He was referred to by his nisbah Awzā (الأوزاع), part of Banu Hamdan. The biographer and historian Al-Dhahabi reports that Awzāʿī was from Sindh, and he was a mawali of ʾAwzā tribe in his early life. Very little of al-Awzāʿī's writings survive, but his style of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) is preserved in Abu Yusuf's book Al-radd ʿala siyar al-Awzāʿī, in particular his reliance on the "living tradition," or the  uninterrupted practice of Muslims handed down from preceding generations.
Known by his nisbah Awzā (الأوزاع), part of Banu Hamdan, he was a mawali of the ʾAwzā tribe in Al-Dhahabi's time. Very little of al-Awzāʿī's writings has survived, but his style of Islamic jurisprudence is preserved in Abu Yusuf's book Al-radd ʿala siyar al-Awzāʿī, especially his emphasis on the "living tradition," which refers to the continuous practice of Muslims from past generations.