Isa ibn Aban

Abu Musa ʿĪsā b. Abān was an early Sunni Islamic scholar who followed the Hanafi madhhab. Although none of his own works have survived to today, he was quoted extensively by early Hanafi scholars such as Al-Jassas in regards to his views on Hanafi usul al-fiqh. Having studied under Abu Hanifa's student, Muhammad al-Shaybani, ibn Abān's views on the sources of law can be assumed to be representative of Abu Hanifa's.

Biography Ibn Abān initially studied hadith, and was not known to be associated with ahl al-ra'y, as the Hanafis were called. His views changed when he began to study with Muhammad al-Shaybani, one of Abu Hanifa's primary students. He later became a member of the Abbasid prince al-Ma'mun's court, earning his favor by writing a treatise critical of the jurisprudential views of another scholar in the court. He would later go on to serve as a qadi in Baghdad and Basra.

Works According to al-Jassas, ʿĪsā ibn Abān authored four works, none of which survive to today: Al-Hujaj al-Saghir Al-Hujaj al-Kabir Kitab al-Radd 'ala Bishr al-Marisi (wa'l Shafi'i) fi'l Akhbar Kitab al-Mujmal wa'l Mufassar

Literature Josef van Ess: Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra. Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen Islam. De Gruyter, Berlin 1991–1997, 6 volumes, v. 2, 302; v. 3, 60 f., 181; v. 4, 280, 652; v. 5, 353.