Qadi Abu Yusuf 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.182H/798CE)

Qadi Abu Yusuf was a descendent of the Ansar and Sahaba Hadrat Sa'd b. Sibat. Born in Kufa in 113 or 117 H and passed away on the 5th of Rabi' al-Awwal 182 H. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaibani was born in 135 H and passed away in 189 H. He attended for about 2 yrs the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu, and upon the latter's death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf. He also studied for 3 yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik Radi Allahu anhu under the great Imam himself, in Medina.

Al-Qasim ibn 'Uthman al-Ju'i 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan (d.248H / 862CE)

One of the great saints of Damascus who took hadith from Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna. Ibn al-Jawzi relates in 'Sifat al-safwa' that al-Ju'i explained that he got the name al-Ju'i ('of the hunger') because Allah had strengthened him against physical hunger by means of spiritual hunger. He said:

Even if I were left one month without food I would not care. O' Allah, you have done this with me: Therefore complete it for me!

SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI writes about him in 'Siyar a'lam al-nubala':

Imam Muhammad Ibn al Hasan al Shaibani, 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l ridwan (d.189H/805CE)

An eminent Hanafi scholar of his time, who also served as the Chief Justice in Baghdad. Imam al-Muhammad b. al-Hasan Shaibani was born in 135 Hijri and passed away in 189 Hijri. He attended for about 2 years the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah alayhir rahman, and upon the latter's death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf alayhir rahman. He also studied for 3 yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik alayhir rahman under the great Imam himself, in Madina. The great Imam, Imam Shafi'i alayhir rahman said:

"Whenever Imam Muhammad expounded a point of law, it seemed as if the revealing Angel had descended upon him."

"I acquired from Imam Muhammad a camel-load of learning"

Ibn Hajar alayhir rahman quotes Imam Shafi'i as having said:

Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shayba 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.235 H - 849 CE)

'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Shayba Ibrahim ibn 'Uthman ibn Khuwasta, Abu Bakr al-'Abasi (d. 235), described by SHAMS' AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI as the brother, father, and uncle of hadith masters and their most prestigious representative, "the master of hadith masters," "one of those who have reached the sky, an apex of trustworthiness," "one of the oceans of knowledge," the author of al-Musnad, al-Ahkam, al-Musannaf, and al-Tafsir, "one of the peers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahuyah, and 'Ali ibn al-Madini in age, place of birth, and hadith memorization." Abu Zur'a al-Razi said:

"I never saw anyone with more mastery of the hadith than Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba."

His scholarly relatives are: his brothers 'Uthman ibn Abi Shayba and al-Qasim ibn Abi Shayba; his son Ibrahim ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abi Shayba; and his nephew Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Uthman ibn Abi Shayba. All are hadith masters except al-Qasim, who is weak.'Abd Allah ibn Abi Shayba took hadith from Sharik ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qadi at age fourteen, Ibn al-Mubarak, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, Hushaym ibn Bashir, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, Yahya al-Qattan, Isma'il ibn 'Iyash, Isma'il ibn 'Ulayya, and other major authorities. From him took Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Zur'a, Ibn Abi 'Asim, Buqayy ibn Makhlad, al-Baghandi, Abu Ya'la al-Musili, Salih Jazara, 'Abdan, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and others.

Seven centuries had passed since afore said Zubaydah canal was created and now it was in its worst with the passage of time despite being looked after by the subsequent rulers. Almost all the wells and springs had gone dried and dead and Zubaydah canal was filled with shifting sand and stones and its concrete wall was broken here and there and water was no more once again. It was the year 965H (1557 A.D) when all those days had returned which had urged Zubaydah to come to the rescue.

Fortunately another Zubaydah had come in to the world in the shape of the Turk princess Fatimah Khanum, daughter of the great ‘Uthman ruler Sultan Salim. When the things came to her knowledge, she under took to solve the problem once for all. She assigned the task to her trusted aide Ibrahim ibn Takrim to restore the canal and extend it to Makkah to bring it in to the easy reach of every Makkan and the pilgrims.

Umm Ja’far, Zubaydah was the darling queen of fifth Abbasid Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (170H, 786 A.D to 193H, 809 A.D). Her name was Amatul Aziz but she came to be known as Zubaydah. Her grandfather Abu Ja’far Mansur who had endearly named her Zubaydah, made very special arrangements for her education. Very competent and highly qualified teachers and scholars were hired. Zubaydah, herself was very intelligent and right-minded. She obtained education with great interest and developed an attachment with the Quran and Hadith, which persisted for the entire of her life. She excelled in Arabic literature as well as other fields of learning. Her erudition could be compared with those of the celebrated scholars of her days.

Zubaydah was a very graceful lady. She was kind hearted, generous and literary minded. Though her living was regal and her magnificence and splendour was unparalleled in the precincts of the royalties. On the one hand thousands of dinars were spent on her single dress, her footwears were studded with diamonds and pearls and her palaces were lighted with candles of amber. Her kitchen expenditures were more than ten thousand dirhams daily. Hundreds of people would live on her kitchen.

Dhul-Nun al-Misri 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.244H/859CE)

Famous Egyptian Sufi [full name Dhul Nun Abu Fayd Thawban ibn Ibrahim al-Misri]. Born in Akhmim, upper Egypt [796 CE]; died in Djiza near Cairo. Considered among the most prominent figures of early Sufism & holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as JUNAYD, AL-BAGHDADI [d.910] & ABU YAZID AL-BISTAMI [d.874] Allah be pleased with all. A legendary alchemist and thaumaturage, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria. Wisdom sayings & poems, which are extremely dense & rich in sufi imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis [m'arifah] more than fear [makhafah] or love [mahabbah], the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. No written work has survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings & aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.