His given name was Dahhak, though some maintained it was Sakhr.
He became known as al-Ahnaf because both of his legs were bowed—the word hanaf denotes curvature and inward tilt.
He was the chief of the Banu Tamim.
He accepted Islam during the Prophet’s lifetime and later visited Umar as a delegate.
He related hadith from: ʿUmar, ʿAli, Abu Dharr, al-ʿAbbas, Ibn Masʿud, ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan, and others.
Those who narrated from him include: ʿAmru ibn Jawān, al-Hasan al-Basri, ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, Talq ibn Habib, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmayrah, Yazid ibn al-Shikhkhir, Khulaydh al-ʿAsari, and many more.
Only a small corpus of hadith is traced through him.
He served as one of ʿAli’s commanders at the battle of Siffin.
Ibn Saʿd (1) said: “He was trustworthy, dependable, and sparing in narration. He was also a close friend of Musʿab ibn al-Zubayr. He traveled to him in Kufa and died there.”
Sulayman ibn Abi Shaykh remarked: “Both of his legs were bow-shaped, he possessed only a single testicle, and his name was Sakhr ibn Qays of the Banu Saʿd.”
His mother was from the tribe of Bahila, and she would rock him and chant:
“By God, were it not for the bend in his leg
and the scant offspring I fear from his seed,
no youth among you would rival him.”
Abu Ahmad al-Hakim said: “He is the one who conquered Marw al-Rudh (2).”
Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin marched in that very army.
I (the author) say: This point is questionable, for the two men would have been too young for such a campaign (3).