User:AA/Sandbox/Abu Hanifa

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Muslim scholar
Name:	Muhammad Nu’man bin Thabit (Abu Hanifa)
Title:	Imaam of Imaams
Birth:	699
Death:	767
Maddhab:	Sunni Hanafi
Main interests:	Fiqh and Hadith
Works:	Kitaab-ul-Aathar and Fiqh al-Akbar
Influences:	Qatada ibn al-Nu'man,^[1] Alqama ibn Qays,^[2] Ja'far al-Sadiq.
Influenced:	Al-Shafi'i, Abu Yusuf

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AA/Sandbox/Abu Hanifa

Al-Imam al-A'zam Muhammad Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta (النعمان بن ثابت‎), better known by his kunya as Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, (أبو حنيفة‎) (699-767CE / 80-148AH) was one of the most important Islamic scholars. He was a jurist and the founder of the Hanafi school of fiqh. Also known as "Imaam of Imaams"; "Lamp of the Ummah"; "Leader of the Jurists and Mujtahideen"; "Hafidh al-Hadith" Imam Abu Hanifa was a prestigious Mujtahid, Muhaddith, authoritative person, truthfully spoken, abstinent, wise, and pious.

Abu Hanifa was also one of the Tabi'een, the generation after the Sahaba, because he saw the Sahabi Anas ibn Malik, and transmitted hadiths from him and other Sahaba.[1]

A great many Muhaddiths and Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali scholars are in unison with regards to the Imaam's strengths and virtues. Thousands of literary works have been compiled by Imaam Abu Hanifa. The followers of Abu Hanifa gave him the title ‘Imaam al-Aadham’ (Greatest of the Imaams).

1 Biography
2 Education
- 2.1 Maturity
3 Some of Abu Hanifa's teachers
4 Some of Abu Hanifa's students
5 Some of Abu Hanifa's literary works
6 Abu Hanifa's Characteristics
7 Teaching
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Name

Acclaimed as Al-Imam al-A'zam (the Great Imam), Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Mah was better known by his kunya, Abu Hanifa. It was not a true kunya, as he did not have a son called Hanifa, but an epithetical one meaning righteous in belief.

[edit] Birth and ancestry

Abu Hanifa was born in Kufa, Iraq in 699CE (80AH) during the reign of the powerful Umayyad caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan. His father, Thabit bin Zuta, was a trader from Kabul, part of Khorasan in Persia (the capital of modern day Afghanistan). His father was 40 years old at the time of Abu Hanifa's birth.

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian, Khatib Baghdadi, records a statement from Abu Hanifa's grandson, Ismail bin Hammond, who gave Abu Hanifa's lineage as Thabit bin Numan bin Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin. The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abu Hanifa's grandfather and great-grandfather are thought to be due to Zuta's adoption of a muslim name (Numan) upon his acceptance of Islam and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia. Further differences of opinion exist on his ancestry. One of his students, Abu Muti Balkhi, for example, describes Abu Hanifa as an Arab citing his ancestry as Numan bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Yahya bin Zaid bin Asad. The widely accepted opinion, however, is that he was of Persian ancestry.

[edit] Status as a thabiee

Abu Hanifa was born 67 years after the death of Muhammad but during the time of the companions of the Prophet some of whom lived on until Abu Hanifa's youth. Anas bin Malik, the prophet's personal attendant died in 93AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah died in 100AH when Abu Hanifa was 20 years old. No evidence exists, however, to indicate Abu Hanifa had narrated any ahadith from the companions although there is no doubt he was a thabiee (one who had met a companion of the prophet) and had met Anas bin Malik.

It is perceived this is due to the strict age requirements for learning the discipline of hadith that existed at the time in Kufa where no one below the age of 20 was admitted to a hadith school. The scholars of the time felt anyone below this age would not have attained the maturity required to be able to understand the meaning of the narrations.

[edit] Early life

Abu Hanifa grew up in a period of opression during the caliphates of Abdul Malik bin Marwan and his son Walid bin Abdul Malik. The governorship of Iraq was under the control of Hajjaj bin Yusuf, a loyal follower of Abdul Malik. During his governorship, leaders in religion and learning were especially targetted by Hajjaj as they were proving to be an obstacle to Abdul Malik's establishment of his rule across Arabia and Iraq. Consequently, Abu Hanifa had no interest nor the opportunity to aquire any education in his childhood. He was simply content with following in the footsteps of his ancestors — as a businessman.

He setup a silk weaving business where he showed scrupulous honesty and fairness. Once his agent in another country, sold some silk cloth on his behalf but forgot to point out a slight defect to the purchasers. When Abu Hanifa learned of this, he was greatly distressed as he had no means of refunding their money. He immediately ordered the entire proceeds of the sale of the consignment of silk to be distributed to the poor.

Following the deaths of Hajjaj in 95AH and Walid a year later, justice and good administration began to make a comeback with the caliphates of Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik and thereafter Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Umar encouraged education to such an extent that every home became a madrassah. Abu Hanifa also began to take an interest in education which was heightened further by the unexpected advice of as-Sha'bi (d. 722), one of Kufa's most well-known scholars.

While running an errand for his mother, he happened to pass the home of as-Sha'bi. Sha'bi, mistaking him for a student, asked him whose classes he attended. When Abu Hanifa responded that he did not attend any classes, Sha'bi said, "I see signs of intelligence in you. You should sit in the company of learned men." Taking Sha'bi's advice, Abu Hanifa embarked on a prolific quest for knowledge that would in due course have a profound impact on the history of Islam.

[edit] Education

Abu Hanifa's early education was achieved through madrassahs and it is here that he learned the Qur'an and Hadith doing exceptionally well in his studies. He spent a great deal of time in the tutelage of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. In fact, Abu Hanifa is said to have attributed several of his narrations and rulings to the teachings of Imam Sadiq.

Abu Hanifa's desire to gain knowledge of fiqh was initiated by an encounter with a woman who posed a question to him on how a man could divorce his wife in accordance with the sunnah. Not knowing the answer himself, he advised the woman to go to Hammad, a famous Imam of Kufa who was regarded as a master of Fiqh in his time. He asked the woman to relay Hammad's answer to him on her way back. This revealed to him how little he knew of fiqh and convinced him to join Hammad's school where he soon gained the respect of being Hammad's best student with exceptional memorisation skills and was observed as being more intelligent than the other students.^[3]

[edit] Maturity

According to mostly Shiite sources, in 763 al-Mansur, the Abbasid monarch offered Abu Hanifa the post of Chief Judge of the State, but he declined to accept the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student, Abu Yusuf, was appointed Qadi Al-Qadat (Chief Judge of the State) of al-Mansur regime instead of himself.

In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa excused himself by saying that he did not regard himself fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa of lying.

"If I am lying," Abu Hanifa said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?"

Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa arrested and locked in prison and tortured. ^{Ya'qubi, vol.lll, p.86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.lll, p.268-270.}

Even there, the indomitable jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him.

In 767, Abu Hanifa died in prison. It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried.

He was known in his own time as Abu Hanifa al-Anbari ("Abu Hanifa from Anbar"). Anbar, meaning 'emporium' in Persian, was a major entrepot on the western fringes of the old Persian Empire. Abu Hanifa's first language was, like those of many high ranking Iranians at the time, Persian. Today, Anbar is the name of the largest province of Iraq, and the old city of Ramadi seem to be the old Anbar.

[edit] Some of Abu Hanifa's teachers

Ja'far al-Sadiq, Aamir Ibn Shurahbeel, Sha’abi Kufi, Alqama ibn Qays, Ziyaad Ibn Ilaqa, Adi Ibn Thabit, Qatada, Muhammed Ibn Munkadir Madni, Simaak Ibn Harb, Qays Ibn Muslim Kufi, Mansoor Ibn Umar, Hammad etc.

[edit] Some of Abu Hanifa's students

Qadi Abu Yusuf, Muhammad Ibn Hasan, Zufar Ibn Huzayl, Hammad Ibn Abu Hanifa, Abu Ismat Mugheera Ibn Miqsam, Yunus Ibn Is‘haaq, Abu Bakr Ibn Ayyaash, Abdullah Ibn Mubarak, Ali Ibn Aasim, Ubaydullah Ibn Musa etc.

[edit] Some of Abu Hanifa's literary works

'Kitaab-ul-Aathar’ - compiled from a total of 70,000 Ahaadeeth, ‘Aalim-wal-muta‘allim’, ‘Fiqh al-Akbar’, ‘Jaami’ul Masaneed’, ‘Kitaabul Rad alal Qaadiriyah’ etc.

[edit] Abu Hanifa's Characteristics

Humility and justice: "And when a tradition (Hadees) gets proved (from the light of the Quran/from the text and interpretation of the Quran), it becomes my religion! Shun then (O People!) my teaching against that tradition and hold true what has been claimed to be spoken by the Prophet of Allah! Praise of Allah on him and his followers and peace!" " Wa izaa sabbatalhadeesun, fa huwa mazhabee! Fatrukoo qaulee beh qaulirrasoolullahi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam!" Quoted from Kitabul Raddun Alal Ahaadisul Zaeefeh Min Tareeqatul Qadiriyyeh (Book of abnegation of weak and so called traditions in the Qadiriya school) by Imamal Aazam Nauman Ibn Saabit Rahamatallahu Alaihi. English translation by Mariyam Jameelah in her book "Islam and Ahlalkitaab"

Impartiality: Abu Hanifa never accepted a favour from anyone and so was never indebted to anyone.

Humanitarian ways and generosity: On seeing Imaam Abu Hanifa a passerby avoided the Imaam and took a different path. When Imaam Abu Hanifa questioned as to why he did so, he replied that he was ashamed of himself as he was Imaam Abu Hanifa’s debtor for 10,000 Dirhams. The man’s humbleness overtook Imaam Abu Hanifa and he forgave the repayment of the debt.

Kind heartedness: Once, whilst sitting in a Masjid, Imaam Abu Hanifa learnt of someone who had fallen from a roof. Immediately, the Imaam departed from the gathering, barefooted, and ran to the place of the accident. Until the injured person had recovered, the Imaam paid daily visits to nurse him.

Disposition: The Imaam would never speak unless it was necessary to do so. Someone mentioned before Sufyan Thawri that he had never heard the Imaam backbiting. Sufyan replied, "Abu Hanifa is not such a fool that he will destroy his own good deeds."

[edit] Teaching

Islamic law (fiqh) was systematically studied by his students under his guidance. A number of his devoted and highly intelligent students worked under him for thirty years, and it is their labor which produced the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence.

[edit] See also

Taba Taba'een

Fatwas:

[edit] References

^ http://www.inter-islam.org/Biographies/4imam.htm
^ The Conclusive Argument from God:Shah Wali Allah of Delhi's Hujjat Allah Al-baligh, pg 425
^ 'Uqud al-Juman, Chapter 7