Imam al-Awzāʿī, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 157 AH)

Answer

He was a muḥaddith and a very great scholar of ḥadīth; ʿAllāmah adh-Dhahabī calls him "Shaykh al-Islām" and "al-Ḥāfiẓ," and states that he was fit to be made caliph of his time. Imam Abū Zurʿah (d. 281 AH) states that a vast store of religion and fiqh has been transmitted from Imam al-Awzāʿī; he was the reference-point (marjaʿ) and the greatest mufti (muftī aʿẓam)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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