= See: al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) – Ibn Kathir – vol. 12, p. 24; Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya (Ranks of the Shafiʽis) – Ibn Qadi Shahba – vol. 1, pp. 175–176; Shudhur al-Dhahab (Fragments of Gold) – Ibn al-Imad – vol. 3, pp. 207–208. (1) He is Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Fashani al-Marwazi, a memorizer of the Shafiʽi school known for his keen insight, asceticism, and piety. Abu Bakr al-Qaffal and the jurists of Marw studied under him. He died in 371 AH. See: Tabyin Kathib al-Muftari (Clarifying the Slanderer’s Lie) – Ibn ʽAsakir, pp. 188–190; Tabaqat al-Fuqaha (Ranks of the Jurists) – al-Shirazi, p. 123; Tabaqat al-Shafiʽiyya – Ibn Qadi Shahba, vol. 1, pp. 124–125. (2) Al-Subki states in Tabaqat al-Shafiʽiyya, vol. 5, p. 54: “The school’s authority in the Iraqi tradition is vested in Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini, and in the Khorasani tradition in al-Qaffal al-Marwazi; may Allah have mercy on them both. They are the heads of their respective traditions, to whom reference is made and on whom reliance is placed.” See also: “Chain of Those Who Mastered Both Traditions from the Companions of Imam al-Shafiʽi” in Tahdhib al-Asma’ wa-l-Lughat (Refinement of Names and Languages) – al-Nawawi, vol. 1, pp. 18–20. (3) He is Tahir ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar al-Tabari, a venerable imam and one of the chief carriers of the Shafiʽi school, from whom the Iraqi scholars derived their knowledge. He was trustworthy, sincere, pious, and well-versed in the principles and branches of jurisprudence. After the death of Abu Abd Allah al-Simari, he served as judge over Rabiʽ al-Karkh. He died in 450 AH. See: Tarikh Baghdad (History of Baghdad) – al-Baghdadi, vol. 9, pp. 358–360; Wafayat al-Aʿyan (Deaths of Eminent Men) – Ibn Khallikan, vol. 2, pp. 512–515; Tabaqat al-Shafiʽiyya – al-Subki, vol. 5, pp. 12–90. (4) He is Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Yusuf al-Fayruzabadi al-Shirazi, a jurist renowned for his asceticism and devout worship. He resided in Baghdad, where he studied hadith and jurisprudence under, among others, Qadi Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari. He died in 476 AH. See: Tabyin Kathib al-Muftari – Ibn ʽAsakir, vol. 8, pp. 276–278; Tahdhib al-Asma’ wa-l-Lughat – al-Nawawi, vol. 2, pp. 172–174; Tabaqat al-Shafiʽiyya – al-Subki, vol. 4, pp. 215–256.