Abu al-Husayn al-Basri al-Mutazili
- Died
- 436 AH
- Born in
- Basra
Abu al-Husayn al-Basri (d. 436 AH / 1044 CE) was a Mu'tazilite theologian and Hanafi legal theorist who taught in Baghdad, recognized primarily for his treatise on legal theory, al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh.
Life and Education
Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Tayyib hailed from Basra before settling in Baghdad. In theology, he studied under the prominent Mu'tazilite master al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar. In Basra, he heard Hadith directly from Hilal ibn Muhammad; he was noted by biographers for transmitting only a single Hadith, recorded from him by the historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi: إن مما أدرك الناس من كلام النبوة الأولى إذا لم تستح فاصنع ما شئت ("Among what people have reached from the words of the earliest prophecy: If you feel no shame, then do as you wish").
In Baghdad, al-Basri taught theology and rational sciences (al-ma'qul). Among his most notable students who studied rational thought with him were Abu Ali ibn al-Walid and Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Tabban.
Scholarly Standing
Al-Basri was regarded as the leading authority (shaykh) of the Mu'tazilites of his era and an ardent champion of their doctrines. Later biographers described him as exceptionally sharp-witted, eloquent, and widely read.
His legal treatise al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh attained significant authority across theological and legal circles, serving alongside Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's al-Mustasfa as a chief foundational source synthesized by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in his comprehensive legal manual al-Mahsul. He also composed a voluminous theological work titled Tasaffuh al-Adilla.
Death
Al-Basri died in old age in Baghdad in Rabi' al-Thani 436 AH (1044 CE). His funeral prayer was led by al-Qadi Abu Abd Allah al-Saymari, and he was buried in the cemetery of al-Shuniziyya.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Mu'tamad fi Usul al-Fiqh (The Reliable Source in the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory following the scholastic method of the theologians (tariqat al-mutakallimin). Designed as an independent, restructured work rather than an abridgment of Kitab al-'Umad, it aims to eliminate redundancies and purge legal theory of extraneous speculative theological disputation.