The Successors (Tābiʿūn)

Uways ibn 'Amir al-Qarani was from the tribe of Qaran in Yemen. He embraced Islam in the Prophet's lifetime but never met him, for he stayed back to serve his elderly mother. The Prophet ﷺ foretold his coming and told 'Umar and 'Ali to ask him to seek forgiveness for them. He was the foremost of the Tabi'un in piety, hidden from the people by his own choice.

The foremost of the seven famous jurists of Madinah (the Fuqaha as-Sab'a). He was born in the caliphate of 'Umar and was deeply learned in the rulings and judgements of 'Umar in particular, alongside the narrations of the Companions. He married the daughter of Abu Hurayra and was among the closest transmitters of his vast hadith.

Son of az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam and nephew of 'A'isha, from whom he learned a great deal of hadith and fiqh directly. One of the seven jurists of Madinah, he is regarded as one of the earliest founders of the science of seerah (Prophetic biography) and the historical narration of the Maghazi.

Grandson of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and one of the seven jurists of Madinah. He was raised in the household of his aunt 'A'isha and absorbed her knowledge. He was known for the soundness of his rulings and his careful, scrupulous restraint in giving fatwa.

Born in Madinah and raised in Basra, al-Hasan became its greatest scholar, preacher and ascetic. His mother was a freed-slave of Umm Salama. He was an imam in tafsir, hadith, fiqh and especially in zuhd and reminding hearts, drawing huge gatherings. His eloquent sermons on the Hereafter moved the people of his age profoundly.

A leading scholar of Basra, son of a freed-slave of Anas ibn Malik. He was an imam in hadith — famous for his strictness over the chain of narration (isnad) and his refusal to narrate except from trustworthy sources — as well as in fiqh and the interpretation of dreams. He was renowned for his scrupulous piety (wara') in trade and in speech.

The mufti of Makkah and its greatest jurist in his time, especially in the rites of Hajj. He was of Abyssinian descent, a freed-slave, dark-skinned and physically frail, yet he rose by knowledge to be the reference of the pilgrims. The caliphs would instruct that none give fatwa during Hajj except 'Ata'.

The foremost student of Ibn 'Abbas in tafsir and one of the greatest authorities on the meanings of the Qur'an Majeed among the Tabi'un. His tafsir narrations are heavily relied upon by later imams such as al-Bukhari and at-Tabari.

The leading scholar and jurist of Yemen, a student of Ibn 'Abbas. He was renowned for his worship, his fearlessness before rulers, and his refusal of their gifts. He performed Hajj some forty times and was famed for the length of his prayer and prostration.

The freed-slave and closest companion of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, whom he served and learned from for some thirty years. He became the chief transmitter of Ibn 'Umar's hadith and a pillar of the Madinan chain of narration, teaching Imam Malik among others.

Son of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and grandson of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. A leading jurist of Madinah, sometimes counted among its great fuqaha, he was noted for resembling his grandfather 'Umar in piety, austerity and firmness, and for his refusal of worldly favour from the rulers.

The Umayyad caliph often counted among the Tabi'un and widely regarded as a renewer (mujaddid) of the religion. A descendant of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab through his mother's line, he gave up the luxury of the court upon becoming caliph, returned wrongfully held wealth, and ruled with such justice that, it is said, charity could find no poor to receive it.

A great hadith master and Qur'an Majeed reciter of Kufa, known for his precision, his vast memory and his deep piety. He was a major link in the chains of narration of the people of Kufa and a teacher of many later imams. The hadith scholars praised the strength and reliability of his transmission.

Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihab az-Zuhri was among the greatest hadith masters of the Tabi'un and is credited as a pioneer of the formal, written codification (tadwin) of hadith, undertaken at the request of the caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz. He met a number of Companions and gathered an enormous body of narration and seerah.

A leading student of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas and among the most learned of the Tabi'un in tafsir, recitation and fiqh. Of Abyssinian mawla descent, he combined vast knowledge with intense worship. He took part in the resistance to the tyrant governor al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, who eventually captured and executed him.

The freed-slave and foremost carrier of the tafsir of Ibn 'Abbas, who taught him the Qur'an and its meanings with great care. A Berber by origin, he travelled widely across the Muslim lands transmitting the knowledge of his master, and his tafsir is relied upon in al-Bukhari's Sahih and the major commentaries.

The leading jurist of Kufa in his generation and heir to the fiqh of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud through 'Alqama and others. His careful legal reasoning, transmitted through his student Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman to Imam Abu Hanifa, became a foundation of the Kufan (later Hanafi) school of jurisprudence.

A jurist and traditionist of Kufa famed for an extraordinary memory; he said he never wrote anything down yet forgot nothing he heard. He met many Companions, served as a judge, and was so trusted that the Umayyad caliph 'Abd al-Malik employed him as an envoy and tutor.

The foremost student of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and a pillar of the knowledge of Kufa. So close was he to his teacher in guidance, recitation and manner that Ibn Mas'ud said of him that he recited and understood the Qur'an as he himself did. Through him much of Ibn Mas'ud's fiqh reached the later Kufan scholars.

A great jurist and worshipper of Kufa who learned from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, 'A'isha, 'Umar and others. He was renowned for the length of his prayer and prostration, and for his scrupulous refusal of worldly gain, judging cases without ever taking a wage.

One of the great imams of tafsir, hadith and the Arabic language in Basra, and a foremost student of al-Hasan al-Basri. Blind from birth, he was gifted with a prodigious memory and was counted among the most knowledgeable of the Tabi'un in the meanings of the Qur'an, the differences of the jurists and Arab lineage.

Great-grandson of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Husayn, and a survivor of Karbala as a youth. He devoted his life to worship, knowledge and quiet generosity, earning the title Zayn al-'Abidin ("the ornament of the worshippers"). Sunni scholars honour him among the noble Tabi'un for his piety, forbearance and learning.

The leading jurist and mufti of Sham (greater Syria) in his time. Of non-Arab origin and once a captive, he travelled through Egypt, the Hijaz and Iraq gathering knowledge before settling in Damascus, where he became the reference of its people in fiqh and fatwa.

One of the seven jurists of Madinah (the Fuqaha as-Sab'a), a mawla of Umm Salama and brother of 'Ata' ibn Yasar. He was a trusted narrator and jurist whom scholars ranked close to Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib in the soundness of his fatwa.

Known as "Rabi'at ar-Ra'y" for his mastery of reasoned legal opinion, he was among the greatest jurists of Madinah at the close of the Tabi'un era and a principal teacher of Imam Malik ibn Anas. His circle bridged the fiqh of the Madinan Tabi'un to the school of Malik.