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He
is An-Nu’man bin Thabit At-Taymi, the Faqih of Iraq and one of the four
Imams. Abu ‘Hanifah was born in the year 80 after Hijrah, and was
raised in Al-Kufah, in Iraq, which was one of the capitals of Islamic
knowledge of Hadith, Fiqh, and the Arabic language, among other aspects of
knowledge.
Imam Abu ‘Hanifah excelled in the knowledge of Fiqh. He would search for
evidence from the Quran and authentic Sunnah, and he was noted for his
good understanding of the religion. He also spent his life teaching
knowledge of the religion in Al-Kufah and
Baghdad.
Allah
granted Imam Abu ‘Hanifah several loyal students who later became Imams in
their own right such as Abu Yusuf, Mohammad bin Al-’Hasan Ash-Shaybani,
Zafar bin Al-Huthayl, Waki’ bin Al-Jarra’h, and many others.
Imam Abu
‘Hanifah traveled extensively to learn the various aspects of Islamic
knowledge. He visited Basrah, Madinah, and Makkah several times, and lived
in Makkah for six years. He met many of the noted scholars of Madinah
where he gained knowledge from the students of Ibn Umar, may Allah be
pleased with him, and while he was in Makkah he studied with the students
of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. He also met Imam Al-Awza’ii
and other prominent scholars.
His
teaching method was such that he would meet with his students in the
Masjid, raise a question and then ask them to study the matter in
discussion, so that they present their conclusions and opinions at a later
meeting. When his students would offer their opinions at the following
meeting, Abu ‘Hanifah would then analyze and criticize their opinions and
would then offer his own opinion which his students would then record.
We must
note here that Imam Abu ‘Hanifah often ordered his students not to write
everything he says. Once, he said to his student, Imam Abu Yusuf, “Woe
unto you, O Ya’qub! Do not write every one of my opinions, for I am only a
human being. I may issue a statement today that I retract tomorrow, and
issue a statement tomorrow and retract it the following day!”
Imam Abu
‘Hanifah was noted for frequently relying on Ijtihad and on his personal
opinion, and Imam Malik described him as, “He was a man who, if he wished,
could convince you that this iron pillar is made of gold.” Imam Malik’s
statement only describes Abu ‘Hanifah’s strong argumentative skills.
We must
note here that Imam Abu ‘Hanifah relied on Ijtihad and opinion so much,
due to the lack of authentic Hadiths at his disposal, that his school of
though was called “Madrasatu Ar-Rai’ (The School of Opinion)”. Madrasatu
Ar-Rai’ was target for much criticism, especially by “Madrasatu An-Nass
(the School of the Text), which started with the rise of Imam Malik bin
Anas.
Imam Malik wrote his famous book, Al-Muwattaa’ .... along with some of the positions he took on various
aspects of the religion. The
School
of
An-Nass
was further strengthened by the hands of Imam Ash-Shafi’i and his student,
Imam Ahmad bin ‘Hanbal. Ash-Shafi’i, who was a student of Imam Malik and
who studied Al-Muwattaa’, collected even more authentic narrations of
Hadith. Later on, Imam Ahmad bin ‘Hanbal
collected his Musnad, a vast collection of forty thousand Hadiths. The
Musnad was and still is one of the major resources of Hadith for Muslims.
Later on, Imams Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, An-Nasaii, and others also
collected Hadiths in their books. These great efforts by the noted
scholars of Hadith not only emphasized the role of the authentic Sunnah in
the life of the Muslim Ummah, but also replaced many of the opinions held
by Madrasatu Ar-Rai’.
Imam Abu
‘Hanifah was noted for the modest way he conducted his life. He was a
reader of the Quran who would frequently perform voluntary prayers at
night and cry while reciting the Quran, as Imam Al-Khatib had reported.
When he was asked to assume the position of a judge, he declined because
he did not seek such high public office jobs.
During
the reign of Caliph Abu Ja’far Al-Mansur, Abu ‘Hanifah persisted in
refusing to become a judge, and consequently, he was jailed for this
reason. He died in prison in the year 150 after Hijrah.
Imam
Abdullah bin Al- Mubarak, one of the greatest scholars of Islam, said, “If
it was not for the fact that Allah helped me with Abu ‘Hanifah and Sufyan
Ath-Thawri, I would have become a commoner (meaning regarding knowledge).”
Also,
Imam Ash-Shafii said, “All people are dependents on Abu ‘Hanifah for Fiqh.”
Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, “Abu ‘Hanifah had the best Fiqh among the people
of his time.” Abdullah Al-’Harbi said, “People should ask Allah in Du’aa’
for Abu ‘Hanifah during their prayer because he had a role in preserving
the Fiqh and the Sunnah for them.”
Imam Abu
‘Hanifah wrote several books including Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar, Al-’Alim wal
Muta’allim, Ar-Radd ‘Ala Al-Qadariyyah, among others. May Allah bestow His
Mercy upon him and grant him Paradise.
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