born 780, Baghdad, Iraq
died 855, Baghdad
Muslim theologian and jurist.
He began to study the Had 012B; th (Traditions) at age 15. He traveled widely to study with the great masters and made five pilgrimages to Mecca. In 833835 he bravely endured floggings and imprisonment rather than subscribe to the Mutazil 012B; doctrine of a created (rather than eternal) Qur 02BE; 0101; n, and he is remembered as a staunch upholder of Muslim traditionalism. He compiled the Traditions of Muhammad and is the eponym of the 1E24; anbal 012B; school, the most traditional of the four orthodox Islamic schools of law. Opposing codification of the law, he believed jurists needed the freedom to derive legal solutions from the Qur 02BE; 0101; n and the sunna . He is revered as one of the fathers of Islam.