Chapter Two
In the history of Islamic fiqh, there is no man both so highly praised and so severely criticised as Abu Hanifa, may Allah be pleased with him. This dichomtomy occurred because he was an independent faqih who had an independent method of thought as a result of deep study. Such a person must have admirers and detractors. Most of those who criticised him were incapable of following the course of his thinking or of understanding his perception. Many were narrow-minded and considered any method which involved more than the simple statements of the Salaf alone as being rejected innovation. Some of his critics were very ignorant and knew nothing of his fear of Allah, integrity, great intellect and knowledge, and were unaware of his high position with the common and elite alike. It was almost within his own lifetime that lies were forged about him and that process continued apace after his death. On the other hand, there were also those who went to excess in his praise.
His contemporary, al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad, a man renowned for scrupulousness, said about him, “Abu Hanifa was a faqih, a man known for fiqh, reasonably wealthy and known for graciousness towards all who visited him. He was steadfast in teaching knowledge both night and day. He had a good reputation and was often silent. He was a man of few words. When a question on the lawful or unlawful would come to him, he was good at pointing out the truth and he was loath to accept the ruler’s money.” Ja‘far ibn ar-Rabi‘ said, “I sat with Abu Hanifa for five years and never saw anyone silent longer than him. When he was asked a question of fiqh, sweat poured from him like a river before he spoke outloud.”
His contemporary, Malih ibn Waki‘ said about him, “Abu Hanifa was very trustworthy. By Allah, he had a noble heart and preferred the pleasure of his Lord above everything. If swords had been used on him in the Cause of Allah, he would have endured that. May Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him as He is pleased with the pious.”
His contemporary, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, described him as ‘the quintessence of knowledge.’ Ibn Jurayj observed about him at the beginning of his life, “He will have amazing importance in knowledge.” After Abu Hanifa was an adult, he said, “He is the faqih. He is the faqih.” When Malik was asked about ‘Uthman al-Batti, he said, “He was an average man.” When he was asked about Ibn Shibrama, he said, “He was an average man.” When he was asked about Abu Hanifa, he said, “If he had gone to these columns and formed an analogy which showed that they were made of wood, you would have thought that they were wood.”
We cannot go into all the statements in praise of Abu Hanifa. All of his contemporaries, supporters or opponents, described him as a faqih. Perhaps the best description is that of Ibn al-Mubarak who said that he was ‘the quintessence of knowledge’. He had the heart of knowledge and took it as far as it would go. He deduced questions, reached their essence and learned their basis and then built on them. He occupied himself with thought, knowledge and debates. Thus he debated with the mutakallimun and refuted the erroneous views of some of them and argued against various sects. There were several treatises ascribed to him. He also has a musnad in hadith ascribed to him. If this ascription is true, he has a position in hadith. So his position in fiqh and extrapolation, understanding of hadiths and derivation of the causes of judgements and building on them is of the highest calibre. One of his contemporaries said that he did not know anyone with a better understanding of hadith than him. That was only because he derived the reasons behind the judgements, so that it was almost as if he did not turn to the outward words but understood the meanings and derived the intention behind them and connected that to similar matters and built upon it.
From where did Abu Hanifa obtain all this knowledge? What were his sources? What was his background? What enabled him to attain the high place given to him in the history of Islamic knowledge? The necessary background for turning a person towards distinction in knowledge comprises four things.
1. Innate qualities, or quasi-innate, or those which can be acquired which become like personal talents. In general, they are qualities which characterise a person’s psychological disposition and intellectual gifts.
2. The mentors with whom a person studies, their effect upon him, and who define for him the method he chooses to follow or who show him the various methods by whose light the path for him to follow becomes clear.
3. Personal life and experiences and the events which touch his life or befall him which make him proceed in certain directions. Two individuals may have the same gifts and shaykhs but one will be successful and the other not, or he will set out on a path which does not lead to success because his personal life has ordained another path for him, and so the two go different ways.
4. The era in which he lives and the intellectual environment in which he liveds and in which his gifts flourishes.
We will look at each of these factors in turn.
Abu Hanifa’s Qualities
Abu Hanifa had natural qualities which set him in the highest rank of scholars and he was characterised by the qualities of the true firm, reliable scholar. He had self-control and contained his feelings. He did not indulge in unnecessary or ugly words far from the truth. He once argued about a question on which Hasan al-Basri had given a fatwa. He stated, “Hasan erred.” A man said to him, “You say that Hasan erred, son of a whore!” He did not redden or blanch. He said, “By Allah, Hasan erred and ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud was correct.” He used to say, “O Allah, if someone is annoyed by us, our heart is open to him.”
This calmness and tolerance did not issue from a person with no feelings or stem from lack of emotion. He was a man with a sensitive heart and soul. It is related that one of those with whom he debated shouted at him, “Innovator! Heretic!” He rejoined, “May Allah forgive you. Allah knows that I am not that. I have not turned from Him since I knew Him and I only hope for His pardon and only fear His punishment.” He wept when he mentioned the punishment. The man told him, “Pardon me regarding what I said.” He said, “If any of the people of ignorance say something about me, I pardon them. As for the people of knowledge who say something about me, they are sinful. The slander of the scholars will cause something to remain after them.”
So his calm was not an unfeeling one. It was the composure of someone who knows himself and is tranquil by his fear of Allah and is only concerned about what is connected to Allah and not what is connected to the dirt of people, like a clear unsullied sheet to which none of the harmful words of people stick. His composure was that of one who restrains himself and endures without attacking and dislikes the tempests which the self can provoke.
His independence of thought prevented him from losing himself in others’ opinions. His shaykh Hammad recognised this quality in him. He used to encourage him to examine every case and not to accept any idea without examining it first. His independent thought made him see things as a free person, not subject to anything except for a text of the Book or Sunna or a fatwa of a Companion. He thought one could look into the position of the Tabi‘un who might err or be right because their opinion did not have to be followed nor was its imitation part of scrupulousness. He lived in Kufa, which was essentially a Shi‘ite milieu, and met the Shi‘ite Imams in his time, like Zayd ibn ‘Ali, Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja‘far as-Sadiq and ‘Abdullah ibn Hasan, and yet he maintained his high opinion of the great Companions in spite of his inclination to the noble family of the Prophet and his love for the People of the House.
Ibn ‘Abdu’l-Barr states in al-Intiqa’: “Sa‘id ibn Abi ‘Aruba said, ‘I came to Kufa and attended the gathering of Abu Hanifa. One day he mentioned ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan and prayed for mercy on him. I told him, “You ask Allah to show him mercy. I have not heard anyone in this city pray for mercy on ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan except you.’”
He was a profound thinker and went deeply into questions. He did not stop at the outward meaning of a text but went beyond that to its intentions. His deep philosophical intellect may have impelled him to that because at the beginning of his life he was involved in kalam. That profound sense of inquiry may be what led him to study hadiths in a deep manner, seeking the causes of the judgements they contained by examining the indications of words, aims of phrases, circumstances and related qualities. When he was satisfied about the underlying cause, he used analogy based on it and hypothesised and took that very far indeed. He was quick-witted and ideas would come to him quickly the moment that they were needed. His thinking was not restricted or blocked when he investigated. He was never at a loss for words in debate as long as the truth was on his side and he had evidence to support it. He had ample devices to enable him to easily leave his opponent dumbfounded. There are many extraordinary examples of that in the books of biographies and histories which depict his life. We will mention some of them which reveal his excellent technique and subtle approach.
It is related that a man died and he had appointed Abu Hanifa, when he was absent, as his executor. The case was presented before Ibn Shibrama and Abu Hanifa mentioned that to him. Abu Hanifa brought the evidence that the man had died and made him executor. Ibn Shibrama said “Abu Hanifa, do you swear that your witnesses have testified truly?” He said, “I do not have to take an oath, I was absent.” He said, “Your standards are in error.” Abu Hanifa asked, “What do you say about a blind man with a head wound when two witnesses testify to that: does the blind man have to testify that the witnesses spoke the truth when he cannot see?” So Ibn Shibrama ordered the will to be implemented.
Ad-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Khariji, who rebelled in the Umayyad era, entered the mosque of Kufa and said to Abu Hanifa, “Repent.” “Of what?” he asked. He answered, “Of your allowing arbitration.” Abu Hanifa asked, “Will you kill me or debate with me?” “I will debate with you,” he said. “And if we disagree on anything in the debate, who will decide between us?” He replied, “I will accept whomever you wish.” Abu Hanifa said to one of ad-Dahhak’s companions, “Sit and judge between us if we disagree.” Then he turned and asked ad-Dahhak, “Are you content for this one to decide between us?” “Yes,” he replied. Abu Hanifa said, “Then you have allowed arbitration, so desist.”
It is related that there was a man in Kufa who stated, “‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan was a Jew,” and the scholars could not quiet him or impel him to say other than what he had said. Abu Hanifa went to him and said, “I will bring you a suitor.” “Who for?” asked the man. “For your daughter. It is a noble man who is wealthy, generous and who knows the Book of Allah by heart. He prays at night and weeps frequently out of fear of Allah.” “One would be content with far less than this, Abu Hanifa?” “There is just one thing,” said the Imam. “What is that?” asked the man. “He is a Jew,” replied the Imam. The man exclaimed, “Glory be to Allah! Do you tell me to marry my daughter to a Jew!” “You will not do it?” asked the Imam. “No,” replied the man. Abu Hanifa continued, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, married his daughter to such a Jew,” meaning ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, whom the man claimed to be a Jew. He said, “I ask forgiveness of Allah. I repent to Allah Almighty.”
These reports illustrate the extent of his skill in debate and the excellence of his dealing with some of the worst and most deleterious groups so that al-Mansur said to him, “You are the master of devices.” It was easy for him to debate because of the strength of his insight, grasp of people’s character, and his power to open the locks of their hearts and their inner selves. He would approach them from a direction which they could grasp and were familiar with so that it would be easy for them to accept the truth.
Abu Hanifa was sincere in the quest for the truth and that is the attribute of perfection which elevated him and illuminated his heart and insight into the truth. A sincere heart is the one which is free of bias, taint of the self and emotion in investigating matters and grasping problems. Allah gave him the light of recognition and lucid perception and his thoughts were directed in a straightforward manner in seeking out the truth so that it would be understood and grasped.
Abu Hanifa freed himself of every appetite except the desire for sound perception and he knew that such fiqh is the deen or true understanding of the deen. It cannot be sought by someone dominated by prejudice for that is a barrier in the way of the truth. The desire for the truth was the over-riding concern which motivated him. Due to his sincerity, he did not claim that his opinion was the truth, but said, “This is our opinion. It is the best we can determine. If anyone comes with a better position, he is more entitled to be correct than we are.”
It was said to him, “Abu Hanifa, this fatwa which you give is the truth about which there can be no doubt.” He said, “By Allah, I do not know. Perhaps it is falsehood about which there can be no doubt.” Zafar said, “We used to go regularly to Abu Hanifa with Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani and write down what he said. One day he said to Abu Yusuf, “Woe to you, Ya‘qub! Do not write down all that you hear from me. I may have an opinion today and then leave it tomorrow. I may have an opinion tomorrow and leave it the following day.” His sincerity in seeking the truth might well lead him to retract his opinion if his opponent mentioned a hadith he had which was not impaired or mentioned a fatwa of a Companion.
Zuhayr ibn Mu‘awiya said, “I asked Abu Hanifa about safe-conduct granted by a slave. He said, ‘If he is not a fighter, his safe-conduct is invalid.’ I said, “‘Asim al-Ahwal transmitted that al-Fudayl ibn Yazid arRaqashi said, “We were laying siege to the enemy when an arrow was shot to them with a safe conduct attached to it.” They said, “You have given us safe conduct.” We replied, “It was given by a slave.” They said, “By Allah, we do not know the slave from the free man among you.” So we wrote that to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab and ‘Umar wrote back, “Allow the safe-conduct of the slave.” ’” Abu Hanifa was silent. Then he was absent from Kufa for ten years. When he returned, I went to him and asked him about the safe-conduct of the slave, and he replied giving ‘Asim’s account. He had retracted his original statement and so I knew that he followed what he had heard.” He was asked, “Do you diverge from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?” He replied, “May Allah curse the one who differs from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah honoured us with him and we seek salvation by him.”
All these qualities were combined with another quality through which all of these qualities were made manifest which is a gift which Allah gives to some people. That quality was strength of personality, influence, the capacity to instil awe and affect others by charisma, charm and spiritual vigour. But in spite of this he did not impose his opinion on his many students. Sometimes used to discuss with them and ascertain the opinions of the important ones among them and debate with them as an equal, not as a superior. Sometimes used to conclude with an opinion and all would be silent to listen to him but some of them would keep their own opinions. In both cases, Abu Hanifa was consistent with his position and his personality.
Abu Hanifa’s circle of companions was described by his contemporary, Mis‘ar ibn Kidam, who said, “They used to separate to see to their needs after the morning prayer. They would then gather to him and sit with him. Some would ask and some would debate. These was a great deal of talking because of the amount of evidence that was offered.” (al-Makki, pt. 2, p. 36) These are some of the attributes of Abu Hanifa: some are natural and some are acquired. They are the key to his personality and what enabled him to make use of all the spiritual nourishment he obtained. They are the tools which were used to process the material which he had contact with. It is through them that there occurred his interaction with the time in which he lived, his shaykhs and his experiences. These attributes were supported by a new method of thought and opinion which involved profound investigation and study and had far-reaching effects on individuals and indeed whole generations. It is by these qualities that Abu Hanifa won his supporters and provoked the spite of his envious detractors.
His Shaykhs
Abu Hanifa said of his scholarly training and his studies of fiqh, “I was in a lode of knowledge and fiqh. I sat with its people and devoted myself to one of their fuqaha.’” His words clearly indicate that he lived and grew up in a scholarly environment and that he sat with scholars, studied with them, and learned their methods of investigation. Then he chose a faqih among them who satisfied his scholarly inclination and devoted himself to him alone. He did not shun other scholars but sometimes used to debate with them, his devotion to his own teacher not preventing him from sitting with them. All sources agree that he was the student of Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, the shaykh of Iraqi fiqh in his time. But he also learned from others, related from many and debated with many, especially after Hammad’s death. When he visited the Haram after leaving Kufa because of the Umayyad governor, Ibn Hubayra, he met many shaykhs.
Before dealing with those shaykhs, or at least those we know of, and their legal orientation in particular, we must point out three points:
• Abu Hanifa’s shaykhs were from different persuasions and disparate sects. They were not all fuqaha’ of the main sunni community and they were not only people of opinion. Some of them were hadith scholars and some taught the fiqh of the Qur’an and the knowledge of the great Qur’anic commentator, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas. When he stayed in Makka for about six years, which is understood from some of the books we have cited, he must have studied with the Tabi‘un there who had learned the knowledge of Ibn ‘Abbas from him or from his students. Many of those he sat with in Iraq were from among the sects of the Shi‘a with all their differences. They included the Kaysanites, the Zaydites, the Twelver Imams and the Isma‘ilis. Each had an effect on his thought, even if he did not follow their leanings except in respect of his love for the House of the Prophet. He took in all those disparate elements and assimilated them to reach his final conclusion. Abu Hanifa utilised all these elements, taking the best from them, and then produced a new way of thinking and an upright opinion.
• Abu Hanifa moved away from these different studies and learned the fatwas of the Companions who were famous for ijtihad, excellent opinion and intelligence. We read in the History of Baghdad: “One day Abu Hanifa went to al-Mansur when ‘Isa ibn Musa was with him. He told al-Mansur, ‘This is the foremost scholar of the world today.’ He asked him, ‘Nu‘man, from whom did you take knowledge?’ He replied, ‘From the companions of ‘Umar from ‘Umar, from the companions of ‘Ali from ‘Ali, and from the companions of ‘Abdullah (ibn Mas‘ud) from ‘Abdullah, and in the time of Ibn ‘Abbas none had more knowledge than him.’ He said, ‘You have made sure of yourself.’” Abu Hanifa learned the fatwas of those majestic Compan-ions and based himself on following their fatwas, or at least what he had from the Tabi‘un from whom he learned, because he took it from their companions without intermediary.
• All the books of virtues mention that he met some Companions. Some of them state that he related hadiths from them. This would put him in the rank of the Tabi‘un, and thus give him an excellence above
the fuqaha’ contemporary with him like Sufyan ath-Thawri, al-Awza‘i, Malik and others. Sources do not disagree that Abu Hanifa met some Companions who were contemporary with him and lived to the end of 100 AH or close to that or were alive in the 90s. They mention several Companions he met and saw, including Anas ibn Malik, (d. 93), ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa (d. 87), Wathila ibn al-Asqa‘ (d.85), Abu’t-Tufayl ibn Wathila, (d. in Makka in 102), the last Companion to die, and Sahl ibn Sa‘id (d.88).
There is disagreement about whether he transmitted from them or not. Some scholars said that he related from them and they mention hadiths which he reported, but knowledgeable hadith scholars consider their isnad to be weak.
Most scholars state that even if Abu Hanifa met some Companions, he did not relate from them. They argue that when he met them he was not at the age of someone who learns knowledge, retains it and transmits it because that could only have happened at the beginning of his life while he was going to the markets before he became involved with knowledge.
We incline to this view and accept that Abu Hanifa met some Companions, but did not relate from them. So was he a Tabi‘i or not? Scholars disagree about the definition of a Tabi‘i. Some say that it applies to anyone who met a Companion, even if he did not keep his company; simply having seen him is enough to make a man a Tabi‘i according to that view. By that criterion Abu Hanifa is a Tabi‘i. Some scholars, however, say that it is not enough to simply have seen the Companion but it is also necessary to have kept his company and learnt from him and so by that reckoning Abu Hanifa could not be said to be one of the Tabi‘un.
Whatever the case, scholars are unanimous about the fact that he met a number of the Tabi‘un and sat with them, studied with them, related from them and learned their fiqh at an age which allowed learning and transmission. Some of them were known for transmission, like ash-Sha‘bi, and many were famous for opinion. He took from ‘Ikrima, the transmitter of the knowledge of Ibn ‘Abbas, Nafi‘, the bearer of the knowledge of Ibn ‘Umar, and ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, the faqih of Makka, with whom he had a lengthy relationship. He used to debate with him about tafsir and learn from him.
We read in al-Intiqa’: “Abu Hanifa said, ‘I asked ‘Ata’ ibn Rabah, “What do you say about the words of Allah Almighty, ‘We restored his family to him, and the same again with them’ (21:84)?” He said, “He gave him his family and the like of his family.” I answered, “Is it permitted to attribute to a man what is not from him?” He asked, “What is your position?” I replied, “Abu Muhammad, it means the reward of his family and the like of their reward.” He said, “It is like that, but Allah knows best.”’” If this is true, it indicates two things. One is that Abu Hanifa sat with ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, studied with him and took from him. ‘Ata’ died in 114 AH and so he must have gone on hajj and studied with the Makkan scholars while he was Hammad’s student. The second is that ‘Ata’ used to teach tafsir of the Qur’an in Makka and that the school of Makka had inherited the Qur’anic knowledge of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas.
The shaykhs to whom he was connected, each of whom had a specific intellectual quality, deserve consideration, in order to ascertain the sum of the sources from which he took. The most prominent of his shaykhs was Hammad ibn Sulayman. He was an Ash‘ari by clientage since he was a client of Ibrahim ibn Abi Musa al-Ash‘ari. He grew up in Kufa and learned his fiqh from Ibrahim an-Nakha‘i, the most knowledgeable of the proponents of opinion. He died in 120 AH. He not only studied with an-Nakha‘i but also studied fiqh with ash-Sha‘bi. Both of them took from Shurayh, ‘Alqama ibn Qays and Masruq ibn al-Adja‘. They, in turn, had learned the fiqh of the two Companions, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.
The fact that these two Companions lived in Kufa meant that they left the people of Kufa much fiqh. That was the bedrock of Kufan fiqh. It is from their fatwas and those of their students who followed their path that this great legal inheritance was moulded. Hammad learned it, as said, from Ibrahim and ash-Sha‘bi but it is clear that the fiqh of Ibrahim dominated him. Ibrahim was a proponent of the fiqh of the people of opinion whereas ash-Sha‘bi was closer to the people of tradition even though he lived in Iraq.
As already mentioned, Abu Hanifa stayed with Hammad for eighteen years and learned the fiqh of the people of Iraq whose core was the fiqh of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud. He also learned the fatwas of Ibrahim an-Nakha‘i so that Shah Waliyullah ad-Dihlawi says, “The source of Hanafi fiqh is found in the statements of Ibrahim an-Nakha‘i.” This is what he says in Hujjatu’llah al-Baligha: “Abu Hanifa, may Allah be pleased with him, was the strongest in holding to the school of Ibrahim and his contemporaries and only exceeded it as much as Allah willed. A very important consideration when making deduction in his school was precise analysis of the manner of extrapolation. If you wish to learn the truth of what we have said, there is a summary of the positions of Ibrahim and his contemporaries in The Book of Traditions, the Jami‘ of ‘Abdu’r-Razzaq and the Musannaf of Abu Bakr ibn Shayba. The analogy used in the school of Abu Hanifa does not deviate from this procedure except in a very few places and even in those few it does not leave what the fuqaha’ of Kufa believed.” (p. 146)
When Hammad died, Abu Hanifa continued to study and research, teach and learn as do all true scholars, conforming with the tradition: “A scholar continues to seek knowledge. When he thinks that he knows, he is ignorant.” We mentioned his learning in Makka from ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah the school of Ibn ‘Abbas which came through ‘Ikrima. He also took the knowledge of Ibn ‘Umar and the knowledge of ‘Umar from Nafi‘, the client of Ibn ‘Umar. Thus he amassed the knowledge of Ibn Mas‘ud and ‘Ali from the school of Kufa and the knowledge of ‘Umar and Ibn ‘Abbas from those Tabi‘un with whom he studied.
We can state, therefore, that he learned the fiqh of the whole Muslim community with all its various methods, even though the thinking of the people of opinion was stronger in him so that he is considered the shaykh of the people of opinion. Abu Hanifa, however, did not confine himself to those fuqaha’. He also went to the Shi‘ite Imams and studied with them and supported them. He met Zayd ibn ‘Ali, Muhammad al-Baqir and ‘Abdullah ibn al-Hasan, each of whom had a position in fiqh and knowledge.
Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin died in 122 AH. He was a scholar with extensive learning in many areas of Islamic knowledge. He knew the Qur’anic readings and all the Qur’anic sciences. He knew fiqh and doctrine and what was said in them, to the extent that the Mu‘tazilites considered him one of their shaykhs. It is reported that Abu Hanifa was his student for two years. According to ar-Rawd an-Nadir, Abu Hanifa said, “I saw Zayd ibn ‘Ali as much as his family saw him. In his time, I did not see anyone with more fiqh or knowledge than him nor anyone swifter in reply or clearer in position. He was unique.” He did not devote himself to him but he learned from him in some encounters.
Muhammad al-Baqir, the son of Zayn al-‘Abidin, was the brother of Imam Zayd and died before him. He was one of the Shi‘ite Imams on whom the Twelvers and Isma‘ilis, the two most famous Shi‘ite groups, agree. He was called “al-Baqir” (deep seeker of knowledge) because of the serious way he sought knowledge. Although he was one of the People of the House, he did not speak ill of the first three khalifs. It is said some of the people of Iraq spoke ill of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman in his presence and he became angry and said, “Are you are among the emigrants who were ‘expelled from their homes and wealth’?” (59:8) “No,” they replied. He asked, “So then you must be among those ‘settled in the abode and faith’?” (59:9) “No,” they replied. He said, “Nor are you among those who came after them saying, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in belief.’ (59:10) Leave me. Allah is not near your abode. Affirm Islam. You are not among its people.” He died in 114 AH.
It appears that Abu Hanifa met al-Baqir at the beginning of his development. He first met him in Madina when he was visiting it. It is reported that al-Baqir remarked to him, “Are you the one who changes the deen of my grandfather and his hadiths by analogy?” Abu Hanifa replied, “I seek refuge with Allah!” Muhammad said “You have changed it.” Abu Hanifa said, “Sit in your place as is your right until I sit by my right. I respect you as your grandfather, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was respected by his Companions when he was alive.” He sat.
Then Abu Hanifa knelt before him and said, “I will present you with three things to answer. Who is weaker: a man or woman?” “A woman,” he replied. Abu Hanifa then asked; “What is the share of a woman?” “A man has two shares and a woman one,” he replied. Abu Hanifa said, “This is the statement of your grandfather. If I had changed the deen of your grandfather, by analogy a man would have one share and a woman two because the woman is weaker than the man.”
Then he asked, “Which is better: the prayer or fasting?” “The prayer,” al-Baqir replied. He said, “This is the statement of your grandfather. If I had changed the deen of your grandfather, my analogy would be that, because the prayer is better, when a woman is free of menstruation she should be commanded to make up the prayer and not make up the fast.”
Then he asked, “Which is more impure: urine or sperm?” “Urine is more impure,” he replied. He said, “If I had changed the deen of your grandfather by analogy, I would have ordered a ghusl for urine and wudu’ for sperm. I seek refuge with Allah from changing the deen of your grandfather by analogy.” Muhammad rose and embraced him and kissed his face to honour him.
Al-Makki mentions this conversation and indicates that it must have been their first encounter because al-Baqir asked a question of someone who was famous for analogy. Then Abu Hanifa showed him that he did not replace the text by analogy and he clarified his method to him. It also shows that Abu Hanifa was already known for opinion (ra’y) and debate regarding analogy. As Abu Hanifa was connected to al-Baqir, he was also connected to his son, Ja‘far as-Sadiq, who was the same age as Abu Hanifa. They were born in the same year, but Ja‘far died about two years before Abu Hanifa, in 148 AH. Abu Hanifa said, “By Allah, I have not seen anyone with more fiqh than Ja‘far ibn Muhammad.”
We read in al-Makki, “Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur said, ‘Abu Hanifa, people are tempted by Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, so prepare some difficult questions for him.’ He prepared forty questions. Abu Hanifa said about his visit to al-Mansur in Hira, ‘I went to him and entered. Ja‘far was sitting on his right. When I saw him, I felt great esteem for Ja‘far as-Sadiq which I did not feel for al-Mansur. I greeted him and he indicated I should sit. Then al-Mansur turned to Ja‘far and asked, ‘Abu ‘Abdullah, this is Abu Hanifa?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. Then he turned to me and ordered, ‘Abu Hanifa, present your problems to Abu ‘Abdullah.’ I began to present them and he answered them, saying, ‘You say this; the people of Madina say this; and we say this. Sometimes it is the position of our Follower, sometimes that of their Follower, and sometimes we differ.’ He dealt with all forty questions. Then Abu Hanifa stated, ‘The most knowledgeable of people is the one with the most knowledge of people’s differences.’” Scholars count Ja‘far as one of Abu Hanifa’s shaykhs, even though they were the same age.
Abu Hanifa was also, according to various sources, a student of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan. He was a reliable and truthful hadith transmitter. Sufyan ath-Thawri, Malik and others related from him. He was respected by people and performed a lot of worship. He visited ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdu’l-‘Aziz who honoured him. He also went to as-Saffah at the beginning of the Abbasid period and he showed him honour and gave him a thousand dirhams. When al-Mansur came to power, he treated him in the opposite fashion and also dealt harshly with his sons and family. They were brought in chains from Madina to al-Hashimiyya and put in prison where most of them died. ‘Abdullah himself died in 145 AH at the age of about 75. He was ten years older than Abu Hanifa.
Abu Hanifa’s scholarly links were not confined to the men of the Community and Imams of the People of the House. Biographies also state that he studied with some of the people of different sects and it is said that one of his shaykhs was Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju‘fi. He was an extreme Shi‘ite who believed that the Prophet would return as would ‘Ali and the Shi‘ite Imams. Ibn al-Bazzazi said that his father Yazid was one of the followers of ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ but that is unlikely. It is more likely that he was a Shi‘ite but not a Saba’ite because the Saba’ites claimed that ‘Ali was a god or close to a god and ‘Ali disavowed them. Abu Hanifa would not take the knowledge of Islam from an unbeliever. His claim that ‘Ali would return agrees with the Saba’ites, but also with the Kaysanites, and it is more likely that he was one of them.
It appears that Abu Hanifa studied some intellectual matters with him, although he believed that his creed was deviant and that he was following a sect. He used to say about him, “Jabir al-Ju‘fi is corrupted by the erroneous view which he espoused. But in his subject I found no one greater than him in Kufa.” He did not specify what area of knowledge Jabir was expert in: it may have been deduction or logical matters.
He used to discuss with him, but he forbade his companions to sit with him. It seems that he feared that Jabir’s intellect might seduce them and lead to them into deviation and following his false views and beliefs. He stated that he was a liar. We read in Mizan al-I‘tidal, “Abu Yahya al-Hammani claimed to have heard Abu Hanifa remark, “Among those I have seen, I have not seen any better than ‘Ata’ nor a greater liar than Jabir al-Ju‘fi.”’”
There were two types of scholars in his time: those who confined themselves only to the fiqh of Islam and did not deal with anything else, even if they had more understanding of extrapolation and opinion, and those who studied creeds and philosophy which involved them in sciences outside the deen and sometimes led them to deviate from its aims and meanings. None of them combined profound exact legal studies and philosophical studies and proceeded in a manner neither excessive nor aberrant except Abu Hanifa. He was the only one to follow this middle path. He achieved a high level in all areas by the force of his sound intellect, firm deen and inquiring soul. He feared that his students would not be up to that and so he forbade them to deal with anything other than fiqh.
His Private Studies and Experiences
A person’s private life, circumstances and affairs, and his undirected studies in which he does not rely on a teacher, and other experiences have an effect on his knowledge and direction and the honing of his intellect or its weakness. This was, of course, also the case with Abu Hanifa. As we said, he was from a wealthy merchant family and continued to be involved in commerce throughout his life. Therefore he knew first-hand about market transactions and commercial customs. His market experience enabled him to discuss commercial transactions, rules of behaviour and the judgements pertaining to them with familiarity and understanding. Thus custom had a place in his legal deduction when there was no elucidating example from the Book or Sunna, as we will explain, Allah willing.
It may be these experiences which made him prefer deduction through istihsan, when analogy resulted in something contrary to benefit, natural justice or custom. His student, ash-Shaybani, said, “Abu Hanifa debated with his companions about analogies and they appealed and argued with him until he said, ‘I have used istihsan.’ whereupon none of them said anything because of the great amount of istihsan he used in solving problems. They all submitted to it.”
Abu Hanifa travelled a lot and went on hajj many times. His hajj did not keep him from studying, discussing, transmitting and giving fatwa. In Makka when he first met ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, ‘Ata’ asked him,
“Who are you?” “One of the people of Kufa,” he replied. He said, “From the people of a city who have divided their deen into parties?” “Yes,” he replied. ‘Ata’ inquired, “From which are you?” He replied, “From those who do not curse the Salaf or hold Qadarite views and do not consider a person an unbeliever on account of a wrong action.” ‘Ata’ said, “You are correct, so stay.” He also went to Malik and discussed fiqh with him, and he met al-Awza‘i and had discussions with him. That is how he acted when he travelled. He would present his fatwas and listen to criticism of them and analyse them to see where they were weak. He was an observant man and, from the time of his youth, was fond of debate and argument in the quest of knowledge. He used to go to Basra, the home of Islamic sects, and debate with their leaders and argue with them about their views. It is reported that he debated with twenty-two sects, arguing in defence of Islam. It is related that once he debated with the Dahrites [materialist atheists] and in order to call their attention to the necessity of a Creator of the universe, he asked them, “What do you say about someone who tells you, ‘I saw a laden ship full of goods and cargo which it bore across the deep seas through crashing waves and veering winds, travelling straight through them without any sailor to direct and guide it or helmsman to move it’?
Would that be logically possible?” “No,” they said, “this is not logically possible and cannot be imagined.” Abu Hanifa said, “Glory be to Allah! If the existence of a ship on an even keel without a mariner or helmsman is not conceivable, how can it be possible for this world with all its different circumstances, changing matters and actions, and vast expanse to be without a Maker, Preserver and Originator?” His arguments on dogma refined his thought and honed his perception. His thought was further refined by the debates he had about fiqh in every place he travelled – Makka, Madina and all the areas of the Hijaz where there were debates about fiqh. He learned hadiths which he did not know before, aspects of analogy which perhaps he had not thought of, and the fatwas of the Companions.
Abu Hanifa’s method in teaching was like that of his studying; it was not simply giving lessons to students. So a question would be presented and he would give it to his students and argue with them about its ruling. Each would give his opinions and mention the analogies relevant to it, as Muhammad ash-Shaybani reports, and dispute his ijtihad. They might shout at one another until there was a veritable uproar, as was mentioned by Mis‘ar ibn Kidam. After they had examined the matter from all sides, he would indicate the opinion arrived at by this study and its distillation and all would affirm it and be pleased with it. Studying in this fashion instructs both the teacher and student. Its benefit for the teacher does not lessen its benefit for the student. Abu Hanifa continued to teach like this which made him a seeker of knowledge until he died. His knowledge was continually growing and his thinking ever moving.
When a hadith was presented to him, he would point out the chief judgements which it contained and elucidate them. Then he would ramify the questions which concurred with the principles involved. That is what he considered fiqh to be. He said, “The like of the one who seeks hadith and does not learn fiqh is like the apothecary who has the tools but does not know what medicine to prepare. So the seeker of hadith does not know the value of his hadith until the faqih comes.”
To summarise, he debated with his students and cared for them in three separate ways. Firstly, he supported them with his wealth, helping them in their difficulties such as when someone needed to marry but
did not have the necessary funds. He would send money to each student according to his need. Sharik said about him, “He was wealthy as well as having knowledge and spent his wealth on himself and his dependants. When he taught, he stated, ‘I have achieved the greatest wealth by knowing the lawful and unlawful.’”
Secondly, he paid attention to his students and carefully observed them. When he found an aptitude for knowledge mixed with delusion in one of them, he removed the delusion from him by tests which showed him that he was still in need of more knowledge which others had. It is related that Abu Yusuf, his student and companion, felt that he should have his own place to teach. Abu Hanifa told one of those with him, “Go to the assembly of Ya‘qub (Abu Yusuf) and ask him, ‘What do you do about the case of a man who gives a fuller a garment to bleach for two dirhams and then asks for his garment back and the fuller says he has no knowledge of it? Then he returns again and asks for it and is given it bleached. Is the fuller paid?’ If he says he is, tell him, he is wrong. If he says he is not, tell him he is wrong.” The man went to him and asked him and he said, “Yes, he has a wage.” He said, “You are wrong.”He waited a time and then said “No, he does not.” He said, “You are wrong.” He went immediately to Abu Hanifa and said, “The question of the fuller must have come from you, so tell me about it.” He replied, “If the bleaching took place after the misappropriation, he has no wage because he did it for himself. If it was before that he has the wage because he bleached it for its owner.”
Thirdly, he always had good words for his students, especially for those of them who were about to leave or embark on something important. He used to say to them, “You are the joy of my heart and the removal of my sorrow.”
Sunnah Muakada 