Sufyan al-Thawri
| Sufyan ath-Thawri ibn Saeed | |
|---|---|
| Born | 716 |
| Died | 778 (aged 61–62)/161 hijri |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Muslim scholar |
| School | Islam |
|
Influences
|
|
|
Influenced
|
|
Sufyan ath-Thawri ibn Said (Arabic: سفيان بن سعيد الثوري) (716–778) was a Tābi‘ al-Tābi‘īn Islamic scholar, Hafiz and jurist, founder of the Thawri madhhab. He was also a great hadith compiler (muhaddith).
Sufyan ath-Thawri was born in Kufa, Iraq, and in his youth supported the Family of Ali ibn Abi Talib against the dying Umayyad caliphate. By 748 he had moved to Basra, "where he met ['Abdallah] ibn 'Awn and Ayyub [al-Sakhtiyani]. He then abandoned his Shi'i view." It is said that the Umayyads offered him high office positions but that he consistently declined. He even refused to give to the Caliphs moral and religious advice and when asked why, he responded "When the sea overflows, who can dam it up?". He was also quoted to have said to a friend of his "Beware of the rulers, of drawing close to and associating with them. Do not be deceived by being told that you can drive inequity away. All this is the deceit of the devil, which the wicked qurra' have taken as a ladder [to self promotion]."
Ath-Thawri's jurisprudential thought (usul al-fiqh), after his move to Basra, became more closely aligned to that of the Umayyads and of al-Awza'i. He is reported to have regarded the jihad as an obligation only as a defensive war.
Ath-Thawri was one of the 'Eight Ascetics,' who included (usual list) Amir ibn Abd al-Qays, Abu Muslim al-Khawlani, Uways al-Qarani, al-Rabi ibn Khuthaym, al-Aswad ibn Yazid, Masruq ibn al-Ajda', and Hasan al-Basri.
...
Wikipedia