Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani

Ibn Abī Zayd (; 922–996), fully Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nafzawī ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawanī, was a Maliki scholar from Kairouan in Tunisia and was also an active proponent of Ash'ari thought. His best known work is Al-Risala or the Epistle, an instructional book devoted to the education of young children. He was a member of the Nafzawah Berber tribe and lived in Kairouan. In addition, he served as the Imam (spiritual leader) of one of the mosques' that followed the Maliki School tradition.

Creed

Belonging to the Ash`ari school, Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (310–386) studied under Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Mu'min, who in turn was a student of Ibn Mujahid, a pupil of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari. Qadi Iyad stated that in 368, Ibn Abi Zayd dispatched two of his pupils to personally deliver a few of his books to Ibn Mujahid, who had made a request for them, along with a complete authorization to narrate them (ijaza).

Ibn Abi Zayd famously defended the Ash`ari school in his epistle entitled “Al-Radd `ala al-Qadariyya wa Munaqada Risala al-Baghdadi al-Mu`tazili,” a rejection of the assaults of the Mu`tazili `Ali ibn Isma`il al-Baghdadi. Al-Mayurqi further related that Ibn Abi Zayd said: “Al-Ash`ari is a man famous for refuting the people of Innovation, the Qadariyya and the Jahmiyya, and he held fast to the Sunan.”