The extant biographical information about Hammad is limited. It is known that he was a
mawla (client) of the family of
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, a
companion of
Muhammad. His father was wealthy, allowing Hammad to dedicate himself solely to his legal studies. He became the student of
Ibrahim al-Nakha'i in Kufa, who appears to have been his sole mentor in
fiqh, although he also studied under
al-Sha'bi and met
Hasan al-Basri,
Said ibn al-Musayyib and the companion
Anas ibn Malik. Abu Hanifa attended the
halaqa of Hammad for eighteen to twenty years and eventually, due to his ability, was afforded the privilege of sitting directly in front of Hammad. Hammad died in Kufa in 738. == Notes ==