Ibn Ḥazm and the Beginning of His Study of Fiqh

In Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dhahabī (673–748 AH / 1274–1348 CE) narrates the following account on the authority of Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, who said:

“Ibn Ḥazm related to me the reason he began studying fiqh. He said that he once attended a funeral prayer. Upon entering the mosque, he sat down without praying. A man said to him, ‘Stand and pray taḥiyyat al-masjid.’ At that time, Ibn Ḥazm was twenty-six years old. He said: ‘So I stood and prayed.

When we returned from the janāzah, I entered the mosque and prayed before sitting down. It was then said to me, “Sit down, sit down. This is not a time for prayer,” as it was after the time of ʿAṣr. I left while feeling deeply distressed.

I then went to the teacher who had nurtured me and said, “Direct me to the house of the scholar Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dahḥūn.” I went to him and informed him of what had occurred. He directed me to study al-Muwaṭṭaʾ of Mālik. I began studying it under his guidance and continued doing so with him and others for a period of three years. After that, I began debating with the people.”

This incident marked the beginning of Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥazm al-Ẓāhirī’s (384–456 AH / 994–1064 CE) formal engagement with fiqh, eventually leading to his emergence as one of the most formidable jurists and theologians of al-Andalus.

Reference

Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dhahabī (748 AH / 1348 CE), Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Dār al-Risālah, Beirut, 3rd ed., 1985, vol. 13, p. 547.