Sulayman ibn Yasar

Sulayman ibn Yasar (d. 107 AH / 722 CE), whose full name is Sulayman ibn Yasar al-Hilali al-Madani, was one of the Seven Fuqaha (jurists) of Medina among the Tabiin and a freed slave (mawla) who rose through his knowledge and piety to become one of the leading religious authorities in the most important city of the Muslim world. He was the freed slave of the Prophet's wife Maymunah bint al-Harith and grew up in her household, absorbing the atmosphere and traditions of the prophetic era from close proximity. His brother was Ata ibn Yasar, also a respected scholar of Medina.

Sulayman studied under many of the greatest companions and early Tabiin. His teachers included Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abu Hurairah, Zayd ibn Thabit, Aisha, Abdullah ibn Umar, and many others. The breadth of his studies gave him mastery over both hadith and jurisprudence, and his legal opinions were particularly valued on questions of marriage, divorce, and family law — areas in which his own position as a freed man gave him personal insight into some of the complex social situations that the law needed to address. Imam Malik quoted him extensively in al-Muwatta.

A famous anecdote about Sulayman illustrates both his physical handsomeness and his extraordinary moral character. During a journey, a woman of notable beauty attempted to seduce him. Rather than succumbing or responding harshly, Sulayman wept in fear of Allah and recited the story of Yusuf, then left quietly. This episode became one of the most celebrated stories of chastity and taqwa in the tradition of the Medinan scholars.

Along with the other Six Fuqaha, Sulayman ibn Yasar helped establish Medina as the pre-eminent center of Islamic jurisprudence in the century following the Prophet. His rulings on personal status law contributed substantially to the body of Medinan legal practice that Imam Malik later systematized in al-Muwatta. He died in Medina in approximately 107 AH (722 CE) and is counted among the most reliable and pious of the Medinan scholars.