Sayf al-Din al-Amidi
1156 CE–1233 CE · Baghdad
Sayf al-Din al-Amidi (Ali ibn Abi Ali al-Amidi) was a Sunni theologian and legal theorist, remembered above all for systematizing kalam — speculative or "dialectical" theology — in close engagement with the philosophy of Avicenna (Ibn Sina). Born in 551 AH / 1156 CE in Amid (modern Diyarbakir), he is reported to have first studied under Hanbali teachers, then, after moving to Baghdad, to have aligned himself with the Shafi'i school of law and with Ash'ari theology, while also immersing himself in philosophy and logic.
His command of the "rational sciences" brought fame but also suspicion. As a professor in Egypt (attested from 592 AH / 1195-6 CE), he was accused of heresy by opponents who distrusted philosophy. He fled to Hama (615/1218-9) to serve the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Mansur, then was called to Damascus (617/1220-1) to head the Aziziyya madrasa. After 626/1229 a later Ayyubid, al-Malik al-Ashraf, removed him from that chair, reportedly for teaching "the philosophy and sciences of the Ancients." He died in Damascus in Safar 631 / November 1233.
His two most influential books are Abkar al-afkar fi usul al-din, a large work of theology, and al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam, on the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). Whether his rationalist method made him a renewer of Ash'ari thought or a figure too close to falsafa (Greek-derived philosophy) was debated in his lifetime and after — a judgment that depends on the school assessing him.
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BaghdadIraq
What they did here
In Baghdad he deepened his study of law and theology and is reported to have aligned himself with the Shafi'i school and Ash'ari kalam, while also taking up philosophy and logic. The Encyclopaedia of Islam states he 'passed into the ranks of the Shafi'ites' here; the exact years are not fixed in the sources.
About Baghdad
Major Mizrahi center; home of Yosef Hayyim (Ben Ish Chai).
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