What do you consider Ibn Hazm to be among the scholars of knowledge?

The questioner : So, Shaykh, to summarize the matter regarding Ibn Hazm, what do you consider him to be among the scholars of knowledge?

The Shaykh : What is it?

The questioner : What do you consider him to be among the scholars of knowledge? The issue of Ibn Hazm’s pursuit of the authentic Sunnah, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : He is with us, he is with us in terms of methodology in general, meaning that he does not argue with anything but an authentic hadith. In fact, he is so strict that he may not even rely on good hadiths and may weaken them.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, but his foundation is better than that of many of the followed imams today. For example, Abu Hanifah, with no offense intended, we do not know of him this level of caution in seeking the authentic Sunnah and following it, and avoiding the weak, as we know of Ibn Hazm.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Ah, so in this regard, Ibn Hazm excelled over such an early imam. However, he is not considered one of the preservers, critics, and compilers of hadith paths who are moderate in their assessment. This is my belief: he is a man whose foundation and methodology are correct, but his application of them is limited. Perhaps the reason for this is that he was a man who gathered knowledge.

The questioner: Allah is the Greatest!

The Shaykh : Meaning his thought was...

The questioner : Comprehensive.

The Shaykh : Yes, it would rise and fall, and so on. He was not confined, at least, to the Sunnah and the jurisprudence of the Sunnah. So perhaps this is one of the reasons why he is not successful in most of the issues he discusses. As for his methodology, there is no debate.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : That he is better, as I told you earlier, than some of the followed imams.