'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Amr al-Awza'i (c.707 774) was Umayyad Syria's most significant jurist. He was part of a generation of scholars who began the process of creating legal and other structures for the preservation and dissemination of religious knowledge. Despite being intimately associated with the Umayyad regime, he not only survived the 'Abbasid revolution, but continued to exert an influence on legal and theological matters in the new era. In this he was unique.
Examining al-Awza'i's pre-revolutionary success and post-revolutionary legacy, Steven C. Judd sheds light on this often overlooked figure and, in so doing, challenges the prevailing narrative that focuses on the 'Abbasids and Iraq to the detriment of Umayyad Syria.
The immediate impact of al-Awza'i may have been short-lived, but his influence on aspects of Islamic law, particularly the laws of war, endures to this day.
