qurʾān The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (''Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides i ...

and ''

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

''. Devin J. Stewart, "Muhammad b. Dawud al-Zahiri's Manual of Jurisprudence." Taken from Studies in Islamic Law and Society Volume 15: Studies in Islamic Legal Theory. Edited by

Bernard G. Weiss Bernard G. Weiss (10 August 1933 – 8 February 2018) was a professor of languages and literature at the University of Utah. He has an extensive publication record and is recognized as one of the foremost scholars in Islamic law, Islamic theology ...

. p. 111.

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

: 2002.

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and Bibliographic database, databases founded in 1683, making it one of the oldest publishing houses in the Netherlands. Founded in the South ...

. Most Ẓāhirī principles return to this overarching maxim. Japanese Islamic scholar

Kojiro Nakamura was a Japanese scholar of Islam. He was professor emeritus of Islamic studies at both Tokyo University and Oberlin University. Tokyo University's Department of Islamic Studies was the first such department in Japan, established in 1982 with Nak ...

defines the Ẓāhirī schools as resting on two presumptions. The first is that if it were possible to draw more general conclusions from the strict reading of the sources of Islamic law, then God certainly would have expressed these conclusions already; thus, all that is necessary lies in the text. The second is that for man to seek the motive behind the commandments of God is not only a fruitless endeavor but a presumptuous one.Kojiro Nakamura, "Ibn Mada's Criticism of Arab Grammarians." ''Orient'', v. 10, pp. 89–113. 1974 Another major characteristic was their fierce condemnation of ''

Qiyas Qiyas (, , ) is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran in Islamic jurisprudence, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new circumstance and cre ...

'' (analogical reasoning) as a heresy and distortion of ''

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

'' (Islamic law) but still accept religious inference. The Ẓāhirī school of thought generally recognizes three sources of

within the

principles A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

. The first is the Qur'an, considered by Muslims to be the verbatim word of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

(Arabic: الله ''

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

''); the second consists of the

prophetic In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divin ...

as given in historically verifiable

reports A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

, which consist of the sayings and actions of the

; the third is absolute consensus of the Muslim community. Certain followers of the Ẓāhirī school include religious

inference Inferences are steps in logical reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinct ...

as a fourth source of Islamic law. The school differs from the more prolific schools of Islamic thought in that it restricts valid consensus in jurisprudence to the consensus of the first generation of Muslims who lived alongside Muhammad only.

, The Proposed Political, Legal and Social Reforms. Taken from Modernist Islam 1840-1940: A Sourcebook, pg. 281. Edited by

Charles Kurzman Charles Kurzman (born 1963) is a professor of sociology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in Middle East and Islamic studies. Education and employment After completing his B.A. at Harvard University in 1986, he com ...

. New York City:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2002. While

Abu Hanifa Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and epony ...

and

Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

agreed with them in this,Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, "The Doctrine of Ijma: Is there a consensus?," June 2006 most followers of the Hanafi and

schools generally do not, nor do the other two Sunni schools. Additionally, the Ẓāhirī school does not generally accept

analogical reasoning Analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things (or two groups of things) because of a third element that they are considered to share. In logic, it is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as oppose ...

as a source of Islamic law,Adang, ''Zahiri Conception'', p. 15. nor do they accept the practice of juristic discretion, pointing to a verse in the Qur'an which declares that nothing has been neglected in the Muslim scriptures. While

al-Shafi‘i Al-Shafi'i (; ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles of Is ...

and followers of his school agree with the Ẓāhirīs in rejecting the juristic discretion, all other Sunni schools accept the analogical reasoning, though at varying levels.

Distinct rulings

*Some followers of the Ẓāhirī school differ with the majority in that they consider the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

to have been a female prophet. *

Riba ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

, or interest, on hand-to-hand exchanges of gold, silver, dates, salt, wheat and barley are prohibited per Muhammad's injunction, but analogical reasoning is not used to extend that injunction to other agricultural produce as is the case with other schools.Adang, ''Zahiri Conceptions'', p. 44. The Ẓāhirīs are joined in this by early scholars such as

Tawus ibn Kaysan Tawus Ibn Kaysan (; died 723) was one of the '' Tabi‘in'', one of the narrators of hadith and scholars of fiqh. He is also known as Tawoos ibn Kaysaan, "Tawoos" or "al-Taus,". Biography He was one of the scholars of the Tabi‘in, one of th ...

and

Qatadah Qatada ibn al-Nu'man () (c.581–c.644) was one of the Sahaba, companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a member of the ''ansar (Islam), Ansar''. Biography He was the son of al-Nu'man ibn Zayd, of the Zafar branch of the Nabit clan of the B ...

. *

Admission Admission may refer to: Arts and media * "Admissions" (''CSI: NY''), an episode of ''CSI: NY'' *''Admissions'' (film), a 2011 short film starring James Cromwell * ''Admission'' (film), a 2013 comedy film * ''Admission'', a 2019 album by Florida sl ...

in an Islamic court of law is seen as indivisible by Ẓāhirīs, meaning that a party cannot accept some aspects of the opposing party's testimony and not other parts. The Ẓāhirīs are opposed by the Hanafi and Maliki schools, though a majority of Hanbalites share the Ẓāhirī position. * Another example of the ignoring of analogical reasoning by Ẓāhirīs and how it separates that school from most ''

'', is their attitude towards dogs. Pious Muslims commonly avoid dogs, arguing the hadith -- "If a dog drinks from your bowl then you must wash it seven times" -- indicate that dogs are unclean on the grounds that there is no other reason for thoroughly cleaning what dogs have used. Ẓāhirīs, in contrast, maintain that (in the words of one adherent), "if the prophet meant 'the dog is an unclean animal', ... he would have said 'the dog is an unclean animal'" but they accept religious inference which is similar to analogy.

Reception

Like its founder Dawud, the Ẓāhirī school has been controversial since its inception. Due to their some so-called rejection of intellectual principles considered staples of other strains within Sunni Islam, adherents to the school have been described as displaying non-conformist attitudes.

Views on the Ẓāhirī within Sunni Islam

The Ẓāhirī school has often been criticized by other schools within Sunni Islam. While this is true of all schools, relations between the Hanafis, Shafi‘is and Malikis have warmed to each other over the centuries; this has not always been the case with the Ẓāhirīs. Not surprisingly given the conflict over al-Andalus, Maliki scholars have often expressed negative feelings regarding the Ẓāhirī school.

Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (; –1148) was a Muslim judge and scholar of Maliki law from al-Andalus. Like Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, Ibn al-Arabi was forced to migrate to Morocco during the reign of the Almoravids. It is reported that he was a student o ...

, whose father was a Ẓāhirī, nevertheless considered Ẓāhirī law to be absurd.

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Abū ʿUmar al-Namarī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī al-Mālikī, commonly known as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr ()

, himself a former Ẓāhirī, excluded Dawud al-Ẓāhirī along with

from his book on Sunni Islam's greatest jurists, though

Ignác Goldziher Ignác (Yitzhaq Yehuda) Goldziher (22 June 1850 – 13 November 1921), often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungary, Hungarian scholar of Islam. Alongside Joseph Schacht and G.H.A. Juynboll, he is considered one of the pioneers of modern aca ...

has suggested that Ibn Abdul-Barr remained Ẓāhirī privately and outwardly manifested Maliki ideas due to prevailing pressures at the time. At least with al-Ballūṭī, one example of a Ẓāhirī jurist applying Maliki law due to official enforcement is known. Ẓāhirīs such as Ibn Hazm were challenged and attacked by Maliki jurists after their deaths. Followers of the Shafi‘i school within Sunni Islam have historically been involved in intellectual conflict with Ẓāhirīs. This may be due to Al-Shafi'i being a major proponent of the principle of Qiyas; rejected by the Zahiris. ''Étude sur la théorie du droit musulman'' (Paris : Marchal et Billard, 1892–1898.) Hanbali scholar

Ibn al-Qayyim Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb az-Zurʿī d-Dimashqī l-Ḥanbalī (29 January 1292–15 September 1350 CE / 691 AH–751 AH), commonly known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya ("The son of the principal of he scho ...

, while himself a critic of the Ẓāhirī outlook, defended the school's legitimacy in Islam, stating rhetorically that their only sin was "following the book of their

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

and example of their Prophet."

Zahirism and Sufism

The relationship between Ẓāhirism and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

has been complicated. Throughout the school's history, its adherents have always included both Sufis as well as harsh critics of Sufism. Many practitioners of Sufism, which often emphasizes detachment from the material world, have been attracted to the Ẓāhirī combination of strict ritualism and lack of emphasis on dogmatics.

Zahiris

Discerning who exactly is an adherent to the Ẓāhirī school of thought can be difficult. Harbi has claimed that most Muslim scholars who practiced independent reasoning and based their judgment only on the Qur'an and Sunnah, or Muslim prophetic tradition, were Ẓāhirīs. Followers of other schools of thought may have adopted certain viewpoints of the Ẓāhirīs, holding Ẓāhirī leanings without actually adopting the Ẓāhirī school; often, these individuals were erroneously referred to as Ẓāhirīs despite contrary evidence. Additionally, historians would often refer to any individual who praised the Ẓāhirīs as being from them. Sufi mystic

Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...

has most often been referred to as a Ẓāhirī because of a commentary on one of Ibn Hazm's works, despite having stated twice that he isn't a follower of the Ẓāhirī school of thought. Similarly,

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim ulama, scholar, polymath, Islamic history, historian, tafsir, exegete, faqīh, juris ...

would include Ẓāhirī opinions when comparing differing views of Sunni Muslims, yet he founded a distinct school of his own. The case of Muslim figures who have mixed between different schools have proven to be more problematic.

Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani Muhammad Nasir al-Din (19142 October 1999), commonly known as al-Albani, was an Albanian Islamic scholar. A leading figure of Salafism, he is commemorated for his works on revaluation of hadith studies. Born in Shkodër, Albania, to a family ad ...

, for example, referred to himself as a Ẓāhirī when pressed on the matter. When Ibn Hazm listed the most important leaders of the school, he listed known Ẓāhiralh bin Qasim, al-Balluti, Ibn al-Mughallis, al-Dibaji and Ruwaym, but then also mentioned

Abu Bakr al-Khallal ʾAḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn ibn Yazīd al Baghdādī () better known as Abū Bakr al Khalāl, was a Medieval Muslim jurist."Khallal, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Harun al-" aThe Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History Ed. ...

, who despite his Ẓāhirī leanings is almost universally recognized as a Hanbalite.

Imam Bukhari

Scott Lucas states "The most controversial aspect of al-Bukhari's legal principles is his disapproval of qiyas" and "A modern study of personal status laws in the Arab world by Jamal J. Nasir contains one sentence that explicitly mentions that the Ẓāhirīs and al-Bukhari rejected qiyas..." Lucas also points out that the legal methodology of Bukhari is very similar to that of Ibn Hazm.

Followers of the Ẓāhirī school

Abd Allah al-Qaysi Abu Muhammad Abd Allah bin Muhammad bin Qasim bin Hilal bin Yazid bin 'Imran al-'Absi al-Qaysi () was an early Muslim jurist and theologian. Life Born in Islamic Spain, Ibn Qasim moved to Iraq for a time, and studied under Dawud al-Zahiri. He le ...

(died 885), responsible for spreading the school in Spain. *Abu l-'Abbās "Ibn Shirshīr" Al-Nāshī Al-Akbar (died 906 CE), prominent kalām theologian and teacher of Niftawayh.Ess, Josef van, Theology and Society in the Second and Third Centuries of the Hijra, Vol.4, at page 164. *

Muhammad bin Dawud al-Zahiri Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Dawud al-Zahiri, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī, also known as Avendeath, was a medieval theologian and scholar of the Arabic language and Islamic law. He was one of the early propagators of his father Daw ...

(died 909), son of the school's namesake. *

Ibn Abi Asim Abu Bakr Ahmad bin `Amr ad-Dahhak bin Makhlad ash-Shaibani (), widely known as Ibn Abi Asim (), was an Iraqi Sunni scholar of the 9th century. He is most famous for his work in the field of hadith science. Biography Family and early life Ib ...

(died 909), early scholar of hadith. *

Ruwaym Abu Muhammad Ruwaym bin Ahmad was an early Muslim jurist, ascetic, wali, saint and reciter of the Qur'an. He was one of the second generation of practitioners of Sufism (''tasawwuf''). Life Ruwaym was an early teacher of Ibn Khafif, another famo ...

(died 915), spiritual pioneer from the second generation of Sufism. *

Niftawayh Abu Abdillah Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin 'Urfah bin Sulaiman bin al-Mughira bin Habib bin al-Muhallab bin Abi Sufra al-Azdi () better known as Niftawayh, was a Medieval Muslim scholar. He was considered to be the best writer of his time,Al-Masudi's ...

(died 935), student of the school's namesake and teacher of his son. *

(died 936), credited with popularizing the school across the Muslim world. *

Al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

(died 956), early Muslim historian and geographer. *

Mundhir bin Sa'īd al-Ballūṭī Al-Mundhir (), meaning "the warner", hellenized as Alamoundaros and Latinized as Alamundarus and Alamoundaras, can refer to: * al-Mundhir I ibn al-Nu'man, King of the Lakhmids (r. 418–462) * al-Mundhir II ibn al-Nu'man, King of the Ghassanids ( ...

(died 966), early judge in Spain for the

. * Al-Qassab (died 970), Muslim warrior-scholar. *

Ibn Khafif Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Khafif (882-982) known as ''al-Shaykh al-Kabir'' or Shaykh al-Shirazi was a Persian people, Persian mystic and sufi from Iran. He is credited with bringing Sufism (''tasawwuf'') to Shiraz. He was a Baghdad-educated ...

(died 982), early mystic from the third generation of Sufism. *

(died 1064), Andalusian polymath, author of numerous

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * John D. Works (1847–1928), California senator and judge * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album), a Pi ...

. * Al-Humaydī (died 1095), hadith scholar, historian and biographer in Spain and then Iraq. *

Ibn al-Qaisarani Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Tahir ibn Ali al-Qaysarani (; 1057–September 1113), known simply as Ibn Tahir, was an Islamic scholar, historian and traditionist. He is largely credited with being the first to delineate and define the Six Books of Sun ...

(died 1113), responsible for canonizing the six hadith books of Sunni Islam. *

Ibn Tumart Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart (, ca. 1080–1130) was a Muslim religion, religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader ...

(died 1130), founder of the Almohad Empire *

Abd al-Mu'min Abd al-Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) (; full name: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlwī ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūmī Abū Muḥammad) was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu' ...

(died 1163), first Almohad Caliph. *

Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...

(died 1184), second Almohad Caliph, memorized

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

and

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

. * Ibn Maḍāʾ (died 1196), Andalusian judge and linguist, and an early champion of language education reform. *

Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; d. 23 January 1199), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reig ...

(died 1199), third Almohad Caliph, authored his own collection of hadith. *

Muhammad al-Nasir Muhammad al-Nasir (,'' Muḥammad an-Nāṣir'', – 1213) was the fourth Almohad Caliph from 1199 until his death. Évariste Lévi-Provençalal-Nāṣir Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 9 January 2013. Co ...

(died 1213), fourth Almohad Caliph. * Idris I al-Ma'mun (died 1232), renegade who issued a challenge for the Almohad throne. *

Ibn Dihya al-Kalby Umar bin al-Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin al-Jamil bin Farah bin Khalaf bin Qumis bin Mazlal bin Malal bin Badr bin Dihyah bin Farwah, better known as Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi () was a Moorish scholar of both the Arabic language and Islamic studies. ...

(died 1235), hadith scholar from Spain and then Egypt. *

Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Mufarraj bin Ani al-Khalil (fl. c. 1200), better known as Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, Ibn al-Rumiya or al-Ashshab, (, ''Abu’l-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī''), was an Andalusian scientist, botanist, pharmacist and theologian. He was ...

(died 1239), Andalusian botanist, pharmacist and theologian. * Abu Bakr Ibn Sayyid al-Nās (died 1261), Andalusian-Tunisian scholar of hadith. *

Fatḥ al-Din Ibn Sayyid al-Nās Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Ya'mari, better known as Fatḥ al-Dīn Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, was a Medieval Egyptian theologian who specialized in the field of Hadith, or the recorded prophecies and traditions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. He was well ...

(died 1334), Andalusian-Egyptian biographer of Muhammad. *

Abu Hayyan Al Gharnati Abū Ḥayyān Athīr ad-Dīn al-Gharnāṭī (, November 1256 – July 1344 CE / 654 - 745 AH), whose full name is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf bin ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ibn Hayyān (), better known as Abū Ḥayyān al-Gharnati (, was an Andalusian Sunni ...

(died 1344), Andalusian linguist and Qur'anic exegete. *

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

(died 1442), Egyptian historian, especially of the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

. *

(died 1997), former Arabic language professor at

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

, correspondent member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo and proponent of language education reform. *

Abu Turab al-Zahiri Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Jamīl bin ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq bin ʿAbd al-Waḥīd bin Muḥammad bin al-Hāshim bin Bilāl al-Hāshimī al-ʿUmarī al-ʿAdawī, better known as Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī (; 1 January 1923 – 4 May 2002), was an Indian Sa ...

(died 2002), Indian-born Saudi Arabian linguist, jurist, theologian and journalist. *

(died 2003), Palestinian scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies, widely considered to be at the forefront of both fields during the 20th century. *

Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil al-Zahiri Muhammad bin Umar bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abd Allah al-Aqil, better known as Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil al-Zahiri, is a Saudi Arabian polymath. He has, at various times, been referred to as a theologian, jurist, historian, ethnographer, geographer, ...

(living), Saudi Arabian polymath and correspondent member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo. *

Muhammad Abu Khubza Abu Uways Muhammad Abu Khubza al-Hassani (; July 30, 1932 – January 30, 2020)International Institute for Counter-Terrorismbr>report 1 January 2012. was a Moroccan Muslim theologian, jurist, bibliographer and linguist. His name has variantly been ...

(died 2020), Moroccan polymath, authored the

library catalog A library catalog (or library catalogue in British English) is a register of all bibliography, bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libra ...

for the

Bibliothèque générale et Archives The National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco (; ; , previously and ) is located in Rabat, Morocco, with a branch in Tetouan. The former Bibliothèque Générale (General Library) was created in 1924. In 2003, it was renamed the "Bibliothèque n ...

. *