Why did the Zahiri school of thought not spread, and why is Ibn Hazm's opinion considered extremist and contrary to consensus (ijmaʿ)? Was Ibn Hazm an Imam of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah like the four Imams, and what is the subject of the book "Tawq al-Hamamah" (The Dove's Neck-Ring)?

The Zahiri school of thought has two imams: Dawud ibn Ali al-Isfahani (the founder of the school) and Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (the renewer).

Among the reasons for the Zahiri school's lack of widespread adoption are: the scarcity of scholars and books within it (with the exception of Ibn Hazm's works), and the harshness of Ibn Hazm's expression towards some scholars, which led them to shun his books and criticize him. Additionally, there were fabricated sayings attributed to him and Dawud ibn Ali, which caused people to shy away from the school.

Ibn Hazm's extremism in his views resulted from his excessive adherence to the literal meaning (al-Zahir) and his rejection of analogical reasoning (qiyas), which sometimes led him to unusual conclusions. Despite his agreement with the Ahl al-Sunnah and his reverence for the Salaf, he mixed the sayings of philosophers and the Mu'tazilah in matters of attributes (sifat), thus differing from the imams of the Ahl al-Sunnah in some issues. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he is not considered an imam for the Ahl al-Sunnah.

Ibn Hazm rarely contradicted scholarly consensus (ijma') and only in a limited number of issues; this is because he does not consider consensus authoritative unless it is based on evidence. Rather, he stipulates the existence of evidence for a consensus to be valid.

Ibn Hazm's book "Tawq al-Hamamah" (The Dove's Neck-Ring) is a work of literature and has undergone alteration.