Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam العز بن عبد السلام، عبد العزيز بن عبد السلام السلمي

Imam 'Izz al-Din 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd al-Salam al-Sulami rahimahullah (577-660 AH / 1181-1262 CE) was one of the most eminent Shafi'i jurists and legal theorists of the medieval Islamic world, widely titled Sultan al-'Ulama, the Sultan of Scholars. He studied and taught in Damascus and later in Cairo, where he served in positions of religious authority including the role of khatib at the Umayyad Mosque and later as a judge. He was known for his independence and moral courage in issuing legal opinions, including censure of the Ayyubid rulers. His scholarly output spanned Shafi'i jurisprudence, the principles and methodologies of Islamic law (usul al-fiqh), Qur'anic exegesis, the issuance of formal legal opinions (fatwa), questions of governance, and Islamic spirituality. His masterpiece Qawa'id al-Ahkam fi Masalih al-Anam (The Bases of Legal Rulings in the Interests of Mankind) is among the foundational texts of Islamic legal theory (maqasid al-shari'a). He also wrote on the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, including Bidayat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul.