History

→ His birth and lineage. His upbringing. His involvement in learning. His replacing Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (his Shaykh). His position in respect of the revolutionary movements of his time. His relations with the Abbasids

The Knowledge of Imam Abu Hanifa and its Sources

→ Abu Hanifa’s Qualities. His Shaykhs. His private studies and experiences.

The Era of Imam Abu Hanifa

→ The Sunna and Opinion. The fatwas of the Companions and Tabi‘un and the practice of the people of
Madina. The Sects. The Shi‘ites. The origin of the sect. The Saba’ites. The Kaysanites. The Zaydites. The Imamites. The Ithna ‘asharites (Twelvers). The Isma‘ilis. Murji’ites. The Jabarites. The Mu‘tazilites. The doctrine of the Mu‘tazilites. The Mu‘tazilites’ method of deriving their doctrine. The Mu‘tazilites’ defence of Islam. The khalif’s patronage of the Mu‘tazilites. The position of the Mu‘tazilites among their contemporaries. The suspicions of the fuqaha’ and hadith scholars. Disputes of the Mu‘tazilites and the science of kalam.

The Opinions of Imam Abu Hanifa

→ Abu Hanifa’s political views. His opinions on issues of kalam. Faith (Iman). Qadar and a man’s actions. The Createdness of the Qur’an. The opinions of Abu Hanifa on thought, ethics and society.

The Fiqh of Imam Abu Hanifa

→ The transmission of Hanafi fiqh. The Musnad of Abu Hanifa. Abu Hanifa’s knowledge transmitted by his students. Abu Yusuf. The books of Abu Yusuf. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani. Zafar ibn Hudhayl. The place of Abu Hanifa’s fiqh in relation to earlier fiqh. Abu Hanifa and hypothetical fiqh. The fundamental principles on which Abu Hanifa based his fiqh. Abu Hanifa and legal evidence. The Quran. The Sunna. Fatwas of the Companions. Consensus. Analogy. Istihsan (Discretion). Custom (‘urf).Concluding Note.

→ About the Author

Islamic Civilization