Sufyan al-Thawri [quddisa sirruhu]

Sufyan al-Thawri [quddisa sirruhu] was born in the year 97 AH (715 CE), although some reports record his birth in 95, 96, or 98 AH (716 CE). There are differing accounts regarding his place of birth, with some sources stating it was in Qazvin (Abu Ubayd al-Ajurri, p. 160), others suggesting it was in Khurasan (Yahya ibn Ma‘in, IV, 363), and still others claiming it was in the village of Thawriyyun near Jorjan (Sahmi, p. 216). It is understood that his family moved to Kufa when he was still a child. Historical sources unanimously agree that he was affiliated with the Thawr branch of the Tamim tribe, from which he derived his nisbah (al-Thawri). His lineage traces back to Ilyas ibn Mudar, where it converges with the noble lineage of the Prophet Muhammad [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]. His grandfather, Masruq, fought on the side of Ali ibn Abi Talib [radiyallahu anh] at the Battle of the Camel and was martyred. His father, Said, belonged to the generation of the Tabi‘in and was a reliable hadith narrator whose reports are included in the Kutub al-Sitta. His mother was also a hadith transmitter and a woman of knowledge and piety, renowned for her exhortations that encouraged Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu] in his pursuit of knowledge. His uncle Hamza, his brothers Umar and Mubarak, as well as his nephews Ammar ibn Muhammad and Sayf ibn Muhammad, were all regarded as trustworthy hadith scholars by the authors of the Kutub al-Sitta.

From a young age, Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu] studied hadith under his father and became a student of Amr ibn Murrah, a leading scholar of the Tabi‘in in Kufa. Thanks to his remarkable memory, he quickly memorized and transmitted a vast number of hadiths, gaining prominence in scholarly circles. He studied fiqh and hadith under Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, Abu Ishaq al-Sabi‘i, A‘mash, Ibn al-Mu‘tamir, Ibn Shubrumah, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla [rahmatullahi alayhim], while he learned Qur’anic recitation (qira’at) from Asim ibn Bahdalah and Hamza ibn Habib. His pursuit of knowledge took him to major centers of learning such as Mecca, Medina, Basra, Sham, Yemen, Baghdad, Wasit, Jorjan, Rayy, Asqalan, and Jerusalem, allowing him to benefit from the traditions of these regions in Qur’anic exegesis, hadith, and jurisprudence.

Sufyan’s [quddisa sirruhu] first journey outside Kufa was likely to the Khurasan region. At the age of eighteen (115 AH / 733 CE), he traveled to Bukhara to visit his relatives and claim his share of his deceased uncle’s inheritance. The fact that scholars and students in Merv were astonished by his youthful appearance suggests that he also passed through that city on this journey. While he did not meet the Zuhri [rahmatullahi alayh] of Medina (d. 124 AH / 742 CE), he studied under Amr ibn Dinar al-Makki, which indicates that he visited the Hijaz between 124 and 126 AH. He later returned to Hijaz multiple times for Hajj and further studies. In Mecca, he studied under Amr ibn Dinar and Ibn Jurayj, while in Medina, he learned from Abdullah ibn Dinar, Abu al-Zinad, Rabi‘ah ibn Abi Abd al-Rahman, and Yahya ibn Said al-Ansari. He was also a student of Ja‘far al-Sadiq. In Basra, he studied with Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Asim al-Ahwal, Abdullah ibn Awn, and Uthman al-Batti, while in Damascus, he benefited from Awza‘i. He also studied in Jorjan and Rayy under the region’s hadith scholars. Dhahabi notes that he met 130 Tabi‘in scholars and learned from approximately 600 teachers (A‘lam al-Nubala’, VII, 234; Manaqib, p. 20).

After the passing of his father (126, 127, or 128 AH), Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu], by then in his thirties, began teaching. Over the next twenty years, he lectured and transmitted hadith in Kufa and other major cities, including Mecca and Medina. Students from across the Islamic world, from Transoxiana to North Africa and al-Andalus, sought his knowledge.

When Caliph al-Mansur offered him the position of judge (qadi), Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu] refused, leading to his departure from Kufa, never to return. He then lived in secrecy, frequently changing his residence to avoid detection. The details surrounding the qadi offer are inconsistent in historical reports. One account suggests that during the Hajj season of 148 AH (765 CE), after the death of the Kufa judge Ibn Abi Layla, al-Mansur summoned Abu Hanifa, Sufyan al-Thawri, and Sharik ibn Abdullah [rahmatullahi alayhim], offering them all the position. If accurate, this would mean the offer was made in Mecca (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, p. 88-89; Husayn ibn Ali al-Saymari, p. 71). Rejecting the offer and openly criticizing the caliph for his injustices against the Ahl al-Bayt, Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu] fled secretly from Mecca by sea to Yemen. There, he attended the lectures of the renowned hadith scholar Ma‘mar ibn Rashid. He later returned to Mecca, where he stayed in hiding, teaching only select students such as Sufyan ibn Uyaynah and Fudayl ibn Iyad [quddisa sirruhum].

Likely in 153 AH (770 CE), during the Hajj season, al-Mahdi Billah, then the Hajj commander, issued an arrest warrant for Sufyan [quddisa sirruhu]. He fled to Basra, where he was welcomed by scholars such as Hammad ibn Zayd and Hammad ibn Salamah. He spent the remainder of his life in Basra, living in seclusion, constantly changing his residence, and teaching discreetly. Unable to establish a formal teaching circle due to his circumstances, he resided in the homes of his students, including Abu Hudhayfah Musa ibn Mas‘ud al-Nahdi, whose mother he married. Some reports state that he had grown weary of living in hiding and was persuaded by Hammad ibn Zayd to meet with the caliph, but he passed away before this could happen. After performing Hajj in 158 or 159 AH (776 CE) with Abdurrahman ibn Mahdi, he returned to Basra, where he died on 15 Sha‘ban 161 AH (18 May 778 CE or early that year).

Despite his zuhd, Sufyan engaged in trade to maintain his independence and avoid dependence on rulers. His teachings emphasized that self-sufficiency was integral to zuhd. Though not wealthy like Abu Hanifa, he lived a humble and modest life.

• "Even if one studies for twenty years, without learning adab (proper conduct), one has learned nothing."
• "Know yourself, and what others say will not harm you."