Next in line of authority after the Word of God, the Holy Qur'an, then the Tradition of His Messenger, peace be upon him (Sunnah), then the consensus ('Ijma'a)of the Companions stands the consensus, in matters of religion, of those ulama of the Muslims who came after the time of Companions (may God be pleased with them).
Imam Abu Hanifa (80 A.H.-150 A.H.) first (born) of the Four Imams, whose schools are followed by the majority of Muslims throughout the world. Lived in Kufa, in Iraq. His is the school followed by the greatest number of Muslims, including those in the Indian subcontinent, Turkey, large parts of Central Asia, China and Afghanistan.
Imam Malik bin Anas (95 A.H.-179 A.H.) second of the Four Imams. Lived in Madinah al-Munawwara. His school is followed in most of Africa. He wrote the first compilation of ahadith al-Muwatta.
Imam Idris Shafi'i (d. 204 H). third of the Four Imams. Born in Madinah, where he studied under Imam Malike. Later travelled to Kufa to study under Imam Abu Hanifa, later resided in Egypt. He developed the fundamental principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) which are followed by all the schools today. His school is followed in the Middle East areas of Sham (Syria, Jordan, Palestine), and Egypt, in some parts of Central Asia, and in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma).
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164 A.H.- 241 A.H.)was the last of the Four Imams. His school is followed mostly in the Hejaz and some of the Persian Gulf states. He memorized over 750,000 ahadith. His best known hadith compilation is al-Musnad.
Imam Bukhari (194-256 H.), The Imam of Muslims, the Examplar of those who say: "One," the Shaykh of the Believers, He Who is Relied upon concerning the sayings of the Master of Messengers, the Keeper of the Rule of Religion, Abu `Abd Allah al-Ju`fi al-Bukhari, the author of "al- Jami` al-sahih" [The Compendium of Sound Traditions]...
He heard traditions directly from Malik ibn Anas, and he met Hammad ibn Zayd and Salih ibn al-Mubarak...
The two best students of Imam Abu Hanifa, are Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.
Allama Ibn Jarir Tabari (224 A.H.-310 A.H.).
Imam Tahawi (239 A.H.-321 A.H.)
Allama Ibn Hazm Andulasi (384 A.H.-456 A.H.).
Imam Ghazali (450 A.H-505 A.H.). Known as the 'Proof of the of the Religion' (Hujjat ul-Islam) for his decisive victory over the logicians and philosophers, and for his writing of the monumental work of Islamic Jurisprudence, The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya al-'Uloom ad-Deen), Imam Ghazali was a pillar among the scholars of his time. Born in Khurasan, of what is now present-day Iran, he was a scholar from a young age. He published over 400 books, some of them voluminous.
Famous in his piety and his deep longing for reaching the Truth, he abandoned the scholarly life after having acheived monumental success therein, to pursue the path of seeking God, through Sufi ways. He found success in this undertaking under the guidance of the great scholar and mutasawwif, Shaykh Abu Ali al-Farmadi.
Muhi as-Sunnah Baghawi ( died 510 A.H.)
Allama Zamakhshari (467 A.H.-538 A.H)
Qazi 'Iyad (died 544 A.H.)
Allama Shahrastani (died A.H. 548),
Imam Razi (543 A.H.-606 A.H.)
Abul Faraj ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 H.) a Hanbali 'alim of the Divine Law. Famous for his many chronicles of the scholars and saints of the times preceding him. Ibn al-Jawzi's work Talbis Iblis is one of his most famous works. Ibn al-Jawzi opposed all doctrines and practices, regardless of their sources, which were innovations in the rule of shari'ah--i.e. not found in the Qur'an and Sunnah, wherever found in the Islamic community, especially in Ibn al-Jawzi's time. It was written against specific innovated practices of many groups, including: philosophers (mutakallimoon), theologians, traditionalists ('ulama al-hadith), jurists (fuqaha), preachers, philologists, poets and false Sufis.
Ibn al-Jawzi has written numerous works on Tasawwuf, fiqh, 'ilm al-Quran, hadith, tafsir and biographies of many great men of Tasawwuf. Two works considered as pillars in the field of Tasawwuf are Safwat as-Safa and Minhaj al-Qasidin wa Mufid as-Sadiqin. In addition, full length biographies in praise of the early Sufis have been penned by Ibn al-Jawzi, including Fada'il Hasan al-Basri (The Gracious Character of Hasan al-Basri), and Manaqib Ibrahim bin Adham, (The Good Qualities of Ibrahim bin Adham), Manaqib Bishr al-Hafi, Manaqib Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, "Manaqib Rabi'a al-Adawiyya. In sections of his book al-Muntazam many biographical notices may be found in praise of Mutasawwifeen.
Allama Baidawi(died A.H. 685).
Allama Hafiz-ud-Din Al-Nasafi (died A.H.710)
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 H.) founder of a later school, commonly known as the Salafiyya, he was extremely strict in his interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 H), Ibn Taymiyya's student and expounder. Prolific writer, among his books are ar-Ruh, Zad al-Ma'ad and manyothers.
Allama `Alau-din Baghdadi (died A.H. 725).
Allama Ibn Kathir (died A.H. 774), a student of Ibn Taymiyya. Most well-known for his voluminous exegesis of Qur'an, Tafsir Ibn Kathir.
Ibn Rajab (d. 795 H), a student of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.
Sayyid Ahmad Fa'ruqi as-Sirhindi, better known as Imam Rabbani and the Reviver of the Second Millenium (Mujaddid alf ath-Thaani). Much of his contributions to fiqh and tasawwuf are to found in his collection of Letters (Maktubat Imam Rabbani).>
Allama Jalal-Ud-Din Suyuti (died A.H. 911)
Abdul Haqq ad-Dahlawi, a great scholar of hadith.
Allama Ibn Nujaim (died A.H. 970)
Mulla Ali Qari (died A.H. 1016)
Shaikh Isma'il Haqqi (died 1137 A.H.)
Allama Shawkani (died 1255 A.H.)
Khalid Diya-ad-Din al-Baghdadi, (1776 C.E.- 1247 AH./ -1827 CE). From Kurdistan, Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi was a genius of religious and scientific disciplines and is considered the mujaddid of his century. After establishing his religious and scientific school in Sulaymaniyyah, Iraq, he travelled from his homecountry of Iraq, to seek his spiritual guide, whom he found after a year's overland travel to India. Their he studied Tasawwuf under the guidance of Shaykh Abdullah ad-Dahlawi, then returned to the Middle East, establishing his headquarters in Sham ash-Sharif (present-day Syria), in Damascus. There he spread the Naqshbandi Order far and wide through his hundreds of caliphs and millions of disciples. He died there in the plague of 1827. Over three-hundred-thousand people attended his funeral.
Allama Alusi (died 1270 A.H.) of Baghdad.
Ibn Abidin, a later Hanafi Scholar.
This is a brief mention of some of the of the leading savants, jurists, scholars of Hadith and commentators of every realm of Islam.