Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri an haife shi a garin Kufa a shekara ta 719 miladiyya, kuma bayan nazari mai zurfi a cikin Hadisi da Fiqhu, ya zama babban malamin Fiqhu na makarantar Hadisi a Kufa. Ya riƙe ra'ayoyi irin na abokin zamansa, Abu Hanifa, sai dai ya yi adawa da yadda Abu Hanifa ke amfani da Qiyas da Istihsan.

Imaam Sufyaan ath-Thawree was born in Kufah in the year 719 CE, and after an extensive study of Hadeeth and Fiqh became the main Fiqh scholar of the Hadeeth school in Kufah. He held similar views to those of his contemporary, Abu Haneefah, however he opposed the latter’s use of Qiyaas and Istihsaan.

Akwai wasu rikice-rikice da suka faru tsakanin Imaam Sufyaan da jami'an dawlar 'Abbaasiyyah saboda yadda yake fadin gaskiya a fili da kuma kin goyon bayan manufofin dawla da suka saba wa Shari'ah. Halifa al-Mansoor (mulki 759-744 CE) ya aika wa Imaam ath-Thawree wasika yana neman ya karbi mukamin Qaadee na Kufah bisa sharadin cewa kada ya yanke hukunci ko yin wani hukunci da zai saba wa manufofin dawla. Da Sufyaan ya karbi wasikar, sai ya yaga ta cikin bacin rai, ya jefa ta cikin kogin Tigris, amma sakamakon haka, an tilasta masa ya daina koyarwarsa kuma ya gudu domin ransa. Ya ci gaba da boye har ya rasu a shekara ta 777 CE.

There occurred between Imaam Sufyaan and officials of the ‘Abbaasid state a series of confrontations due to his outspoken nature and his refusal to support state policies which contradicted the Sharee’ah. Caliph al-Mansoor (rule 759-744 CE) Sent a letter to Imaam ath-Thawree requesting him to accept the post of Qaadee of Kufah on condition that he not make any judgement or ruling in opposition to the state policy. On receipt of the letter, Sufyaan tore it up and threw it into the Tigris river in disgust, but, as a result, he was forced to give up his teaching and flee for his life. He remained in hiding until he died in the year 777 CE.

Abubuwa biyu manya sune kamar haka:

The two main factors are as follows:

Imam ya shafe mafi yawan rayuwarsa a ɓoye, don haka bai iya jawo ɗalibai masu yawa ba waɗanda za su yaɗa ra'ayoyinsa daga baya a cikin da'irorin ilimi.

(a) The Imaam spent the greater part of his life in hiding and thus was unable to attract a large number of students who might subsequently spread his opinions in the circles of learning.

(b) Duk da cewa ya yi tattara mai yawa na Hadisai da tafsirinsu, ya nemi a cikin wasiyyarsa cewa almajirinsa babba, ‘Ammaar ibn Sayf, ya goge dukkan rubuce-rubucensa, kuma ya ƙone duk abin da ba za a iya gogewa ba. ‘Ammaar ya yi biyayya ya lalata rubuce-rubucen malaminsa, amma yawancin ra’ayoyin Imam an rubuta su daga almajiran wasu Imamai, don haka sun tsira har yau amma ba a cikin tsari ba.142

(b) Although he did carry out some fairly extensive compilation of Hadeeths and their interpretations, he requested in his will that his main student, ‘Ammaar ibn Sayf, erase all his writings and burn whatever could not be erased. ‘Ammaar dutifully destroyed his teacher’s writings, but many of the Imaam’s ideas were recorded by students of other Imaas, so they have survived till today but not in an organized form.142