(2.) Ata Ibn Abi Rabah.--"He held a high rank at Mekka as a juris-consult, a _Tabi_, and a devout ascetic; and he derived (_his knowledge of the law and the Traditions_) from the lips of Jabir Ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari, and Abd Allah Ibn Abbas, Abd Allah Ibn Zubair, and many others of Muhammad's companions. His own authority as a traditionist was cited by Amr ibn Dinar, Al-Aamash, Al-Auzai, and a great number of others who had heard him teach. The office of _Mufti_ at Mekka devolved on him and on Mujahid, and was filled by them whilst they lived.... He died A.H. 115 (A.D. 733-4); some say 114 at the age of eighty-eight years."--[_Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated from the Arabic by Baron MacGuckin De Slane; Vol. II, pp. 203-204. London, MDCCCXLIII._] (3.) Amr Ibn Dinar.--"He is counted among the most eminent of the Tabis and considered as a traditionist of very highest authority. He was only one of the Mujatahid Imams. Died A.H. 126, (A.D. 743-4), aged eighty years."--[_Tab-al-Fokaha_]. (4.) "Abd Allah Ibn Shuburma ibn Tufail ad Dubbi, a celebrated Imam, and Tabi was an eminent jurisconsult of Kufa. He learned the Traditions from Ans, As-Shabi, and Ibn Sirin, and his own authority was cited for Traditions by Soffian Ath-Thauri, Sofyan ibn Oyaina, and others. His veracity and his eminence as a doctor of the law was universally acknowledged. He was an abstemious, intelligent, devout, generous, of a handsome countenance, and possessing a talent for poetry. He acted under the Khalif Al-Mamun, as kadi of the cultivated country (Sawad) around Kufa. Born A.H. 92, (A.D. 710-11); died A.H. 144 (A.D. 761-2)."--[_Tabal-Fak. Al-Yafi._] (5.) "Sofyan Ath-Thauri (As-Sauri) was native of Kufa and a master of the highest authority in the Traditions and other sciences; his piety, devotion, veracity, and contempt for worldly goods were universally acknowledged, and as an Imam, he is counted among the _Mujtahids_.... Sofyan ibn Oyaina declared that he did not know a man better informed than Soyfan Ath-Thauri respecting what was permitted and what was forbidden by the law.... Sofyan was born A.H. 95 (A.D. 713-4). Other accounts place his birth in 96 or 97. He died A.H. 161 (A.D. 713-4) at Basra.... It has been stated by some that Sofyan died A.H. 162, but the first is the true date."--[_Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated from the Arabic by Baron MacGuckin De Slane, Vol. I, pp. 576-8. London, MDCCCXLIII._] [Sidenote: 113. European writers' mistake.]