Alqamah ibn Qays al-Nakhai

Alqama ibn Qays al-Nakhai (died ca. 62 AH / 682 CE) was one of the foremost scholars of the generation of Tabiun, a student of Abd Allah ibn Masud and one of the principal transmitters of Kufan Islamic scholarship. He was from the Nakha tribe that had settled in Kufa, and became the key figure transmitting Ibn Masud's legal opinions and Quranic interpretations to the next generation.

He was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the closest in understanding and manner to Abd Allah ibn Masud among all the Companions' students. Ibrahim al-Nakhai, himself a great scholar of the next generation, would say: "When Alqama narrates to you from Abd Allah, it is as if you are hearing Abd Allah himself." This assessment by his student reflects the extraordinary confidence the Kufan scholarly community placed in his transmission.

He was a pillar of the Kufan scholarly tradition that would later shape the Hanafi school of jurisprudence through the chains: Ibn Masud → Alqama → Ibrahim al-Nakhai → Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman → Abu Hanifa. His position in this chain makes him of fundamental importance to the development of Islamic legal thought.

He also learned from Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and other senior Companions. He was known for his restraint in issuing legal opinions, preferring to follow established practice rather than independent reasoning. He died in Kufa around 62 AH and is buried there, remembered as one of the founding figures of the Iraqi scholarly tradition.