Abd al Rahman al-Awzai
About the place
- Country : Lebanon , Beirut
- Address : Imam Al-Awza’i Mosque in the village of Al-Awza’i “Hantous Village” formerly.
- Category : Celebrities Sites
- Establishing Date : Abd al-Rahman al-Awza’i was born in the year 88 AH/707 AD
- founder : Abd al Rahman al-Awzai
Abd al Rahman al-Awzai
His name:
Imam al-Hafiz, the imam of Beirut and the rest of the Levant, Morocco and Andalusia, Abu Amr Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr ibn Yohmad al-Awza’i.
A jurist, one of the followers of the followers and the imam of the people of the Levant in his time. The title of "Imam of Coexistence in Lebanon in the Modern Era" was added to his titles, because of his attitudes in his time of tolerance towards Christians and Jews from the people of Levant, and he was called "the patron saint of the Christians" for his firm stance in confronting "governor of Levant" and "Abbasid Caliph Abu Jaafar al-Mansur", who wanted to expel the Christian residents of Mount Lebanon.
He was called "Al-Awza'i" in reference to "Al-Awza'a", which is a Yemeni Himyarite tribe from Qahtan.
His life:
Abd al-Rahman al-Awza’i was born in the year 88 AH/707 AD, and it is most likely that al-Awza’i was born in Baalbek.
He was taught by Ata bin Abi Rabah, Muhammad Al-Baqir, Qatada bin Daama, Ibn Shihab Al-Zuhri, and Malik bin Anas.
Appreciation:
To appreciate the achievements of Imam Al-Awzai and his symbolism in Beirut, a college of Islamic studies was established in the city, and named after him "Imam Al-Awzai's College for Islamic Studies".
A commemorative postage stamp was issued in 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Communications in Lebanon after the approval of the Council of Ministers, and the Beirut Municipality adopted the proposal of historian Dr. Hassan Hallaq to name “Souk Al Tawila” square in downtown Beirut by “Imam Al-Awzai Square”.
His writings:
Al-Awza’i’s writings from the literature and classifications, it is not much. Perhaps due to the loss of a large part of his books that were burnt at the time of the shiver, which is a great earthquake that struck Syria in the year 130 AH, and many people died in it, and the reluctance of Al-Awza’i himself to rewrite them, even though he was the first to write down knowledge in the Levant.
However, the books of translations and biographies preserved some information about some of his books, such as:
Musnad Al Imam Al-Awza’i
"Seyar Al Imam Al-Awza'i"
Ibn al-Nadim mentioned to him in the index the two books “Al-Sunan fi Al Fiqh” and “Al-Masa`il fi Al Fiqh.”
The book "Seyar al-Awza'i", contained some jurisprudential issues and there are no copies of it remain now, and Abu Yusuf al-Qadi responded to some of these issues in his book "Al rad Ala Seyar al-Awza'i".
His death:
“Abdul-Rahman al-Awza’i” died in the year 157 AH / 774 AD, Beirut, the Levant. His funeral was large, and it was said that the Christians and Jews who participated in it were more than Muslims who participated, and that some of them declared their conversion to Islam at that time.
Al-Awza’i was buried in the village of “Hantous” south of Beirut, and a shrine and a mosque was built on his grave, known as “Imam Al-Awza’i Mosque.” Over the years, the name of the village changed until it became known as “Al-Awzai” and formed part of Greater Beirut with the passage of time.
Resources:
yabeyrouth website
islamweb website
References:
The book (Imam Al-Awza’i, Sheikh al Islam wa Alem ahl Al Sham)
