1.8.3 - The Zahiris Doctrine

Although the Maliki doctrine was dominant in Andalusia, many people were influenced by the Zahiris (Zâhiriyyah) doctrine led by Ibn Hazm (384/994-456/1063). It has been said that the Caliph Yaqoub Ibn Yusuf neglected the doctrine of Malik, and took the doctrine of the Zahiris. Ibn al-Arabi himself was accused of quoting from Ibn Hazm, who was credited with reviving this doctrine in Andalusia, but the Shaykh denied this categorically. He explicitly said that he believed that the scholarly consensus should be followed after the Quran and Sunnah:

They related me to Ibn Hazm, but I am not the one who relates to him.

Ney, neither to any other, because my quotes are from the text of the Book, according to my knowledge.

Or from what the Prophet said, or according to consensus. This is my judgment.

However, the Greatest Shaykh praised Ibn Hazm and narrated after him some opinions and Hadith. He mentioned that he once saw the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in a dream and he hugged Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm al-Muhaddith and held him very close to the point that he could no longer see Ibn Hazm. At that Ibn al-Arabi then said: This is the ultimate connection [Futuhat, II.519].

Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Hazm Ibn Yazid, was born in Cordoba in 384/994, and he was a keen poet and writer characterized with a quick memory that helped him to compose poetry at instance. He grew up in a house luxury and richness, and he was offered the ministry but then he preferred asceticism and left it to their men. Instead, he worked on science and authoring, where he wrote more than four hundred books, including: al-Muhalla, Arabs Genealogy and: the Collar of the Pigeon (Tawq al-Hamama). However, he faced severe campaigns by the jurists, to the point that all his works were torn and burned publicly. Ibn Hazm died in 456/1063.

The Zahiris doctrine is based on the premise that the only source of jurisprudence is from the texts of the Book (of Quran) and the (Hadiths from) Sunnah, rejecting all other opinions or methods of measurement in extracting the rules of Shariah. If there is not text from Quran or Sunnah, then the default rule is that the issue in question is permitted by the law.

The Zahiris doctrine was established Dawud al-Isfahani, who is Abu Suleiman Ibn Ali Ibn Khalaf, born in Kufa in 202/817, and died in 270/883. Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi is credited for explaining it and spreading it in Andalusia .