In Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, Shams ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad adh-Dhahabī ؒ (b. 673 AH/1274 CE; d. 748 AH/1348 CE) narrates the following account on the authority of Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad, who said:
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥazm aẓ-Ẓāhirī ؒ (b. 384 AH/994 CE; d. 456 AH/1064 CE) 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,
قُمْ فَصَلِّ تَحِيَّةَ الْمَسْجِدِ
“Stand and pray taḥiyyat al-masjid.” [Adh-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, vol. 18, p. 199.]
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,
اجْلِسِ اجْلِسْ، لَيْسَ ذَا وَقْتِ صَلَاةٍ
“Sit down, sit down. This is not a time for prayer.” [Adh-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, vol. 18, p. 199.]
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,
دُلَّنِي عَلَى دَارِ الْفَقِيهِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دَحُّونٍ
“Direct me to the house of the scholar Abū ʿAbd Allah ibn Daḥḥūn.” [Adh-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, vol. 18, p. 199.]
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 approximately three years. After that, I began debating with the people.
This incident marked the beginning of Ibn Ḥazm’s formal engagement with fiqh, eventually leading to his emergence as one of the most formidable jurists and theologians of al-Andalus.
References
Adh-Dhahabī, Shams ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (d. 748 AH/1348 CE), Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, Dār ar-Risālah, Beirut, 3rd edn., 1985, vol. 18, p. 199.
