Abd-al-Rahman al-Awzai
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Abu Amr Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr al-Awzai (707 - 774) was the chief representative and eponym of the Awzai school of Islamic law, which descended from the ancient Syrian school. Apparently, born in Damascus, Syria in 707, very little of al-Awzai's writings survive, but his style of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) is preserved in Abu Yusuf's (d.798) book Al-radd ala siyar al-Awzai, in particular his reliance on the "living tradition," or the uninterrupted practice of Muslims handed down from preceding generations. For Awzai, this is the true Sunnah of Muhammad (d.632). Awzai's school flourished in Syria, the Maghreb, and Muslim Spain but was eventually overcome by the Maliki school of Islamic law in the 9th century. However, given his authority and reputation as a Sunni Imam and pious ancestry, his views retain potential as a source of law and a basis for alternative legal approaches and solutions. He died in 774 and was buried near Beirut, Lebanon, where his tomb is still visited.[1]
[edit] Notes
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- ^ John Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2003
