al-A'mash (Sulayman ibn Mahran)

Sulayman ibn Mahran al-A'mash al-Kahili (61–148 AH / 680–765 CE) was one of the most important hadith transmitters and Quran reciters of Kufa, a Tabi Tabii who was a pivotal link between the early Kufan scholarly tradition and the classical period. His epithet al-A'mash ("the bleary-eyed") refers to a weakness in his eyesight. He was of Persian origin and was a mawla (client) of the Kahil clan.

He studied under the major Kufan Tabiun including Ibrahim al-Nakhai, Abi Wa'il (Shaqiq ibn Salama), Abu Salih al-Samman, Ziyad ibn al-Harith al-Suwa'i, and many others. His position in the isnad system is critical because he narrates from the generation of the great Tabiun and is narrated from by virtually all the classical-era scholars: Shu'ba, Sufyan al-Thawri, Abu Mu'awiya, Waki, and hundreds of others.

He was renowned for his precise memory and his expertise in Quran recitation — his recitation (qira'a) in the Kufan tradition was one of the recognized early reading systems. He was also known for a sharp tongue and dry wit, with numerous anecdotes recorded about his humorous exchanges with students and governors.

He was sometimes criticized for a practice called tadlis — narrating from those he had met without specifying that he had heard directly — which careful scholars noted required verification. Despite this, he is consistently rated as one of the most reliable transmitters when he specifies direct hearing. He died in Kufa in 148 AH, the same year as Jafar al-Sadiq, and is counted among the most important figures in the Kufan chain of transmission leading to later hadith literature.