Al-Mawardi

Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib (Arabic: علي إبن محمد إبن حبيب, romanized: ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb; c. 974–1058), commonly known by the nisba al-Mawardi (Arabic: الماوردي, romanized: al-Māwardī), was a Sunni polymath and a Shafi'i jurist, legal theoretician, muhaddith, theologian, sociologist and an expert in political science. He is considered to be an eminent scholar of his time who wrote on numerous subjects, including Qur'anic interpretations, religion, government, public and constitutional law, language, ethics and belles-lettres.

As the son of a person who sold rose water, the terms "maa" (water) and "Wardah" (rose) are combined to form the name "Al-Mawardi." The title "Al-Mawardi" was given to him because of his brilliance, eloquence, and great analytical abilities in debate, discussions, and oratory. He was also eager in evaluating a variety of situations that he came across.

He was born in the year 364 AH/974 CE in Basra, Iraq. Some authors make the claim that his family was Kurdish, a claim which is unsubstantiated.

When Baghdad was a centre and hub of civilization, learning, and knowledge, that is when al-Mawardi pursued his education there. Along with his companions, he started his studies at a very young age, concentrating on religious sciences and specifically the study of Hadith. Based on chronicles of his early schooling, al-Mawardi pursued his study in his native Basra region. He received instruction in the field of Hadith from a number of well-known hadith scholars. It is confirmed by his pupil Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi that al-Mawardi was regarded in Hadith as having a solid memory, being reliable and being trustworthy. Al-Mawardi left his village to complete his education before moving to Baghdad and settling in Darb az-Za'farani. There, he pursued his education in Hadith and Fiqh and joined the renowned Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini's halaqah (study circle). Al-Mawardi set out on a journey to various regions to disseminate and put his knowledge to use after completing his education in Baghdad. He travelled for a while before coming back to Baghdad to share the immense knowledge he had gained.

Al-Mawardi studied under prominent and leading figures of his time. He studied Kalam under Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini. He studied Fiqh under Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini. He studied Hadith under Abubakr al-Barqani. He studied Arabic language under Muhammad Bin al-Mu'ally al-Azdy. His other notables who were renowned in Baghdad include al-Manqiri, al-Shumayri, al-Jabali, Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Fadal bin Abdullah Abu Qasim al-Dara and Ali Abu Isfarayini.

After gaining knowledge from his mentors, al-Mawardi started teaching in Baghdad, where many eminent scholars were his students. In addition, al-Mawardi is known for having outstanding character, patience, humility, and charm. Even though they had never met him in person, his classmates and coworkers who had the chance to get to know him attested to his qualities. These attributes also add to his great reputation and the respect he was regarded in.

Between the late tenth and mid-eleventh centuries, when al-Mawardi lived, the Muslim political landscape was marked by instability and collapse. Compared to earlier times, the circumstances were far more worrisome. The monarch al-Qadir assembled four legal scholars from the four schools of jurisprudence in 429 Hijriyah to create summaries in order to address the troubling and chaotic periods. Al-Mawardi was one of them; he was assigned to represent the Shafi'i school and authored the book al-Iqna, while al-Quduri wrote the famous al-Mukhtasar on behalf of the Hanafites. The other two works, however, were not as important. The ruler gave Imam al-Mawardi praise for his exceptional writing and declared that al-Mawardi's effort was the best and, in recognition of his excellence, named him the Aqda al-Quḍāt (supreme judge) of the Abbasid Caliphate in recognition of his accomplishments. This appointment was sparked criticism and objections from some leading jurists, including Qāḍi al-Quḍāt Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari, and Qāḍi al-Sinsari, who disagreed with this appellation, arguing that no one should hold such position except Allah. The title of Malik al-Muluk al-A'zam was earlier granted to Jalal al-Dawla, the Buwaihid ruler, by the same jurists, thus al-Mawardi ignored these objections and kept the position until his death in 450/1058.

The leaders of the Sunni Abbasid and Shia Buwayhid dynasties nonetheless favoured al-Mawardi even though he was Sunni and followed the Shafi'i school. The Abbasid caliph appointed Al-Mawardi as his representative and sent him to a number of nations as the ambassador. He played a vital role in restoring Muslim unity by negotiating with the Buyid emirs and Seljuk sultans. He was rewarded with many grand gifts and tributes by majority of the Sultans and rulers of the time.