Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 3 months ago
The historian Muhammad Jarir al-Tabari was Sunni.
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri: While Shi'ism originated early (a Shi'i being someone who supported the leadership of Imam 'Ali (A) and his descendants), it took some time for Sunnism as we know it today to develop. Al-Zuhri lived somewhat before that time. So it is not always wholly accurate to identify people in his time period as "Sunnis". This is not an issue with Tabari since Tabari lived later.
In any case, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri's work on hadith was the beginning of what became the tradition of major hadith collections in Sunnism, and led to the formative Sunni books of hadith. Furthermore, he was associated with the Umayyads. Therefore, he is a key figure in the development of Sunnism.