¿Abd al-Rahman b. ¿Amr al-Awza¿i (c.707¿774)¿was Umayyad Syria¿s most influential jurist, part of a generation of scholars who began establishing the first formal structures for the preservation and dissemination of religious knowledge. Following the Abbasid revolution, they provided a point of stability in otherwise unstable times.

Despite his close ties to the old regime, al-Awza¿i continued to participate in legal and theological matters in the Abbasid era. Although his immediate impact would prove short-lived, his influence on aspects of Islamic law, particularly the laws of war, endures to this day.

Steven Judd is Professor of Middle East History at Southern Connecticut State University. He has been studying early Islamic law and theology, especially during the Umayyad period, for over twenty years, and is the author of Religious Scholars and the Umayyads. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Foreword

Introduction

Al-Awza`i¿s Biography

1  THE SOURCES

2  AL-AWZA`I¿S JURISPRUDENCE

Law in the Formative Period of Islam

Al-Awza`i¿s Fiqh

Evaluating Al-Awza`i as a Legal Scholar

3  AL-AWZA`I¿S SCHOLARLY MILIEU

Pro-Umayyad Friends and Rivals

The Hanafis: Al-Awza`i¿s Foes

The Malikis

4  AL-AWZA`I¿S THEOLOGY

Damascus as a Theological Center

Al-Awza`i¿s Theological Views

Al-Awza`i and the Qadarites

Conclusions: Al-Awza`i¿s Theology

5  AL-AWZA`I AND THE POLITICAL ELITE

Al-Awza`i and the Umayyads

Surviving the Fall of the Umayyads and the Abbasid Revolution

Al-Awza`i and the Abbasids

Al-Awza`i¿s Post-Revolutionary Life

Conclusion: Evaluating Al-Awza`i as a Political Figure

6  AL-AWZA`I¿S LEGACY

Al-Awza`i¿s Students

Al-Awza`i¿s Regional Persistence

Al-Awza`i¿s Legal Legacy

Al-Awza`i in Modern Times

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index