What is the Zahiri school, and is it attributed to Ibn Hazm? Who is Ibn Hazm? Is it permissible to access his website and take his fatwas? And is it true that Sheikh Al-Albani was a Zahiri?

The Zahiri school is a jurisprudential methodology based on taking the apparent meanings of the sacred texts and the consensus of the Companions. It was founded by Dawud ibn Ali al-Asbahani and revived by Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi. Ibn Hazm was the scholar of Andalusia in his era and one of the imams of Islam. He renounced the ministry and devoted himself to knowledge and authorship, and he derived rulings from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The Zahiri madhhab is still considered one of the madhahib of the Ahl al-Sunnah, and it is permissible to follow it in some matters with conditions, and it is not permissible to seek out concessions within it. As for Sheikh Al-Albani, he does not belong to the Zahiri madhhab, but he was known for his strong adherence to the Qur’an and Sunnah and deriving rulings from them. However, if he isolated himself with some issues that contradict consensus, he should not be followed on those.