Ibn Rushd al-Hafid

Ibn Rushd al-Hafid (520–595 AH / 1126–1198 CE) was an Andalusian Maliki jurist, chief judge of Cordoba, court physician, and philosopher, renowned for his comparative legal manual Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid and his philosophical treatises al-Hidaya fi Takhrij Ahad…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd al-Qurtubi al-Andalusi al-Hidaya fi Takhrij Ahad…+1. He was designated al-Hafid ("the Grandson") to distinguish him from his grandfather, the eminent Maliki jurist and chief judge Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd (d. 520 AH), known as Ibn Rushd al-Jadd al-Hidaya fi Takhrij Ahad…+1. He was born in Cordoba in 520 AH (another report gives 514 AH) into an established family of jurisprudence and judgeship, reportedly one month prior to his grandfather's death al-Hidaya fi Takhrij Ahad…+1.

He received his early education under his father, Abu al-Qasim Ahmad, before whom he presented Imam Malik ibn Anas's al-Muwatta' Bughyat al-Muqtasid Sharh…+1. In addition to the Islamic disciplines—including Quran, hadith, jurisprudence, and biography—he studied medicine, Arabic language, and the philosophical sciences Ara Ibn al-Jawzi al-Tarba…+1. Among those who transmitted from him or received his authorization were Ibn Hawt Allah and the grammarian Abu Ali al-Shalawbin Takmilat al-Ikmal - Ibn N…+1.

Judicial Career and the Almohad Court

He was appointed judge of Seville in 565 AH and later served as chief judge (qadi al-jama‘a) of Cordoba al-Hidaya fi Takhrij Ahad…+1. His standing in the Almohad court rose through his association with the philosopher Ibn Tufayl, who introduced him to the Almohad caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1. The caliph subsequently engaged him as his personal physician alongside Ibn Tufayl, and Ibn Rushd assumed the sole royal physician post following Ibn Tufayl's death Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…. He maintained his favored position under Abu Ya'qub's successor, Caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur, who regularly invited him to scholarly audiences Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1.

Trial and Exile

In 591 AH, court rivals and religious scholars accused him of deviation and engagement in pre-Islamic foreign sciences (‘ulum al-awa’il) Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1. In response, Caliph al-Mansur ordered his exile to the town of Lucena (اليسانة), near Cordoba, alongside several other scholars, including Abu Ja'far al-Dhahabi and Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, the judge of Bijaya Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1. Among the personal grievances harbored by the caliph was that Ibn Rushd addressed him informally as "Listen, my brother" (tasma‘ ya akhi) during discussions, as well as a reported scribal misreading of a passage in which he meant "King of the Two Shores" (malik al-barrayn) but which was misread as "King of the Berbers" (malik al-Barbar) Tarikh al-Islam+1.

After roughly three years in exile, a delegation of Sevillian notables testified to his upright faith and interceded on his behalf Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1. Caliph al-Mansur pardoned him and his companions in 594 AH, restoring him to royal favor and summoning him back to Marrakesh Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1.

Scholarly Standing

Ibn al-Abbar stated that no one equal to him in intellectual completeness, learning, and virtue arose in al-Andalus, noting that he was exceptionally humble and that he was said never to have abandoned his studies since reaching maturity except on two occasions: the night of his father's death and his wedding night Mawqi al-Islam Su'al wa J…+1. He was sought after for legal rulings in medicine just as he was consulted for fatwas in jurisprudence Mawqi al-Islam Su'al wa J…+1. In legal methodology, he authored Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid to systematically present points of consensus, divergent rulings, and underlying rationales across the major legal schools, and he established the harmony between revelation and demonstrative reason in Fasl al-Maqal Taysir al-Bayan li-Ahkam …. In medicine, he composed al-Kulliyyat, which became a widely referenced medical synthesis Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And….

Death

Ibn Rushd died in Marrakesh on 9 Safar 595 AH (10 December 1198 CE) at the age of seventy-five Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And…+1. He was initially buried outside Marrakesh at the Bab Taghzut cemetery, and a few months later his remains were transferred to Cordoba, where he was reinterred in his ancestral plot at the Ibn Abbas cemetery Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And….