Tashreeh Al Asedi

IMAM ABU HANIFAH (رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہ)

Imam Abu Ḥanifa An-Nuʿman ibn Thabit bin Zuṭa bin Marzuban (امامم أبو حنيفة نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان) - (767 – 699 CE), is the founder of Hanafi School of thought in Islamic Jurisprudence. The Arab historian Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi (1002-1071) recorded a statement of one of the descendant grandsons of Imam Abu Hanifa who gave his lineage as Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Marzuban, claiming his ancestry to be of Persian origin. It is reported that Marzuban entered the fold of Islam during the period of Khulfa-e-Rashideen and moved to the city of Kufa in southern Iraq.

BLESSED BIRTH

Imam Abu Hanifah was born in Kufa, Iraq during the reign Umayyed ruler Abdul Malik bin Marwan. His father’s name was Thabit bin Zuta who is reported to have met Ali bin Abu Talib (ru) during Ali’s (ru) rule in Kufa. Imam Abu Hanifa was born 67 years after the death of Prophet Mohammad (s) and 19 years after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (عليه السلام). It is reported that he had the opportunity to meet many of the Prophet’s (s) Sahabah in Kufa during his youth.

It is reported that the Imam transmitted Ahadith from 16 Sahabah, namely, (i) Anas ibn Malik, (ii) Abdullah ibn Anas al-Juhani, (iii) Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Juz’ Al-Zabidi, (iv) Jabir bin Abdullah, (v) Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, (vi) Wa’ila ibn al-Asqa`, (vii) Ma`qal ibn Yasar, (viii) Abu Tufail Amir ibn Wa’ila, (ix) A’isha bint Hajrad, (x) Sahl bin Sa`d, (xi) Al-Tha’ib ibn Khallad Ibn Suwaid, (xii) Al-Tha’ib ibn Yazid ibn Sa`id, (xiii) Abdullah ibn Samra, (xiv) Mahmud ibn al-Rabi, (xv) Abdullah ibn Ja`far, and (xvi)Abu Umama (رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہم اجمعين).

EARLY LIFE

Imam Abu Hanifa joined his father’s business right from his early years, and it is reported that he was a successful businessman who adhered to the principles of Islamic Sharia.

The Imam was provided with excellent intellect and was extremely rational in his perception. He would reach to the crux of the matter within seconds. An incident in this context during his early years is given below.

It is reported that there was a Roman who asked three questions from the people in a big gathering, and no one was able to answer them. The Imam happened to be in that gathering. At that time, he was in his early teens. The three questions were (i) who was there before God, (ii) which direction God is facing right now, and (iii) what God is doing right now.

Imam stood up and accepted his challenge to reply to these questions. Abu Hanifa asked him, what is before zero? The Roman replied ‘nothing’. The Imam then said, when the commonsense dictates that there is nothing before zero, then how can the Creator of the worlds not be the beginning of everything? And there is nothing before Him.

In answer to his second question, the Imam asked the person, if you light up a candle, what do you see? The man said, ‘light’. The Imam asked him, in which direction the light is facing? The man replied, the light is not facing in any direction. The Imam said, Allah, who is light of lights, how can you think of a direction for Him?

In answering his third question, Imam asked the man to change his place. Let him come to the place where Imam was standing, and let the Iman go to the high ground where the man was standing. The Roman did not have any objection to this suggestion, and they changed their places.

Then answering to his third question, the Imam said, right now what Allah is doing is this. He has made the man who is on falsehood to come down from the pulpit and the one who is on truth to come up to the pulpit to prove him wrong.

EDUCATION

At the age of 20, Imam Abu Hanifah turned his attention from the business of his father towards the pursuit of advancing his Islamic knowledge and studied under many well-known teachers.

His teachers included Ata Ibn Abi Rabah, Imam Saalim bin Abdullah bin Umar, and Ata Ibn Yasar Hilali who was the freed slave of Ummul Momineen Maimuna (رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہا). He also studied under many Imams of Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) household, like Imam Mohammad Al-Baqir, Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq, Imam Zayd Ibn Ali (رضئ اللہ تعالی عنہم).

His most prominent teacher was Imam Hammad ibn Abu Sulayman (d. 738 AD) whose educational lineage is linked to Abdullah bin Mas’ud (ru). Imam Abu Hanifa’s respect for his teachers was exemplary.

He wrote –

Even in my home I never stretched my legs in the direction of the house of my teacher (Imam Hammad ibn Abu Sulayman) who lived 7 streets away.

The Imam studied many subjects, like, Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, theology, etc. He is considered a pioneer who developed methods of looking into the texts of Quran and Hadith and deduce rulings from them to resolve day to day issues of the people.

TEACHING

It is reported that Imam Abu Hanifah established a school in Kufa in which he taught Fiqh and related subjects. Soon he became very popular throughout the region. He taught at this school for over 30 years. The most famous students of Imam Abu Hanifa were Imam Abu Yusuf (738-798 AD) and Imam Mohammad Al-Shaybani (749-805 AD), the teacher of Imam Shafii.

Numerous other students of the Imam became famous Hadith scholars of their times, and their narrations were collected by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim and other famous Hadith scholars in their books. It is reported that many of his students migrated to different parts of the Muslim world, like Afghanistan, Bukhara, Indian subcontinent, etc.

Imam Abu Hanifa was a prolific orator and debater who participated in numerous debates with Atheists, Apostates, Mu’tazilites and Kharijis. However, he stopped his students from these debates unless they complete their studies and master Islamic subjects. An incident in this context is given below.

It is reported that a prominent person in Kufa used to openly call Khalifa-e-Rashid Othman bin Affan (ru) as a Jew. Many people advised him to refrain from such talk, but he was adamant. This was reported to Imam Abu Hanifa. Imam Abu Hanifa met that person and proposed a groom for marriage to his daughter. At that time, he was looking for matches for his daughter. Imam Abu Hanifa praised the proposed boy for his intelligence, wealth, and status in the neighborhood. When the man showed an interest to meet the boy or his parents, the Imam told him that ‘there is one problem, if you ignore it, you can marry your daughter to him’. The man asked what is that problem? The Imam told him that the boy is a Jew. The man got angry. The Imam said, what is the problem in marrying your daughter to a Jew, when the Prophet (s) married his two daughters to a Jew. The man understood his mistake, felt remorse for his utterances and did Tawba.

NARRATORS WHO REPORTED AHADITH FROM IMAM ABU HANIFA

There are many authentic Hadith narrators who narrated from Imam Abu Hanifa. These include, (i) Al-Khallal, (ii) Al-Hariri, (iii) An-Nakha’i, (iv) Ja’far ibn Muhammad Ibn Hazim, (v) Al-Walid Ibn Hammad, (vi) Al-Hasan Ibn Ziyad, (vii) Zufar Ibn Al-Hudhail, (viii) Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, (ix) Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, (x) Ja‘far ibn ‘Awn, (xi) Yazid ibn Harun Abu Khalid al-Wasiti, (xii) Waki‘ ibn al-Jarrah al-Kufi, (xiii) Isa ibn Yunus al-Kufi, (xiv) Abu ‘Umar Hafs ibn Ghiyath al-Kufi, (xv) Abd Allah ibn Numair al-Hamdani al-Kufi, (xvi) Abu Mu‘awiyah Muhammad ibn Khazim al-Tamimi al-Sa‘di al-Kufi, (xvii) Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, (xviii) Abbad ibn al-Awwam (xix) Amr ibn Muhammad al-Anqari al-Kufi, (xx) Abdur Rahim ibn Sulaiman al-Kinani (xxi) Hammad ibn Usamah ibn Zayd (Abu Usamah), etc.

BOOKS WRITTEN BY IMAM ABU HANIFA

Imam Abu Hanifa wrote many books. The most famous of his surviving books is Fiqh Al-Akbar. It is reported that he collected forty thousand Ahadith and compiled a book called Kitab al-Asrar. This book was the pioneer of books on Ahadith during this time of Islamic history. Following his approach, Imam Malik also wrote a book of Hadith called Muatta. During this time the Hadith literature was not infiltrated by fabrications, which was witnessed during the time of Hadith scholars like Bukhri, Muslim, etc. This is the reason, these Hadith scholars collected hundreds of thousands of Ahadith and filtered them to a few thousand authentic Ahadith which became part of their collections.

DEATH OF IMAM ABU HANIFA

During 130 AH (746 CE), Imam Abu Hanifa was asked by the then Governor of Kufa to take charge of State Treasury, but he refused. His refusal infuriated the Governor, and Imam was imprisoned and lashed till he was about to die. Whatever happened, the Imam continued to refuse to take up that post. Later, after spending a considerable time in prison, he was released. After his release, the Imam migrated to Makkah where he remained till the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansoor came into power in 136 AH (754 CE).

The Imam was called by the ruler to come to Baghdad. There the ruler made an offer to him to take up the job of Chief Judge. The Imam refused saying he considers himself not fit for that position. Al-Mansour was angered on the refusal and told him that the Imam was lying as he is aware of his abilities. The Imam retorted; would you like to appoint a liar to the post of Chief Judge? The response infuriated the ruler. He ordered Imam’s arrest and he was imprisoned again. It is reported that he was tortured in the prison. The Imam remained in the prison for the rest of his life.

Imam Abu Hanifa died in 150 AH (767 CE), at the age of 70 as his food was poisoned by jail authorities on the instance of the ruler. The news of his death spread like wildfire, and it is reported that over fifty thousand people attended his funeral. Later, a tomb was built over his grave in 459 AH (1066 CE).