Abu'l-Husayn al-Basri (c. 980–1044 CE) was a

Mu'tazili 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 ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

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

until

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī () or Fakhruddin Razi () (1149 or 1150 – 1209), often known by the sobriquet Sultan of the Theologians, was an influential Iranian and Muslim polymath, scientist and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote var ...

's ''al-Mahsul fi 'Ilm al-Usul'' (''The Compilation of the Fundamentals of the Legal Sciences''). He was a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

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 Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, and it was a century before his teachings were revived and espoused by the

scholar Ibn al-Malahimi in

Khorezm Khwarazm (; ; , ''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 east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, where they gained recognition as a school of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 {{MEast-writer-stub