Abu Hanifa: Difference between revisions

'''Abū Ḥanīfa Nu'mān b. Thābit''' (Arabic: ابوحنیفه نعمان بن ثابت, 80-150/699-767) was a scholar of [[fiqh]] and [[kalam]] in Kufa and the founder of [[Hanafiyya]], one of the four sects of Sunni Islam. Hanafis refer to him as “al-Imam al-A'zam” (the greatest imam or leader) and “Siraj al-A'imma” (the light of the imams).

According to oldest biographies, Abu Hanifa’s family had the relation of [[wala' al-'itq]] (being emancipated slaves) with the Banu Taym Allah b. Tha'laba clan from the Rabi'a tribe, a significant branch of the great tribe of [[Bakr b. Wa'il]]. According to some sources, Thabit, Abu Hanifa’s father, was an emancipated slave of a man from the Banu Qafal family from the above tribe.

Moreover, according to 'Uthman b. Sa'id al-Darimi’s citation from ibn Asbat, Abu Hanifa’s father was a [[Nazirite]] for some time after his birth.

Little is known about Abu Hanifa’s personal life. It is said that he was born in [[Kufa]], was in the business of selling fur, and when he was young, he had relations with Hammad 'Ajrad, a poet in Kufa.

His teachers in Kufa, as mentioned in his biographies, include: 'Amir al-Sha'bi, Abu Ishaq Subay'i, 'Asim b. Abi l-Nujud, Qays b. Muslim, Sammak b. Harb, 'Alqama b. Marthad, 'Atiyya b. Sa'd al-Awfi, and Hakam b. 'Atiyya.

 

During his studies (before 114/734), he travelled to [[Hijaz]] and studied with teachers there. In [[Medina]], he attended the lectures of [[Rabi'a b. Abi 'Abd al-Rahman]], a scholar of fiqh, and in [[Mecca]], he attended the lectures of [['Ata' b. Abi Ribah]] (d. 114/734 or 115/735).

In Medina, he also studied with [[Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a)]], [['Abd al-Rahman b. Hurmuz al-A'raj]], Nafi' [[wala' al-'itq|mawla]] ibn 'Umar, [[Muhammad b. Munkadir]], and ibn Shahab al-Zahri, and in Mecca, he also studied with people such as 'Amr b. Dinar and Abu l-Zubayr al-Makki.

In 127-128/744-745 when Sufri Khawarij occupied Kufa under the leadership of Dahhak b. Qays al-Shibani, Abu Hanifa had debates with them.

When Yazid b. 'Umar b. Hubayra was appointed by Marwan II in 129/746 as the ruler of [[Iraq]], he proposed the position of judgeship or, on some other accounts, monitoring the Treasury, to Abu Hanifa, but he rejected the proposal despite the pressures from ibn Hubayra.

The pressures by ibn Hubayra made him leave Kufa to Mecca. Thus, in the last two years to the end of the Umayyad dynasty, Abu Hanifa lived in Mecca, propagating his beliefs and opinions in fiqh. His serious rival there was Ayyub Sakhtiyani, the [[faqih]] of Basra, who had a sojourn in Mecca at the time.

In the last days of Abu Hanifa’s life, [[al-Mansur al-'Abbasi]] summoned him to [[Baghdad]] and imprisoned him for reasons unknown to us. After few days, Abu Hanifa died in the prison. In his ''Tashayyu' dar masir-i tarikh'' (Shiism on the path of history), Ja'fari holds that Abu Hanifa was imprisoned because of his support for the [[Uprising of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya]] against al-Mansur.

Abu Hanifa’s corpse was buried in the Khayzaran cemetery of Baghdad after [[Hasan b . 'Umara al-Bajali]], the Kufi [[muhaddith]], said [[Funeral Prayers]] on his corpse.  

A dome and school were constructed over his burial place in 459/1066. Today the place in which his burial place is located is called “Hayy al-A'zamiyya”.

==Abu Hanifa’s School of Thought==

==Abu Hanifa’s Beliefs==

Many authors from people of hadith, [[Imamis]], [[Mu'tazilis]], and [[Ash'aris]], take Abu Hanifa to lean towards [[Murji'a]]. It has been taken as a widely accepted fact.

The problem of whether a person who commits a [[major sin]] counts as having [[iman]] (faith) or not was a matter of severe debate in the second half of the 2nd/8th century. It led to three different positions and sects: [[Khawarij]] who believed that such a person will no longer count as having iman, and is, therefore, an unbeliever; Murji'a who believed that such a person still has iman, since for them, iman is not a matter of increase or decrease; and [[People of Hadith]] who avoided to count such a person as being an unbeliever, but took iman to be a matter of degrees and subject to increases and decreases.

In the first half of the 2nd/8th century, it was common among denominations of Islam other than Shiism and Khawarij to take [[Abu Bakr b. Abi Quhafa]] and [['Umar b. Khattab]] as superior to other caliphs, but with respect to [['Ali (a)]] and [['Uthman b. 'Affan]], not only was there a disagreement with respect to their superiority, but the early Murji'a, as ibn Sa'd says, had even suspended judgment about whether they were believers (holders of iman or faith) in the first place. A well-known figure of the early Murji'a was [[Muharib b. Dithar]], a teacher of Abu Hanifa.

Abu Hanifa’s position about this problem was expressed in his ''Mujmal al-fiqh al-akbar'' where he said: “we leave the judgment about 'Uthman and 'Ali to God”. It was quoted by [[ibn Shahrashub]] as follows: “judgment about what happened between 'Ali and 'Uthman is left to God”.

==='Ali’s (a) being Right===

Abu Hanifa takes 'Ali (a) to be on the right side in all of his battles, taking his enemies to be “baghi” (transgressors).

He takes [[Imam al-Hasan (a)]] to be the right caliph and imam after 'Ali (a).

==Abu Hanifa and Shiism==

There are many hadiths involving debates between Abu Hanifa and [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] or [[Imam al-Kazim (a)]], as well as some Imami scholars of Kufa, such as [[Mu'min al-Taq|Muhammad b. 'Ali Sahib al-Taq]], [[Faddal b. Hasan]], and [[Haytham b. Habib al-Sayrafi]]. The chains of transmitters of each of these hadiths have to be assessed with respect to their reliability. In these debates, various issues are discussed, such as imamate, iman, and [[predestination]]. In some hadiths, Imam al-Sadiq (a) is cited as reproaching Abu Hanifa and sometimes taking him to be a person who does not love and respect 'Ali (a) so much.

Abu Hanifa’s intimate relation with [[Zayd b. 'Ali]] and [[Ibrahim al-Hasani]] is the best evidence for his good relations with [[Zaydiyya]]. [[Muhammad b. Ja'far al-Dibaj]], Imam al-Sadiq’s (a) son, and a Zaydi imam, admired Abu Hanifa and took his support of Zayd to be evidence of his love for the people of faith.

==Abu Hanifa’s Fiqh==

* The Prophet’s (s) tradition and reliable hadiths transmitted from him by reliable transmitters.

===The View of the Imamiyya about Abu Hanifa’s Fiqh===

During his lifetime, Abu Hanifa was criticized in debates with Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Kazim (a) as well as with Imami scholars such as Muhammad b. 'Ali Sahib al-Taq, [[Hurayz b. 'Abd Allah al-Sajistani]], and [[Hisham b. Hakam]] for his appeals to personal opinion, qiyas, and some of his views regarding certain rulings of fiqh.

In 4th/10th century, [[ibn Junayd al-Iskafi]] represented an approach in the [[Imami]] fiqh, which was very similar in its methods to Abu Hanifa’s fiqh. Despite the dominant approach in the Imami fiqh, ibn Junayd appealed to qiyas in fiqh.

[[Al-Sharif al-Radi]] (d. 406/1015), a scholar of [[Baghdad]], also had views in [[usul al-fiqh]] which were close to those of ibn Junayd. He had learned some texts of the Hanafi fiqh from teachers.

However, in the same period, [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], the well-known Imami [[faqih]], strongly attacked Abu Hanifa’s methodology in usul al-fiqh and some of his rulings in fiqh.

Abu Hanifa learned the recital of the Quran from prominent teachers such as [['Asim]] (one of the [[Seven Reciters]]), [[A'mash]] (one of the [[Fourteen Reciters]]), and [['Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Layla]]. [[Hasan b. Ziyad al-Lu'lu'i]] transmitted his recital of the Quran.

Throughout the works by Abu Hanifa’s students, such as ''al-Athar'' by Abu Yusuf and ''al-Athar'' by Muhammad b. Hasan al-Shibani, there are hadiths transmitted by Abu Hanifa. This shows the significance of the transmission of hadiths for him.

Information about Abu Hanifa’s teachers and students in the transmission of hadiths comes from these hadiths. Thus, this information is usually treated with caution.

The only hadith cited in [[al-Sihah al-Sitta]] from Abu Hanifa is one concerning [[hudud]] in [[al-Nasa'i]]’s [[al-Sunan al-Kubra]]. [[Al-Tirmidhi]] has cited a biographical remark by Abu Hanifa about [[Jabir b. Yazid al-Ju'fi]] and [['Ata' b. Abi Ribah]] in his [[Sunan al-Tirmidhi|al-Sunan]], and in several parts of the book, he referred to Abu Hanifa’s views in fiqh.