Awzai

Al-Awza’i school, named after Abd al-Rahman al-Awza’i, who lived a long time ago. The school is called "Awza’i" because he lived in a place called Al-Awza’ in Damascus.

His school became famous in Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine) in the first half of the 2nd century AH (8th century CE). He lived at the same time as some of the followers of the Prophet’s companions, called the Followers. He learned from famous teachers like Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Makhul, Al-Zuhri, Muhammad ibn Sirin, and Nafi‘ Mawla Ibn Umar.

Al-Awza’i made his own school of law, which had its own rules and ways of thinking. People in the Levant followed it for a long time, but later it slowly disappeared as other schools became more popular.

The Awza’i school spread to many Islamic lands, and people used it in courts and learning. His students, like Ismail ibn Abdallah ibn Sama’ah, Saeed ibn Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hamid ibn Habib ibn Abi al-‘Ishreen, Muhammad ibn Shu’aib, Al-Hiqal ibn Ziyad, and Al-Walid ibn Muzayid, helped spread his teachings.

 Founder 

He was Abu Amr Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr ibn Yahmad al-Awza’i, a smart teacher called “Sheikh of Islam.” He was born in 88 AH and died in 157 AH. His dad died when he was little, and his mom took care of him. He grew up in villages near Baalbek and Damascus. He studied in the Levant, Yamama, Mecca, Medina, and Iraq. He learned from teachers like Al-Zuhri, Makhul, and Hassan ibn Atiyah. Many other scholars also learned from him.

He was very polite, kind, and smart. At 25, he started teaching others. He moved to Beirut for a while, where students came to learn from him. In 130 AH, an earthquake and fire damaged many of his books, but he didn’t worry about the copies his students brought. People liked him a lot; many Muslims, Copts, and Jews attended his funeral.

 Foundations 
Al-Awza’i followed the early generations and Prophet’s companions closely. He was part of the tradition school, which means he liked using the Prophet’s sayings and avoided guessing when there was a clear text. He learned from the four caliphs, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, Abu Huraira, Aisha, Hafsa, Umm Salama, Umm Habiba, Muadh ibn Jabal, and famous Followers like Saeed ibn al-Musayyib, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, and Makhul.

His school’s main rules were:

 Quran
 Prophet’s sayings
 Consensus
 Companions’ sayings
 Analogy

 Way of judgement 
Al-Awza’i first looked at the Quran and Hadith. If there was a clear rule, he used it. If not, he checked other proofs. He trusted consensus but liked the special scholars’ agreement more than the general people’s. He used analogy and also listened to the Companions when deciding. He sometimes used continuity and his own opinion when no clear text existed, but he did not use preference.

 Features of the school 
The Awza’i school loved Hadith a lot. Al-Shafi’i said: “I have never seen a person whose rules match his Hadith like Al-Awza’i.” He did not use a lot of analogy like Abu Hanifa and did not depend on Malik’s view of Medina like Malik. He was very kind and patient with students and the people.

His school became smaller over time because his students did not write many books, and Beirut was not like Medina or Baghdad for spreading knowledge.

 Spread and decline 
The Awza’i school spread in the Levant for more than 200 years and in North Africa and Andalusia for about 40 years. Some students later joined other schools, like Malik or Al-Shafi’i. Political changes, staying mostly in Beirut, slow copying of books, earthquakes, and rulers’ decisions led to its decline.

Famous scholars mentioned it. Al-Tabari recorded that Caliph Al-Mahdi said the Levant’s main scholar was Al-Awza’i. Al-Dhahabi said it was popular in Andalusia for 220 years. Ibn Kathir said people in the Levant followed it for around 200 years. The last known judge using this school in Damascus was Ahmad ibn Suleiman ibn Hudlam (d. 347 AH).

Even though the school disappeared, Al-Awza'i's contributions to Fiqh are still written in most books of Fiqh which compare opinions of scholars.

 References 

Category:Islamic jurisprudence
Category:Fiqh schools