Averroes was a defender of Aristotelian philosophy against Ash'ari theologians led by Al-Ghazali. Although highly regarded as a legal
scholar of the Maliki school of Islamic law, Averroes's philosophical ideas were
considered controversial in Ash'arite Muslim circles. [7]
Whereas al-Ghazali believed that any individual act of a natural phenomenon
occurred only because God willed it to happen, Averroes insisted phenomena
followed natural laws that God created. [8] [9] [10]

Averroes had a greater impact on Christian Europe: he has been described as
the "founding father of secular thought in Western Europe" [7] [11] [12] and
was known by the sobriquet the Commentator for his detailed emendations
to Aristotle. Latin translations of Averroes's work
led the way to the popularization of Aristotle. [13]