al-Tahawi

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi (239–321 AH / 853–933 CE) was one of the greatest scholars in Islamic history, a master of Hanafi jurisprudence and an exceptional hadith scholar. Born in Egypt, he began his studies under his maternal uncle al-Muzani (the Shafi'i scholar), but eventually embraced the Hanafi school. He is most celebrated for al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyya (The Creed of al-Tahawi), a concise but comprehensive statement of Sunni theological beliefs that has been accepted by all major schools of Sunni Islam and has become the most widely-studied creedal text in the Islamic tradition. He also wrote the monumental Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (explaining apparently contradictory hadiths) and Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar (explaining the meanings of narrations), both encyclopedic works in hadith scholarship. His works demonstrate that the Hanafi school is rooted in hadith scholarship.