Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi

Sadr ad-Din Ali ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi (731-792 AH / 1331-1390 CE) was a Hanafi jurist from Damascus who authored the most widely studied commentary on al-Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah, the famous creedal text of Imam at-Tahawi. He served as a judge and teacher in Damascus during the Mamluk period.

Ibn Abi al-Izz's commentary on the Tahawi creed is remarkable for explaining the creed through the Athari theological methodology, drawing extensively on the works of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim rather than the Maturidi theology that the Hanafi school more commonly followed. This gave the commentary a distinctive character that proved highly influential in later centuries, particularly in reform-oriented Islamic scholarship. The commentary systematically explains each point of at-Tahawi's creed with evidence from the Quran, authentic hadith, and the statements of the Companions and early scholars.

Ibn Abi al-Izz faced some difficulties during his life due to his theological positions, which diverged from the dominant Maturidi orientation of the Hanafi establishment in Damascus. Despite this, his commentary on the Tahawiyyah became the most printed and studied explanation of the creed, used in Islamic universities and educational institutions worldwide. He died in Damascus in 792 AH (1390 CE). His work demonstrates that the Athari creedal methodology was not limited to the Hanbali school and could be integrated with Hanafi jurisprudence.