the people of Medina. The people of Medina rarely followed Alī’s opinions. Rather, they acquired their jurisprudence from the Seven Jurists, who in turn had received it from Zayd, Umar, Ibn Umar, and others like them.

As for al-Shāfi‘ī, he initially studied jurisprudence under the Meccan disciples of Ibn Jurayj, such as Sa‘īd ibn Sālim al-Qaddāh and Muslim ibn Khālid al-Zanjī. Ibn Jurayj had acquired this knowledge from the disciples of Ibn Abbās, such as Atā’ and others. Ibn Abbās was an independent mujtahid. Whenever he issued a ruling based on the opinion of one of the Companions, he followed the opinion of Abū Bakr or Umar, not that of Alī; indeed, he disagreed with Alī on a number of matters.

Al-Shāfi‘ī then studied under Mālik, after which he copied the books of the Iraqi scholars, adopted the legal positions (1) of the Hadith scholars, and formed his own conclusions.

As for Abū Hanīfa, the teacher with whom he was especially associated was Hammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Hammād learned from Ibrāhīm, Ibrāhīm from Alqama, and Alqama from Ibn Mas‘ūd. Abū Hanīfa also learned from Atā’ and others.

As for Imam Ahmad, he followed the methodology of the Hadith scholars. He learned from Ibn Uyayna, who learned from Amr ibn Dīnār, who in turn learned from Ibn Abbās and Ibn Umar. He also learned from Hishām ibn Bashīr, who learned from the disciples of al-Hasan and Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī. He likewise learned from Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī, Wakī‘ ibn al-Jarrāh, and others like them. He kept company with al-Shāfi‘ī, learned from Abū Yūsuf, and selected an opinion for himself. The same was true of Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh, Abū Ubayd (2), and others like them.