Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i

Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i (707-774) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist and theologian, and the leading figure of the school of Islamic law that bears his name. Born in Baalbek, in what is now Lebanon, he lived through the early centuries of Islam, when the main currents of Islamic jurisprudence were still taking shape. His origins are debated: biographers link him to al-Sind, in present-day Pakistan, and describe him as a mawla of the Awza tribe, though a Jat origin has also been suggested.

Very little of his writing survives. His legal method is known mainly through Abu Yusuf's refutation, Al-radd 'ala siyar al-Awza'i. Al-Awza'i gave great weight to the living tradition, the unbroken practice of Muslims passed down from earlier generations, which he regarded as the true Sunnah of the Prophet. His school flourished in Syria, the Maghreb and al-Andalus, but by the ninth century it had been overtaken by the Maliki school.

In theology he is remembered as an opponent of the Qadariyah, whom he accused of borrowing heretical doctrines from the Christians, although he is also one of the most valuable historical witnesses to the movement. He died in 774 and was buried near Beirut, where his tomb is still visited. His letters, preserved by Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, show him acting as an adviser to senior officials, pleading for the ransom of Muslims captured by the Byzantines at Erzurum. His influence lasted for centuries in the Levant and the western Islamic world, and his students included al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas and Ibn al-Mubarak.