Full lineage : Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays b. Mua'wiyah b. Husein b. 'Ubada b. Nazl b. Murra b. 'Ubaid b. al-Harith b. 'Amr b. Ka'b b. Sa'd b. Zayd Manat b. Tamim
He was a reliable and trustworthy with few hadiths. He was born with a foot deformity (ahnaf). He was reported to have been in a state of janaba on his way to Persia and instead of waking any of his slaves or army up, he searched for water/snow until his feet bled. He was good friends with Mus'ab ibn az-Zubayr, the then current governor of Kufa. He was requested by 'Abdu'l-Malik to become the ruler of Syria.