داود الظاهري

Dawud ibn Ali al-Isbahani, known as Dawud al-Zahiri, founder of the Zahiri school. ²

He was born in Kufa around 200 AH, grew up in Baghdad, and died there in 270 AH. ²

Ahmad Amin notes that he first studied the school of al-Shafi'i and defended it, and wrote in praise of it. He then became independent and founded a school known as the Zahiri school, which many people followed, especially in Persia and al-Andalus. ²

He rejected analogy (qiyas) and held to the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunna, allowing analogy only where the cause was stated explicitly. He attacked the analogists and showed, according to the Book, the errors in legal rulings to which analogy had led them. ³

Another page covers the same person under the name Dawud ibn Ali al-Isbahani; the two pages may be merged.