Imam Abu Hanifa---Father of Fiqh
An-Nouman ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ibn Marzuban most commonly known as Imam Abu Hanifa was a persian scholar who specialized in Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Sharia (Islamic Law), Tafseer (Interpretation of the Quran), Qiyas (Analogical deduction), and much more. He was called by Imam Katim as لأبو الفقهية (The Father of Fiqh). Even though he was a non-arab, he grew up amongst the arabs and learned the arabic language, his native language was most likely Farsi.
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Biography
As a Child
Imam Abu Hanifa was born in Kufa, Persia. His father Thabit had been a pretty successful business merchant in Kufa. Unlike the three Imams who studied Islamic knowledge at an early age, Imam Abu Hanifa studied a little later in life when he was older. His intention in fact was to become a merchant just like his father and continue the family silk business.
Even before going after knowledge Imam Abu Hanifa was a very logical and open-minded individual. There is even a story to support this.
As the time the Umayyad Empire had reached all the way from Spain to China. So Greek Philosophy and ideologies were starting to creep into the Muslim world. So the Roman’s send an envoy to create doubt into the faith of the Muslims. So the Envoy tried to get the people’s attention and said he had three questions to ask. He stood up and asked;
1. “Who was there before God?”
2. “In which direction is God facing?”
3. “And what is God doing right now?”
At the time Imam Abu Hanifa was about only ten years old. The Crowd was silent and had no response to such ambiguous questions. So Imam Abu Hanifa asked his father for permission to respond to his question, once he got permission he said
1. “As for the first question count 10 from backwards.” Once he reached zero he stopped.
“What is there before zero?”
“Nothing”
“So how can Allah, the lord of the worlds not be the beginning of everything?”
2. “If you light up a candle what direction is it facing?”
“There’s no particular direction”
“So what do you saw about Allah who is the Light of Lights”
3. “As for the 3rd question you have to let me up their so everyone can hear my answer”
Once the Roman came down Imam Abu Hanifa said
“Right now Allah is making the one on falsehood come down and the one on success go up and prove you wrong."
This is one of the great achievements of Imam Abu Hanifa because later in life he would be known to be a great Debater.
As a Child he was asked about God’s existent so he would give the example of a ship that was on the sea, but the ship had no people, no steer, no sail, basically nothing on it. So he would ask that if you wanted to sail the ship from one direction to the next can it reach its destination? Obviously the answer would be no, so he would then say how can your heart, body and the universe itself exist in motion without Allah controlling it?
Even before going after knowledge Imam Abu Hanifa was a very logical and open-minded individual. There is even a story to support this.
As the time the Umayyad Empire had reached all the way from Spain to China. So Greek Philosophy and ideologies were starting to creep into the Muslim world. So the Roman’s send an envoy to create doubt into the faith of the Muslims. So the Envoy tried to get the people’s attention and said he had three questions to ask. He stood up and asked;
1. “Who was there before God?”
2. “In which direction is God facing?”
3. “And what is God doing right now?”
At the time Imam Abu Hanifa was about only ten years old. The Crowd was silent and had no response to such ambiguous questions. So Imam Abu Hanifa asked his father for permission to respond to his question, once he got permission he said
1. “As for the first question count 10 from backwards.” Once he reached zero he stopped.
“What is there before zero?”
“Nothing”
“So how can Allah, the lord of the worlds not be the beginning of everything?”
2. “If you light up a candle what direction is it facing?”
“There’s no particular direction”
“So what do you saw about Allah who is the Light of Lights”
3. “As for the 3rd question you have to let me up their so everyone can hear my answer”
Once the Roman came down Imam Abu Hanifa said
“Right now Allah is making the one on falsehood come down and the one on success go up and prove you wrong."
This is one of the great achievements of Imam Abu Hanifa because later in life he would be known to be a great Debater.
As a Child he was asked about God’s existent so he would give the example of a ship that was on the sea, but the ship had no people, no steer, no sail, basically nothing on it. So he would ask that if you wanted to sail the ship from one direction to the next can it reach its destination? Obviously the answer would be no, so he would then say how can your heart, body and the universe itself exist in motion without Allah controlling it?
"Imam Abu Hanifa represents the Debater"
-Imam Al-Katim Al-Azraq
Imam Abu Hanifa meets Imam As-Shabi
At the age of 21 Imam Abu Hanifa was still a merchant of textiles and silk and had no plans on studying Islam.At the time Kufa and Basra in Persia as well as Makkah and Medina were the main places of Knowledge because the best scholars of the world would be teaching there.So one day a man by the name of Imam As-Shabi who had a keen sense of skill known as Farasa (knowing someone just by looking at him) confused Imam Abu Hanifa for one of his students and asked him what he was doing. So Imam Abu Hanifa told him he was going for a business errand. So Imam As-Shabi said he didn’t mean that, he meant why he wasn’t in class. So Imam Abu Hanifa told him he wasn’t a student of knowledge. So Imam As-Shabi got a little disappointed and told him that he could tell that he was a very intelligent and open-minded individual and that he should go after Islamic knowledge because something good will come out of him.
After this incident Imam Abu Hanifa was inspired to become a student of knowledge and go out for a scholarship even. He started take some lessons from Imam As-Shabi, but the thing was that his other students liked to constantly debate and argue about vague topics due to the influence of Greek philosophy. So due to this reason he disliked staying with them very much so he left.
After this incident Imam Abu Hanifa was inspired to become a student of knowledge and go out for a scholarship even. He started take some lessons from Imam As-Shabi, but the thing was that his other students liked to constantly debate and argue about vague topics due to the influence of Greek philosophy. So due to this reason he disliked staying with them very much so he left.
Imam Abu Hanifa meets Imam Hammad
Imam Abu Hanifa found a new teacher by the name of Imam Hammad. Imam Hammad had studied with previous famous Sahaba such as Abdullah ibn Maood, and Anas ibn Malik.
On the First day of class Imam Hammad placed Imam Abu Hanifa all the way in the back row. But when he realized the intelligence of Imam Abu Hanifa he made sure Imam Abu Hanifa sat right next to him.
When Imam Abu Hanifa was 30 years old, he was a very energetic type of person who wanted to give the answer to everything as quickly as possible. So one day Imam Hammad had to attend a funeral which in those days travel time would be longer then it is now, so Imam Hammad wouldn’t return back in more than two months. So Imam Hammad told Imam Abu Hanifa to teach the classes until he came back.
While Imam Hammad was gone sixty different issues were brought forth to Imam Abu Hanifa, so he answered them all and wrote them down so that his teacher would check them when he came back.
When his teacher returned he checked his answers and found out 40 of them had been right and 20 of them were wrong. So when he realized that each issue had to be thoroughly thought threw, he swear that he wouldn't teach another class again until his Imam died.
On the First day of class Imam Hammad placed Imam Abu Hanifa all the way in the back row. But when he realized the intelligence of Imam Abu Hanifa he made sure Imam Abu Hanifa sat right next to him.
When Imam Abu Hanifa was 30 years old, he was a very energetic type of person who wanted to give the answer to everything as quickly as possible. So one day Imam Hammad had to attend a funeral which in those days travel time would be longer then it is now, so Imam Hammad wouldn’t return back in more than two months. So Imam Hammad told Imam Abu Hanifa to teach the classes until he came back.
While Imam Hammad was gone sixty different issues were brought forth to Imam Abu Hanifa, so he answered them all and wrote them down so that his teacher would check them when he came back.
When his teacher returned he checked his answers and found out 40 of them had been right and 20 of them were wrong. So when he realized that each issue had to be thoroughly thought threw, he swear that he wouldn't teach another class again until his Imam died.
Did Imam Abu Hanifa see any Sahaba?
Although this is a more controversial question that scholars have debated about for a long time. But according to the stronger evidence that the above videos have provided Imam Abu Hanifa most likely didn't see any sahaba.
The Invention of Qiyas
Nobody before had thought about the idea of Qiyas (Analogical deduction). Basically he was able to draw a new law of principle codes from a ayat of the Quran or a Hadith. This process helped many societies in Spain, Sindh and all over the Muslim world whenever a new issue came up. An example of this is, Is Smoking Halal or Haram? Well there's no ayat that specifically says Smoking is Haram, but we can draw an ayat from Surah Baqarah Ch.2 V.195 that says:
"Don’t make your own hands the cause of your own destruction"
Based on this ayat and several other ones, we can come to the conclusion that Smoking is haram, because it kills you and the people around you and there is literally no good in smoking, and Islam prohibits harming oneself and others.
Qiyas was something truly helpful for this Ummah, we still use it today to draw new rulings from it.
Qiyas was something truly helpful for this Ummah, we still use it today to draw new rulings from it.
Imam Abu Hanifa becomes a Teacher
When Imam Hammad died, Imam Abu Hanifa took over his which had about a 1000 students in the beginning. But in one year all the schools in Kufa closed down and joined the school of Imam Abu Hanifa which ended up having more than 50,000 students. He also became a Mustahid (someone who can look up a Ayat or Hadiths and make a ruling from it).
Imam Abu Hanifa meets Imam Malik
When Imam Abu Hanifa was about 40 years old, he actually sat in one of the halaka (study circles) of Imam Malik who was thirteen years younger than him. Imam Abu Hanifa learnt some things off of Imam Malik and when the lecture was over Imam Abu Hanifa left. Imam Malik did not realize the person so another scholar by the name of Sa'ed ibn Nusad told him that is was the great Imam Abu Hanifa and if he had told him that this pillar (made of bricks) was made of water, he can convince me.
Although there are many encounters of these two giants of Islamic history, some sources do say that Imam Malik was one of the students of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Although there are many encounters of these two giants of Islamic history, some sources do say that Imam Malik was one of the students of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Imam Abu Hanifa meets the Prophet's DESCENDANT
Many people unfortunately have a misconception that Imam Abu Hanifa would use his logic a lot when deciding issues, but this story refutes that claim.
Their was a man by the name of Imam Baqir who was from the lineage of the Prophet. Imam Baqir was the great, great grandson of the Prophet. So one day he came up to Imam Abu Hanifa and told him that he contradicted his grandfather (Prophet Muhammad) by using logical reasoning. When he heard this he was shocked, and told him he didn't.
He asked him who is weaker the man or the women? He said the women.So he said that it only makes sense logically that the inheritance money that the daughter gets should be more than the son, because she is weaker. But I never said, I said what Muhammad (ﷺ) said. Then Imam Abu Hanifa asked him another question and said what is logically more important fasting or prayer? Imam Baqir said prayer. Then he said logically shouldn't the women after her menstrual period make up the prayer instead of the fast. But instead I said the opposite because that's what Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said.
When Imam Baqir heard this he started to cry and grabbed Imam Abu Hanifa's forehead and kissed it.
*Note the things mentioned above there are reasons for them, if you want to know the reasons you can look up Dr.Zakir Naik's response on this.
Their was a man by the name of Imam Baqir who was from the lineage of the Prophet. Imam Baqir was the great, great grandson of the Prophet. So one day he came up to Imam Abu Hanifa and told him that he contradicted his grandfather (Prophet Muhammad) by using logical reasoning. When he heard this he was shocked, and told him he didn't.
He asked him who is weaker the man or the women? He said the women.So he said that it only makes sense logically that the inheritance money that the daughter gets should be more than the son, because she is weaker. But I never said, I said what Muhammad (ﷺ) said. Then Imam Abu Hanifa asked him another question and said what is logically more important fasting or prayer? Imam Baqir said prayer. Then he said logically shouldn't the women after her menstrual period make up the prayer instead of the fast. But instead I said the opposite because that's what Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said.
When Imam Baqir heard this he started to cry and grabbed Imam Abu Hanifa's forehead and kissed it.
*Note the things mentioned above there are reasons for them, if you want to know the reasons you can look up Dr.Zakir Naik's response on this.
Imam Abu Hanifa's Character and Description
Once a man owed Imam Abu Hanifa 10,000 dinars. This man tried to avoid Imam Abu Hanifa , so Imam Abu Hanifa asked him why he was avoiding him. He said he was too shy and embarrassed that he couldn't pay back the money. So Imam Abu Hanifa said that he would rather have him be his friend then for him to worry about the money. So Imam Abu Hanifa lifted loan off his shoulders. To Imam Abu Hanifa friendship was more important to him than money.
Description
Abu Hanifah an-Nu’man bin Thabit:Abu Yusuf said: “Abu Hanifah was well-formed, was from the best of people in appearance, the most eloquent of them in speech, the sweetest in tone, and the clearest of them in expressing what he felt.”
Hamad bin Abi Hanifah (Imam Abu Hanifa's son) said: “My father was very handsome, dark, had good posture, would wear a lot of perfume, was tall, would not speak except in reply to what someone else had said, and he – may Allah have Mercy upon him – would not involve himself in what did not concern him.”(Imam Ad-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam an-Nubala)
Description
Abu Hanifah an-Nu’man bin Thabit:Abu Yusuf said: “Abu Hanifah was well-formed, was from the best of people in appearance, the most eloquent of them in speech, the sweetest in tone, and the clearest of them in expressing what he felt.”
Hamad bin Abi Hanifah (Imam Abu Hanifa's son) said: “My father was very handsome, dark, had good posture, would wear a lot of perfume, was tall, would not speak except in reply to what someone else had said, and he – may Allah have Mercy upon him – would not involve himself in what did not concern him.”(Imam Ad-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam an-Nubala)
Clash with the Khawarij
The Khawarij actually emerged during the time of Ali () Khilafa.
But the Khawarij survived until the time of Imam Abu Hanifa. He obviously opposed their heretic beliefs. One day the Khawarij entered Imam Abu Hanifa's house with a sword while he was studying. They told him to repent and Imam Abu Hanifa asked them why. They told him because he went against their view. So according to them Imam Abu Hanifa was a disbeliever. So Imam Abu Hanifa recited the sixth ayat of Surah Tawbah which said:
But the Khawarij survived until the time of Imam Abu Hanifa. He obviously opposed their heretic beliefs. One day the Khawarij entered Imam Abu Hanifa's house with a sword while he was studying. They told him to repent and Imam Abu Hanifa asked them why. They told him because he went against their view. So according to them Imam Abu Hanifa was a disbeliever. So Imam Abu Hanifa recited the sixth ayat of Surah Tawbah which said:
And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah . Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.
When the Khawarij heard this they left him alone because to them Imam Abu Hanifa was a polytheist.
A similar incident happened again, there was a man from the Khawarij known as Adaka. He came into the Masjid and told Imam Abu Hanifa to repent. Again he asked for what reason. He said he heard people saying that Imam Abu Hanifa agreed to Ali when he was having a dispute with Muawiya, So Ali decided to settle the dispute by having a judge between them to decide the matter (the Khawarij didn't believe in this though). So Imam Abu Hanifa asked for permission to speak, instead Adaka wanted to debate him. So Imam Abu Hanifa said that they need a judge, so Adaka pointed another person from the Khawarij to be the judge. But then Imam Abu Hanifa said that he just did the same exact thing as Ali. The guy had no response and left Imam Abu Hanifa alone from there on.
A similar incident happened again, there was a man from the Khawarij known as Adaka. He came into the Masjid and told Imam Abu Hanifa to repent. Again he asked for what reason. He said he heard people saying that Imam Abu Hanifa agreed to Ali when he was having a dispute with Muawiya, So Ali decided to settle the dispute by having a judge between them to decide the matter (the Khawarij didn't believe in this though). So Imam Abu Hanifa asked for permission to speak, instead Adaka wanted to debate him. So Imam Abu Hanifa said that they need a judge, so Adaka pointed another person from the Khawarij to be the judge. But then Imam Abu Hanifa said that he just did the same exact thing as Ali. The guy had no response and left Imam Abu Hanifa alone from there on.
Clash with the Government
At the very same time their was a Khalifa by the name of Al-Mansur who was the ruler of the Abbasid Empire. He was a very corrupt individual and would favor his family and relatives by taking the Zakat (charity) money and divide it amongst each other. This action and may others is why Imam Abu Hanifa opposed him a lot.
Imam Abu Hanifa didn't like going to the palaces of the kings and especially the Khalifa's. He would always warn the people of the Khalifa and told them to fear him like |
they would fear fire and tell them not to go to the courts. If he gives you a position as a judge then don't accept it, unless he agrees that you exercise your personal judgement. He didn't want people to take any interest or position at all because of the corruption that was in the political game of the government at the time.
One day a government official wanted Imam Abu Hanifa to visit his house. So Imam Abu Hanifa asked for what particular reason. The official said he wanted to get to know Imam Abu Hanifa better. After hearing this Imam Abu Hanifa refused because he knew he would use him for his own personal gains. The official got very angry and from then started to resendt Imam Abu Hanifa.
The governor of Persia at the time named Yazeed was also a very corrupt individual. He would use scholars to get into a higher position, and use them for his own personal benefits. So he called Imam Abu Hanifa and told him that he wanted him to be the Chief Treasurer. Imam Abu Hanifa refused immediately. So Yazeed was confused and asked him why he refused. So he said that if he was to ask him to guard the doors of the Masjid (mosque) he wouldn't, let alone guarding the money of the Muslims. Yazeed got angry at him so much that he imprisoned him and ordered for him to be lashed by a whip 100 times a day. When his students heard this, they immediately started to protest and rebel, eventually Yazeed had no choice and within 30 days he released him.
One day the Khalifa of the Abbasid empire, Al-Mansur summoned Imam Abu Hanifa and wanted him to be the Chief Judge of Persia. Obviously Imam Abu Hanifa refused, and said he would have to rule in favor of the people of Persia, but when it comes to you (the Khalifa) will you accept my ruling even if it is against you. Hearing this statement made Al-Mansur made him mad, and told Imam Abu Hanifa that he has to take the position. Imam Abu Hanifa responded by saying that he wasn't fit for the position. The Khalifa accused him of being a liar, so Imam Abu Hanifa said that proves his point by double. The Khalifa kept on asking him for other positions and each time Abu Hanifa refused. The Khalifa one day got feed up with this and imprisoned Imam Abu Hanifa for 3 months.
Death
While in prison the students of Imam Abu Hanifa would come learn from him, because the Khalifa had allowed them. So Imam Abu Hanifa would teach thousands of students behind bars. He would also tell them about the corruption of the government. The Khalifa got so annoyed of him that he poisoned his food which ended up kill him at the age of 70.
But before Imam Abu Hanifa had died he wrote a will requesting to be buried in a land which was not given to the Khalifa's relatives. When the people heard this it caused a bigger problem for the Khalifa and Al-Mansur would say "We are not saved from Abu Hanifa neither from his life where we saved and even from his death I am not saved.
Funeral
On the day of his funeral 50,000 people came to attend it, people from all over the Muslim world came. The Janaza prayer was so long that his body was laid there from Fajr till sunset. They had to perform 6 Janazas for him, the first time 50,000 people showed up, but for the other 5 more people showed up. He was buried in Baghdad.
One day a government official wanted Imam Abu Hanifa to visit his house. So Imam Abu Hanifa asked for what particular reason. The official said he wanted to get to know Imam Abu Hanifa better. After hearing this Imam Abu Hanifa refused because he knew he would use him for his own personal gains. The official got very angry and from then started to resendt Imam Abu Hanifa.
The governor of Persia at the time named Yazeed was also a very corrupt individual. He would use scholars to get into a higher position, and use them for his own personal benefits. So he called Imam Abu Hanifa and told him that he wanted him to be the Chief Treasurer. Imam Abu Hanifa refused immediately. So Yazeed was confused and asked him why he refused. So he said that if he was to ask him to guard the doors of the Masjid (mosque) he wouldn't, let alone guarding the money of the Muslims. Yazeed got angry at him so much that he imprisoned him and ordered for him to be lashed by a whip 100 times a day. When his students heard this, they immediately started to protest and rebel, eventually Yazeed had no choice and within 30 days he released him.
One day the Khalifa of the Abbasid empire, Al-Mansur summoned Imam Abu Hanifa and wanted him to be the Chief Judge of Persia. Obviously Imam Abu Hanifa refused, and said he would have to rule in favor of the people of Persia, but when it comes to you (the Khalifa) will you accept my ruling even if it is against you. Hearing this statement made Al-Mansur made him mad, and told Imam Abu Hanifa that he has to take the position. Imam Abu Hanifa responded by saying that he wasn't fit for the position. The Khalifa accused him of being a liar, so Imam Abu Hanifa said that proves his point by double. The Khalifa kept on asking him for other positions and each time Abu Hanifa refused. The Khalifa one day got feed up with this and imprisoned Imam Abu Hanifa for 3 months.
Death
While in prison the students of Imam Abu Hanifa would come learn from him, because the Khalifa had allowed them. So Imam Abu Hanifa would teach thousands of students behind bars. He would also tell them about the corruption of the government. The Khalifa got so annoyed of him that he poisoned his food which ended up kill him at the age of 70.
But before Imam Abu Hanifa had died he wrote a will requesting to be buried in a land which was not given to the Khalifa's relatives. When the people heard this it caused a bigger problem for the Khalifa and Al-Mansur would say "We are not saved from Abu Hanifa neither from his life where we saved and even from his death I am not saved.
Funeral
On the day of his funeral 50,000 people came to attend it, people from all over the Muslim world came. The Janaza prayer was so long that his body was laid there from Fajr till sunset. They had to perform 6 Janazas for him, the first time 50,000 people showed up, but for the other 5 more people showed up. He was buried in Baghdad.
METHODOLOGY and works
Legacy
Imam Abu Hanifa is mostly remembered for his contribution fiqh and qiyas. As an Ummah we all our in debt to him when it comes to these two important subjects.
Although Imam Abu Hanifa never really established a madhab in the sense we have today, it was really established by his students. His Madhab became very popular in the muslim world.
Although Imam Abu Hanifa never really established a madhab in the sense we have today, it was really established by his students. His Madhab became very popular in the muslim world.
Quotes of Imam Abu Hanifa
- "It is haram for anyone to spread what I say without knowing the evidence for it"
- "If a Hadith is sahih (authentic) than it's my madhab (way)"
- “If you find any of my fatwas which go against the Quran and (authentic) Sunnah throw my fatwa on the wall”
- ""
Bibliography
- "کیا امام ابو حنیفہ نے صحابہ سے علم لیا ہے | ابو زید ضمیر." YouTube. Salafyanswers. Web. 18 July 2015.
- "Did Imam Abu Hanifa See Any Sahabi? Was He a Tabee?" YouTube. LifewithAllah. Web. 19 July 2015.
- Alkhateeb, Firas. "Lost Islamic History." Lost Islamic History. Web. 19 July 2015.
- Assad, B. (n.d.). Bilal Assad - Lives of the 4 Imams. Retrieved July 31, 2015.