Statement by Abdul Hayy Lakhnawi Hanafi:

“Indeed, after them, there have also appeared independent scholars of ijtihad such as Abu Thawr al-Baghdadi, Dawud al-Zahiri, and Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, among others — as is not hidden from anyone who has studied the books of Tabaqat.” [Al-Nafi‘ al-Kabir, p. 16]