Imam Abu Hanifa – fiqhens far

April 11, 2025
Reading Time 5 min

1,146

All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and may God be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny.

Imam Abu Hanifa was a Mujtahid Imam of the highest category, a Tabi’ and the founder of one of the four schools of law, the Hanafi school of law. . He was a scholar whose legacy influences the lives of Muslims in large parts of the world today, primarily in Asia, but also in the Middle East and parts of Africa. The Hanafi school of law has also decided the most legal cases throughout history, such as during the Abbasid and Ottoman Empires.

Introduction

Imam Abu Hanifa is Abu Hanifa al-Nu’man ibn Thabit, the Greatest Imam or al-Imam eal-A’zam, was born in present-day Iraq in the historical city of Kufa in the year 80 AH.

He was a Mujtahid Imam of the highest category, a Tabi’ and the founder of one of the four schools of jurisprudence, the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. He was a scholar whose legacy influences the lives of Muslims in large parts of the world today, primarily in Asia, but also in the Middle East and some parts of Africa. The Hanafi school of jurisprudence has also decided the most legal cases throughout history, such as during the Abbasid and Ottoman Empires.

In recent times, some critics have sought to deny the Imam the credit he deserves. They attempt to criticize the Imam’s absolute ijtihad by pointing out that he was not well-versed in the science of Hadith, may have made mistakes in his inferences and deductions, or that the entire Hanifa school of law (and other schools of law) has been a static apparatus throughout the years, and that in today’s changing society it can only be considered one among many interpretations.

All these notions and attempts to degrade the status and position of the Imam are based on superficial knowledge, misunderstandings, and the lack of willingness to acknowledge that this school of law is one of the four correct ways to practice Islam.

The Imam’s Life

There are many stories about Imam Abu Hanifa. Some of them deal with the more spectacular aspects of the Imam’s life. Stories that the average person might have difficulty relating to, but which tell of a closeness to Allah that few of us experience.

It is said that for 40 years he used to perform the morning prayer (Salat-ul-Fajr) with the ritual purification Wudu’ that was done for the night prayer (Salat-ul-Isha) the day before. That is, he spent the whole night reciting and praying to his Lord. Or the one who says that during his life he recited the Holy Quran 7000 times.

Inspiring and exciting are these stories, but there are many more that speak of his integrity, honesty, principle, knowledge, and godliness. Stories that most people will be able to relate to more easily and also incorporate into their lives in various ways.

Eminent Qadi Abu Yusuf introduces the Imam thus to Caliph Harun Al-Rashid, “As far as I know,” says the Qadi, “Abu Hanifa was extremely pious, avoided things that were forbidden, was silent and absorbed in his own thoughts most of the time, and answered a question only if he knew the answer. He was generous, never asked anyone for a favor, shunned the company of worldly-minded people, and had little regard for worldly power and status. He avoided backbiting and spoke of people in kind terms. He was a man of deep and profound knowledge, and was as generous with this knowledge as he was with money.”

Perhaps these qualities are not so extraordinary compared to what was described in the previous paragraphs, but people with knowledge and insight will know that despite the fact that this sounds simple, they are in reality qualities that are difficult for most of us to imitate, and that these qualities truly describe an extraordinary man.

It is said that once a small dispute had arisen between the Caliph Mansur and his wife Harra. She accused the Caliph of not being a just leader. Imam Abu Hanifa was called in to mediate between the two. The queen sat behind a curtain so that she could hear the Imam’s decision herself. Caliph Mansur began by asking how many wives a Muslim could have according to the Sharia. The Imam replied that the number was 4. “Do you hear??” Mansur shouted at the queen. The queen replied in the affirmative. Then the Imam turned to the Caliph: “But this permission is for a man who is capable of doing justice between his wives. No one else can have more than one wife. God Himself says that if one is in doubt about being just between his wives, then one should marry only one.” Mansur remained silent. After a while, after the Imam had returned home, one of the queen’s servants came with a large sum of money as a gift, saying, “The queen sends you this gift because you gave a truthful decision.” The Imam returned the gift, stating that his decision was not given with the expectation of payment, but because it was his duty as an arbitrator to give a correct and true decision.

Another tells more about the Imam’s piety and relates that he would never sit in the shade of a house whose owner had borrowed money from the Imam. The Imam said:

Any loan that brings returns is Riba’.

Imam Abu Hanifa was a well-known businessman. He managed trade caravans and had several clothing stores in the city. Even in this field, the Imam worked with integrity. He managed his business carefully so that no illegal money was earned, and the strictest demands were made on honesty and sincerity towards customers. Once, silk was sent to Hafs bin Abd al-Rahman for sale with clear instructions that the customers should be informed of defects in any of the fabric. However, when it was later revealed that Hafs had forgotten this to the customers, the Imam regretted it greatly and in pure piety he gave the value of the silk, a fairly large amount, in charity to make amends with his Lord.

The Imam was quite generous. A man named Ibrahim bin ‘Utba owed some 4,000 dirhams and was unable to pay the debt. The shame this man felt caused him to stop associating with people. A friend of Ibrahim therefore began to collect money for his friend’s sake so that Ibrahim’s debt could be paid. When he came to Imam Abu Hanifa to receive a contribution, the Imam said: “Why bother so many people with this when it is such a small amount.” Having said this, the Imam paid Ibrahim’s debt in full.

The Imam also helped many students and scholars who had dedicated their lives to Islam. Whenever the Imam bought something for his family, he would buy something for the scholars in his immediate circle. Many of his students went on scholarships established by the Imam so that they could complete their studies without worrying about financial problems. Many of these eventually became scholars of rank, including Qadi Abu Yusuf.

Fiqhen’s father

The Imam was the first to formulate and systematize Islamic laws and rules in a doctrine of jurisprudence or fiqh.

Today, modern issues are resolved according to the methods Imam Abu Hanifa derived from the Quran and Sunnah (the Prophet’s practice). The work of developing, revising, refining and quality-assuring Hanafi fiqh has in reality never ended, even though liberal reformists claim otherwise. Nor will the methods become outdated.

There are a number of things that make the Imam unique. Going through the life of the Imam in detail in a biographical style, even if it were just his professional qualities, would be too extensive for this article. We choose to focus on some of them.

One of the unique things that distinguishes the Imam from all the other Imams is that he was a Tabi’. Not only did he see some of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but he also narrated hadiths with the Sahaba as sources. That is, there is only one person between Imam Abu Hanifa and the Prophet himself (peace be upon him) in some of the hadiths the Imam reports (and of course bases his fiqh on). So the Imam bases his interpretations on sources of unique authenticity.

Secondly, there is a large number of scholars who explicitly state that the Imam was the most learned person of his time. A number of scholars such as Imam Shafi’, Imam Malik, ibn Muzahin, ibn al-Bishr all state that he was the greatest of the Imams when he was alive. Imam Shafi’ is known to have said:

In fiqh, all scholars are children of Abu Hanifa.

Imam Abu Hanifa was also a Hafiz of Hadith, a title that requires exhaustive knowledge of the science of Hadith in general, and the original textual content and chains of narration of the Hadith. Some have misunderstood and believe that the Imam’s knowledge of Hadith was limited, which is completely wrong. Many scholars report and substantiate the fact that the Imam was an expert in Hadith and exceptional at memorizing them. In his works, he has mentioned over 70,000 Hadiths.

The Imam was also a master in the examination, criticism and interpretation of hadith. The Imam’s own student, Imam Abu Yusuf, one of the greatest Imams in the history of Islam, says:

I have never found anyone with more insight into the interpretation of hadith than Abu Hanifa.

This statement of Abu Yusuf can be understood even better by looking at something Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari says:

Imam Abu Hanifa was [once] with A’mash, who asked him [Imam Abu Hanifa] about something. Imam Abu Hanifa replied, “My opinion in this matter is such and such.” Upon hearing this, A’mash asked how he had formed this opinion. Imam Abu Hanifa said: “You reported to us from Abu Salih who reported from Abu Hurayra; you reported to us from Abu Wa’il who reported from ‘Abdullah; and you reported from Abu Ilyas who reported from Abu Mas’ud that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said such and such. You reported the same to us from Abu Mijlaz, who reported it from Hudhayfa, who reported from Abu al’l-Zubayr, who from Jabir and Yazid al-Raqqashi, and both of them from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with them all).

A’mash exclaimed: “Enough! Enough! What took me a hundred days to tell you, you repeated to me in an instant. I was not aware that your practice was based on these hadiths.” He continued: “Group of jurists! You are doctors and we are just some pharmacists and you [Imam Abu Hanifa] are both!

Many other such accounts exist, each more fascinating than the last. All are eye-opening and make one realize the solid and unshakable foundation on which the law school and its teachings are built.

Although the Imam was an expert in hadith, or perhaps because of this, the Hanafi school of law is relatively selective in selecting hadiths as the basis for deducing Sharia. It makes extensive use of analogical thinking and deduction from primary texts, and the use of ijtihad.

It is by no means the case that the Imam interpreted and exercised ijtihad entirely on his own and formulated the school of law as a personal endeavor. On the contrary, the school of law was developed in collaboration with other scholars of high caliber.

Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates through his chain of narration that Ibn-Karama said, “We were once with Waki’ ibn al-Jarrah when someone made a remark that Abu Hanifa had committed an error. Waki’ replied, “How can Abu Hanifa err when he was accompanied by people like Abu Yusuf, Zufar, and Muhammad with their abilities in qiyas and ijtehadijtihad; and people like Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Abi Za’ida, Hafs ibn Ghiyath, and Hibban and Mandal, sons of ‘Ali with their memorization and understanding of Hadith; Qasim ibn Ma’n with his understanding of the Arabic language; and Dawud ibn Nudayr al-Ta’i and Fudayl ibn ’Ilyad with their abstinence and piety. How can someone who had such people as his companions and partners commit an error? And even if he were to commit an error, they would undoubtedly correct him to the truth!”

The Imam left behind not only one set of interpretations, but defined a methodology that has been the guide of many great scholars and mujtahid imams to this day, such as Abu Yusuf, ibn Abidin, Nahlawi, Imam Sar’akhasi, Imam Tahtawi and many more. The works they have written are highly relevant in today’s morally burdened and generally disoriented times, such as the 8-volume majestic work, Hashiya radd al-muhtar – ’ala al-Durr al-mukhtar [The Enlightenment of the Perplexed: A Commentary on the “Delicate Pearls”], from the 19th century.

Just over half of today’s Muslims follow Islam according to the teachings formulated by Imam Abu Hanifa. Since the Hanafi school of law makes extensive use of qiyas and ijtihad, this flexibility has made the school of law popular across areas that are fundamentally different in culture or geography.

Imam Abu Hanifa died at the age of 70 in the year 150 A.H. 50,000 people followed the Imam to his final resting place.