Ibn Abi Shayba

Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Shayba al-Absi al-Kufi (159–235 AH) was one of the leading hadith scholars of the classical period. His al-Musannaf (Encyclopedia of Hadith arranged by topic) is one of the largest hadith compilations, containing approximately 40,000 hadith and athar (companion narrations), and is a primary source for Islamic legal and historical hadith. He was the teacher of al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawud — making him one of the most important links in the hadith transmission chain. He is considered a major reference in hadith sciences.