Masruq ibn al-Ajda

Masruq ibn al-Ajda al-Hamdani (died 63 AH / 682 CE) was one of the major scholars of the generation of Tabiun, a student of the great Companions Abd Allah ibn Masud, Aisha, and Umar ibn al-Khattab, and one of the principal transmitters of Kufan hadith and jurisprudence. He was originally from Yemen and came to Kufa, where he became part of the circle of Ibn Masud.

He was known for his extraordinary devotion in worship. It is reported that he used to pray so long at night that his feet would swell, and his wife Qatila would sometimes sit behind him weeping out of pity for him. He reportedly walked to Mecca for pilgrimage on foot. His asceticism and worship were remarked upon by his contemporaries.

He was the foremost student of Abd Allah ibn Masud in Kufa and transmitted the great bulk of the Masudi school's fiqh and hadith. His narrations from Aisha are particularly numerous and important — he reportedly traveled multiple times to Medina specifically to learn from her, and she trusted him as one of her most reliable students. Many of the preserved Aisha narrations reach us through his chain.

He served as a judge in Iraq, a position he reportedly accepted reluctantly. During the First Fitna he avoided partisanship, and his stance during that turbulent period was that of a scholar who prioritized preservation of knowledge and worship over political involvement. He died in Kufa in 63 AH and is counted among the greatest of the Tabiun scholars of Iraq.