Sayf al-Din al-Amidi

Sayf al-Din al-Amidi, the mutakallim and polymath, author of works in the rational sciences; born at Amid, he studied fiqh for the Hanbalis then the Shafi'is at Baghdad under 'Ali ibn Fadlan, memorised al-Ghazali's Wasit, and mastered the sciences of speculation, kalam and wisdom — among the cleverest men of the world. He taught at Egypt until accused of the doctrine of the ancients, when a writ for his blood was drawn up; he fled in disguise to Syria, settled at Hama and wrote in the two usul, wisdom and logic. ²

Then he came to Damascus where al-Mu'azzam gave him the 'Aziziyya; when al-Ashraf succeeded he was dismissed and it was proclaimed in the madrasas that whoever mentioned anything beyond tafsir, hadith and fiqh, or touched the philosophers' discourse, would be exiled — so he lived hidden at home until he died, buried on Qasyun. Ibn 'Abd al-Salam said "we learned the rules of disputation from no one else," and Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi said his time had no equal to him in the two usul and kalam; his works include al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam in two volumes and Abkar al-afkar in usul al-din. ²

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.) describes al-Amidi as an Arab theologian born at Amid in 551/1156-7. He was first a Hanbalite and later joined the Shafi'ites in Baghdad; he studied philosophy, which he continued in Syria. He taught at the madrasa al-Karafa al-Sughra in Cairo, beside the mausoleum of al-Shafi'i, and held a professorship at the Jami' al-Zafiri. His knowledge of the rational sciences brought him a brilliant reputation, but also accusations of heresy, and he fled to Hama, where he served the Ayyubid al-Malik al-Mansur (615/1218-9). After al-Mansur's death al-Malik al-Mu'azzam summoned him to Damascus and gave him the chair of the al-'Aziziyya madrasa (617/1220-1). He was dismissed after 629/1229 by al-Malik al-Ashraf, for teaching philosophy, and died at Damascus in Safar 631/November 1233. ³

His works include theological writings (Abkar al-afkar, a refutation of philosophers, Mu'tazilites, Sabeans and Manichaeans), works on the sources of the law (Ihkam al-ahkam fi usul al-ahkam, Cairo 1347, with a summary, Muntaha al-su'ul), a treatise on controversy (al-Jadal), and philosophical works (Daqa'iq al-haqa'iq fi l-mantiq, and Kashf al-tamwihat, dedicated to al-Mansur and aimed at Ibn Sina). ³