A scholar of the holy precincts: The life, works and methodology of Ibn al-Mundhir al-Ni¯sa¯bu¯ri¯

This article explores the life and works of Abu¯ Bakr Muhammad b. Ibra¯hi¯m Ibn al-Mundhir al-Ni¯sa¯bu¯ri¯ (d. 318/930), so as to shed further light on this eminent scholar. In particular it examines his juristic methodology in the most detailed of his extant works, al-Awsat. This article also shows that despite living in a period in which the canonized schools of jurisprudence are said to have began their codification, Ibn al-Mundhir's writings demonstrate that there also existed scholars who, although they had an affiliation with certain nascent traditions, equalled if not surpassed their contemporaries with an elevated degree of juristic sophistication. In addition, the opinions of Ibn al-Mundhir in the works of future generations of scholars of juristic dispute (al-ikhtila¯f) are also surveyed, to demonstrate his far reaching influence on the development of this genre of legalistic writing.