Ibn Baziza
- Died
- 673 AH
- Born in
- Tunis
Abu Muhammad Ibn Baziza (606–673 AH / 1209–1274 CE) was a Tunisian Maliki jurist, exegete, and theologian based in Tunis, best known for his legal commentary Rawdat al-mustabin fi sharh Kitab al-talqin and his synthesis of major Quranic commentaries .
Name and Early Life
His full name was 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Qurashi al-Taymi (also recorded as al-Tamimi) al-Tunisi . He bore the kunyas Abu Muhammad and Abu Faris, and was commonly known as Ibn Baziza . He was born in Tunis on Monday, 14 Muharram 606 AH, though some biographical entries record his birth year as 616 AH .
Education and Scholarly Activity
Ibn Baziza studied jurisprudence and other religious disciplines under leading Maghrebi scholars, including Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Ru'ayni al-Susi, Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Salam al-Burjini, and the judge Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Bara' . He also counted the Sufi scholar Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Ahmad al-Harrali al-Tujibi among his teachers . He gained broad proficiency in jurisprudence, hadith, Quranic exegesis, theology, Sufism, Arabic grammar, and literature .
A circle of students in Tunis trained under him, notably Abu al-Qasim ibn Abi Bakr al-Yamani, known as Ibn Zaytun, who later served as mufti and chief judge of Ifriqiya, and Muhammad ibn Salih al-Kinani al-Shatibi, whom Ibn Baziza granted a teaching authorization (ijazah) .
Scholarly Standing
Ibn Baziza was regarded as an authoritative jurist within the Maliki school whose rulings and determinations of preponderant doctrine (tashhir) carried weight among later scholars, including Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi . In legal commentary, he elucidated the legal positions of al-Qadi 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Baghdadi in Rawdat al-mustabin fi sharh Kitab al-talqin . In exegesis, his commentary al-Bayan wa-al-tahsil synthesized the hermeneutical and linguistic insights of Ibn 'Atiyyah and al-Zamakhshari . In theology, he authored al-Is'ad fi sharh al-Irshad, commenting on Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni's foundational Ash'ari treatise .
Death
Ibn Baziza died in Tunis on 4 Rabi' al-Awwal 673 AH, the date corrected and favored by Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti . Earlier biographical records differ on the year, placing his death on 4 Rabi' al-Awwal in either 662 AH or 663 AH, with another report placing it in 674 AH . He was buried in the cemetery of Sidi Mahraz in Tunis .
Answer updated
List of Works
Rawdat al-Mustabin fi Sharh Kitab al-Talqin is a legal commentary on al-Qadi 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Baghdadi's Maliki manual al-Talqin. Structured directly around the sequence of the original work, it systematically traces its legal questions, defines its legal constraints, and resolves its difficult formulations in a concise manner without excessive elaboration.