Ibn Aqil

Muslim scholar Ibn Aqil
Born	AH 431 (1039/1040)[1] Baghdad[1]
Died	AH 513 (1119/1120)[1]
Era	Islamic golden age
Religion	Islam
Jurisprudence	Hanbali[1]
Creed	Ash'ari
Main interest(s)	History, Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh

Abu al-Wafa Ali Ibn Aqil ibn Ahmad al-Baghdadi (1040–1119) was an Islamic theologian from Baghdad, Iraq. He was trained in the tenets of the Hanbali school (madhab) for eleven years under scholars such as the Qadi Abu Ya'la.^[1] Despite this, Ibn Aqil was forced into hiding by the Hanbalis for frequenting the circles of groups who were at odds with the Hanbali tradition.^[1] In one of his reminiscences, he remarks that his Hanbali companions wanted him to abandon the company of certain scholars, and complains that it hindered him from acquiring useful knowledge.^[1] Among his works of jurisprudence that have survived are Wadih fi usul al-fiqh and (in part) Kitab al-funun, a work comprising 800 volumes.^[2]

Notes

1. Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1971]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume III (H-Iram). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 699. ISBN 9004081186.
2. John L. Esposito, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2003, and George Makdisi (ed.), The Notebooks of Ibn 'Aqil: Kitab al Funun, 2 vols., Beirut 1970-71