Abu Muhammad Yahya ibn Aktham (, died 857) was a ninth century Arab

Islamic jurist Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

. He twice served as the

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

of the

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

, from ca. 825 to 833 and 851 to 854.

Career

Yahya was born in Marw in

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

and was a member of the

Banu Tamim The Banū Tamīm () are an Arab tribe that originated in Najd and Hejaz in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon, and has a strong presence in Algeria, and Morocco, Palestine, ...

; he himself claimed descent from the judge Aktham ibn Sayfi. He studied ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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

'' in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

. In 817-8 he was appointed as ''

qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

'' (judge) of Basra, and he held that position until 825. Following his dismissal from Basra, Yahya was selected by

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

() to serve as chief justice (''qadi al-qudat''). Yahya enjoyed strong relations with the caliph and became an immensely influential member of the administration, with all decisions made by the

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

s being reportedly submitted to him for approval first. In 831 he participated in al-Ma'mun's campaign against the Byzantines and was put in command of a raiding party which set out from Tyana, and in the following year he accompanied the caliph to

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 ...

and briefly acted as judge there. By the end of al-Ma'mun's reign, however, Yahya had fallen out of favor, and he decided to return to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Throughout his career he had been forced to defend himself against consistent allegations of

pederasty Pederasty or paederasty () is a sexual relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Pre-Meiji Japan. In most countries today, ...

, and by the time of al-Ma'mun's death he was also facing accusations of financial mismanagement. As a supporter of

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 companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

orthodoxy, he was also opposed to the Mu'tazilite belief that the Qur'an had been created, which put him at odds with the caliph's adherence to Mu'tazilism. Following the accession of al-Ma'mun's brother

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...

(), Yahya lost his position and was replaced with the Mu'tazilite Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad. In 851, following the abandonment of Mu'tazilism by

al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

(), Yahya was again made chief judge and he moved to

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

. During his judgeship he appointed a mix of ''qadi''s, selecting both men who had formerly been affiliated with Mu'tazilism, as well as those who appealed to the orthodox

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 ...

s. He remained chief judge until July 854, when al-Mutawakkil dismissed him in favor of

Ja'far ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Ja'far al-Hashimi Abu Abdallah Ja'far ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Ja'far ibn Sulayman ibn Ali al-Hashimi () (died 871/2?) was a Qadi#History, Chief judge of the Abbasid Caliphate, from 854 to 863/4. He was a minor member of the Abbasid dynasty, being a descendant of Sul ...

. His money and land were also seized at the time of his dismissal, and he was placed under house arrest. In 857 Yahya decided to go on the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

and intended to take up residence in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. Upon learning that al-Mutawakkil had forgiven him, he changed his mind and set out to return to

, but he died on the journey in April 857 and was buried in al-Rabadhah.

Jurisprudence

He is generally characterised as having been affiliated 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 ...

s, and many state this without specifying his teacher in

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

. However some do state that he learnt from Waki' ibn al-Jarrah in particular, who would give juridical opinions on the position of Abu Hanifah, and that he also related

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 ...

reports from one of Abu Hanifa's main students,

Muhammad al-Shaybani Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Farqad ash-Shaybānī (; 749/50 – 805), known as Imam Muhammad, the father of Muslim international law, was an Arab Muslim Ulama, jurist and a disciple of Abu Hanifa (later being the eponym o ...

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 ...

's view is that he was part of an independent Basran Ra'y tradition that was later subsumed by the

school.

Al-Daraqutni Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutni (; 918–995 CE / 306–385 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and traditionist best known for compiling the hadith collection '' Sunan al-Daraqutni''. He is commonly celebrated in Sunni tradition with titles such as "Im ...

further alternatively lists him as a

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 traditionis ...

but this is doubted by primary sources.; ; ; ; .

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * *Tillier, Mathieu. (2009).
Les cadis d’Iraq et l’État abbasside (132/750-334/945)
'' Damascus: Institut français du Proche-Orient, 2009. {{Hanafi scholars 857 deaths 9th-century Arab people Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate People from Merv Banu Tamim 9th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Chief qadis of the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century jurists