Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 749 |
| Died | 805 (aged 55–56) Shahr-e-Ray, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic Jurisprudence |
| Notable idea(s) | Evolution ofIslamic Jurisprudence |
| Relatives | Al-Farra' (Cousin) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Farqad ash-Shaybānī (Arabic:أبو عبد الله محمد بن الحسن بن فرقد الشيباني; 749/50 – 805), known asImam Muhammad, the father of Muslim international law,[1] was anArab Muslimjurist and a disciple ofAbu Hanifa (later being the eponym of theHanafi school ofIslamic jurisprudence),Malik ibn Anas andAbu Yusuf.[2]
Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan was born inWāsiṭ, Iraq, in 750; soon, however, he moved toKufa, the home town of Abū Ḥanīfa, and grew there. Though he was born to a soldier, he was much more interested in pursuing an intellectual career than a military one. Shaybani began studying in Kufa as a pupil of Abu Hanifa. When al-Shaybani was 18 (in 767), however, Abu Hanifa died after having taught him for only two years.[2]
Shaybani then began training with Abū Yūsuf, his senior, and the leading disciple of Abu Hanifa. He also had other prominent teachers as well:Sufyan al-Thawrī and al-Awzāʿī. he also later visitedMedina, and studied for two to three years withMalik b. Anas, founder of theMaliki school of fiqh.[3] Thus, as a result of his education, al-Shaybani became a jurist at a very early age.[2] According to Abu Hanifa's grandson Ismail, he taught in Kufa at age twenty (c. 770 CE).[4]
Al-Shaybānī moved toBaghdad, where he continued his learning. He was so respected that CaliphHarun al-Rashid appointed himqadi (judge) of his capital cityRaqqa (so, after 796 CE).[5] Al-Shaybānī was relieved of this position in 803. He returned to Baghdad and resumed his educational activities. It was during this period he exerted his widest influence. He taughtMuhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i, the most prestigious of his pupils. Even later, when ash-Shafi'ī disagreed with his teacher and wrote theKitāb al-Radd ʿalā Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan ("Refutation of Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan [al-Shaybānī]"), he still maintained immense admiration for his teacher.[2]
Al-Rashid re-instated al-Shaybānī in a judicial position. The latter accompanied the caliph toKhorasan, where he served asqadi until his death in 805 atRey. He died the same day and the same place as the eminentKufan philologist and grammarianal-Kisāʾī. Thus, al-Rashid remarked that he "buriedlaw andgrammar side by side."[2]
Al-Shaybani wroteIntroduction to the Law of Nations ,(he also write Jami Al Jabir, Jami Al Saghir and more) at the end of the 8th century, a book which provided detailed guidelines for the conduct ofjihad against unbelievers, as well as guidelines on the treatment of non-Muslim subjects under Muslim rule. Al-Shaybani wrote a second more advanced treatise on the subject, and other jurists soon followed with a number of other multi-volume treatises.[6] They dealt with bothpublic international law as well asprivate international law.[7]
These earlyIslamic legal treatises covered the application ofIslamic ethics,Islamic economic jurisprudence andIslamic military jurisprudence to international law,[8] and were concerned with a number of modern international law topics, including thelaw of treaties; the treatment ofdiplomats,hostages,refugees andprisoners of war; theright of asylum;conduct on the battlefield; protection of women, children andnon-combatantcivilians;contracts across the lines ofbattle; the use ofpoisonous weapons; and devastation of enemy territory.[6] TheUmayyad andAbbasid Caliphs were also in continuous diplomaticnegotiations with theByzantine Empire on matters such aspeace treaties, the exchange ofprisoners of war, and payment ofransoms andtributes.[9]
Al-Shaybani'ssiyar aims to answers questions like, "when is fighting justified", "who is the target of fighting" and "how is fighting conducted".[10] For Al-Shaybani, a just cause of war was to spread the Islamic empire, either through increasing the territory of the Muslim states, or taking other states asclients.[10] Other just causes included putting down rebellions (Muslim, dhimmi or apostate), punishing brigandry, and ensuring safety of lives and property from violence.[10] Only those who presented a direct military threat were legitimate targets for deadly force.[11] Thus the killing of women, children, old men, disabled, insane was prohibited.[11] Captives in war are distinguished based on combatant status: male captives may be spared or killed, depending on what the commander deems is the best option. Al-Shaybani also explored the use of weapons (such as "hurling machines") which may inadvertently kill noncombatants. He opined it was permissible to use them so long as care was taken to aim at the combatants and effort was made to avoid killing noncombatants.[12] Al-Shaybani's opinions insiyar were influential in the Hanafi school of thought, but diverged from Shafi'i opinions in several matters.[13]
Al-Shaybani explicitly negated the notion of confining Allah to a specific place. AsAs Abu al-Abbas al-Tathifi al-Tabari al-Hanafi, a prominent Hanafi jurist reports, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan stated in his book The Proofs Against the People of Medina: "Indeed, God Almighty is in every place, in the sense of management and creation."[14] This indicates that Allah's presence is understood in terms of His authority, knowledge, and creative power, rather than spatial location. Since Al-Shaybani employed ta'wil (interpretation) when addressing divine attributes, he does not fit within the Athari framework, which avoids interpretive explanations. In this regard, his approach shows similarities to the Maturidi and Ash'ari positions, which also emphasize divine transcendence while interpreting attributes in a non-literal manner.
Similarly, in another narration, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: "Allah has not created any being independent of Him, but His Exaltedness is in authority and power. Our Lord has not established Himself in a manner imagined by the believer, neither by moving upward nor by ascending."[15] This reinforces the view that Allah's attributes and presence are to be understood in terms of His authority and power, not physical location or motion.
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