Imam Abu Hanifa

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Brief Biography

Imam Abu Haneefah is the great faqeeh and scholar of Iraq, Abu Haneefah al-Nu’maan ibn Thaabit al-Taymi al-Kufi. He was born in the year 80 AH, during the lifetime of some of the younger Sahaabah and saw Anas ibn Maalik when he came to them in Kufa. He narrated from ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabaah, who was his greatest Shaykh, and from al-Shu’bi and many others.

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Background & Works

He was concerned with seeking reports and he traveled for that purpose. With regard to fiqh and examining and analyzing reports, he was the ultimate and people depended on him in that, as Imam al-Dhahabi said:

“It would take two volumes to tell the story of his life, may Allaah be pleased with him and have mercy on him.”

He was an imam who was eloquent and well spoken. His student Abu Yoosuf described him as follows:

“He was the most well-spoken of the people and the most clear in expressing himself. He was pious and very protective with regard to transgression of the sacred limits of Allaah. He was offered worldly gains and a great deal of wealth, but he turned his back on it. He was whipped to force him to accept the position of judge or controller of the bayt al-maal (treasury of the Islamic state) but he refused.

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Death

Many people narrated reports from him, and he died as a martyr of dropsy in 150 AH at the age of seventy in Baghdad. It was said that so many people attended his Janazah Salah (funeral prayer) that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. It was also said that people continued to gather every day for about a week to offer funeral prayers. His son, Hammad, lead the last Janazah Salah. Imam Abu Hanifa's body was buried in the Al-Khayzaran cemetery of Baghdad.

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Madhab of Abu Hanifa

The Hanafi madhhab is one of the four well-known madhhabs, and it was the first of the fiqhi madhhabs. It was said that

“The people are dependent on Abu Haneefah with regard to fiqh.”

The origin of the Hanafi madhhab and all the other madhhabs is that these four imams – Abu Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad – made the effort to understand the evidence of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they issued fatwas to people based on the evidence that had reached them. Then the followers of these imams took their fatwas and conveyed them and issued other fatwas based on them, and derived principles from them, and they set out guidelines for understanding the texts and reaching conclusions.

Thus the fiqhi madhhab was formed, and the Hanafi, Shaafa’i, Maaliki and Hanbali madhhabs, and other madhhabs such as those of al-Awzaa’i and Sufyaan, but these latter madhhabs were not destined to continue.

As you can see, what these schools of fiqh are based on is following the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

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Qiyaas (Analogy)

With regard to the ra’y and qiyaas adopted by Imam Abu Haneefah, what this means is not opinion based on whims and desires, rather it is an opinion based on the evidence, or analogies, or following the general principles of sharee’ah. The salaf used to describe ijtihaad in difficult issues as ra’y (lit. opinion). Many of them used to say when commenting on a verse of the Book of Allaah,

“This is my opinion (my ijtihaad) concerning it,”

but that does not refer to opinion based on whims and desires, as stated above.

Imam Abu Haneefah followed ra’y and qiyaas a great deal in matters other than hudood punishments, expiations and other shar’i issues, and the reason for that is that he had fewer ahaadeeth at his disposal than other imams, because he came before the other imams and was very strict about accepting ahaadeeth, as false reports were so widespread in Iraq at that time and there was a great deal of tribulation.

It should be noted that not all the opinions and views of the Hanafi madhhab that is named after Imam Abu Haneefah are the words of Abu Haneefah himself, or can be correctly attributed to him. Many of those views go against what Imam Abu Haneefah himself said, but they were regarded as part of his madhhab because they were worked out according to the guidelines of the madhhab which is derived from the other texts of the imam.

Similarly the Hanafi madhhab may adopt the view of a student of the imam such as Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad, and it also includes the ijtihaad of students of the imam, which subsequently became part of the madhhab. This does not apply only to the madhhab of Abu Haneefah, rather the same may be said of all the well-known madhhabs.