Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslims, was a Persian

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

theologian and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practiced law school in the Sunni tradition, predominates in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran (until the 16th century), Balkans, Russia,

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in India, Turkey, and some parts of the Arab world. Some followers call him ''al-Imām al-Aʿẓam'' ("The Greatest Imam") and ''Sirāj al-Aʾimma'' ("The Lamp of the Imams") in Sunni Islam. Born to a Muslim family in Kufa, Abu Hanifa is known to have travelled to the

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

region of Arabia in his youth, where he studied in Mecca and Medina. As his career as a theologian and jurist progressed, Abu Hanifa became known for favoring the use of reason in his legal rulings (''faqīh dhū raʾy'') and even in his theology. Abu Hanifa's theological school is claimed to be what would later develop into the Maturidi school of Sunni theology.

Life

Family background

Abu Hanifa was born in Kufa in 80 AH, 77 AH, 70 AH, or 61 AH, during the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate. Most historians choose the latest view, 80 AH, in accordance with the principle of choosing the latest date death as this is for the purpose of caution. But Mohammad Zahid Al-Kawthari, adjunct to the office of the last Shaykh Al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire, writes that the middle view, 70 AH, is supported by two facts the others aren’t. Firstly, Mohammad Ibn Makhlad Al-Attar considers the narration of Abu Hanifa’s son, Hammad, from Imam Malik Ibn Anas to be an example of an older man narration from a younger man. Secondly, Abu Hanifa was concerned with who should succeed Ibrahim Al-Nakhai after his death in 96 AH. Something that could only happen after Abu Hanifa was slightly older since it’s well known Abu Hanifa only cared about his religious studies after he was about 19. According to the view of Abu Hanifa being born in 80 AH, Abu Hanifa would have been 16. His ancestry is generally accepted as being of Persian origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī, commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ( ar, الخطيب البغدادي) or "the lecturer from Baghdad" (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), wa ...

records a statement from Abu Hanifa's grandson, Ismail ibn Hammad, who gave Abu Hanifa's lineage as Thabit ibn Numan ibn Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin.S. H. Nasr (1975), "The religious sciences", in R.N. Frye, ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', Volume 4, Cambridge University Press. pg 474: "Abū Ḥanīfah, who is often called the "grand imam"(al-Imam al-'Azam) was PersianCyril Glasse, "The New Encyclopedia of Islam", Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. pg 23: "Abu Hanifah, a Persian, was one of the great jurists of Islam and one of the historic Sunni Mujtahids" The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abu Hanifa's grandfather and great-grandfather, are thought to be due to Zuta's adoption of the

Arabic name Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/ middle/family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...

(Numan) upon his acceptance of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia, with the latter, meaning a margrave, referring to the noble ancestry of Abu Hanifa's family as the Sasanian marzbans. The generally accepted opinion, however, is that most probably he was of Persian ancestry . His grandfather, Zuta, may have been captured by Muslim troops in Kabul and sold as a slave in Kufa. There, he was purchased and freed by an Arab tribesman of the Taym Allah, a branch of the Banu Bakr. Zuta and his progeny thereafter became clients ('' mawali'') of the Taym Allah, hence the sporadic references to Abu Hanifa as 'al-Taymi' (i.e. 'of the Taym Allah'). It is otherwise held that his family emigrated from Charikar north of Kabul to Baghdad in the eighth century. The Indian scholar Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri reports from the grandson of Abu Hanifa, who said, "By God, our family was never a slave to anyone and my grandfather Numan was born in 80 AH." Athar also suggests that Zuta had embraced Islam during the reign of Ali and was named Numan.

Early life and scholarship

There is scant biographical information about Abu Hanifa. It is generally known that he worked a producer and seller of "khazz", a type of silk clothing material. He attended lectures on jurisprudence by the Kufan scholar

Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman Hamad may refer to: People *Hamad (name), an Arabic given name and surname *Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa (1872–1942), Ruler of Bahrain from 1932 until his death in 1942. * Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain since 2002. Cities and villages * ...

(d. 737). He also possibly learnt jurisprudence ( fiqh) by the Meccan scholar Ata ibn Abi Rabah (d. ) while on

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

. Abu Hanifa succeeded Hammad, when the latter died, as the principal authority on Islamic law in Kufa and the chief representative of the Kufan school of jurisprudence. Abu Hanifa gradually gained influence as an authority on legal questions, founding a moderate rationalist school of

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...

that was named after him.

Adulthood and death

In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid caliph offered Abu Hanifa the post of '' qadi al-qudat'' (chief judge of the state), but he declined the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was later appointed to the post by Caliph Harun al-Rashid. In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa said that he was not fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa of lying. "If I am lying," Abu Hanifa said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?" Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa arrested, locked in prison and tortured. He was never fed nor cared for. Even there, the jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him. On 15 Rajab 150, (August 15, 767) Abu Hanifa died in prison. The cause of his death is not clear, as some say that Abu Hanifa issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against al-Mansur, and the latter had him poisoned. The fellow prisoner and Jewish Karaite founder,

Anan ben David Anan Ben David (c. 715 - c. 795) ( he, ענן בן דוד) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement of Judaism. His followers were called Ananites and, like modern Karaites, did not believe the Rabbinic Jewish oral law ...

, is said to have received life-saving counsel from Abu Hanifa. It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. On the authority of the historian al-Khatib, it can be said that for a full twenty days people performed funeral prayers for him. Later, after many years, the Abu Hanifa Mosque was built in the

Adhamiyah Al-Adhamiyah ( ar, الأعظمية, ''al-aʿẓamiyyah''; BGN: ''Al A‘z̧amīyah''), also Azamiya, is a neighborhood and east-central district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad. Adhamiyah ne ...

neighbourhood of Baghdad. Abu Hanifa also supported the cause of

Zayd ibn Ali Zayd ibn Zayn al-Abidin ( ar, زيد بن زين العابدين; 695–740), also spelled Zaid, was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, and great-grandson of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He led an unsuccessful revolt against the Umayyad Calipha ...

and Ibrahim al Qamar both

Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...

Zaydi Imams. The tomb of Abu Hanifa and the tomb of

Abdul Qadir Gilani ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī, ( ar, عبدالقادر الجيلاني, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī; fa, ) known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī al-Baḡdādī al-Ḥasanī al-Ḥusayn ...

were destroyed by

Shah Ismail Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His reign is often c ...

of the Safavi Empire in 1508. In 1533,

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

conquered Baghdad and rebuilt the tomb of Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites.

Students

Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi listed 97 hadith scholars who were his students. Most of them were famous hadith scholars, and their narrated hadiths were compiled in the

Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...

, Sahih Muslim and other famous books of hadith. Imām

Badr al-Din al-Ayni Abū Muḥammad Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad ibn Mūsā Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī, often quoted simply as al-'Ayni ( ar, بدر الدين العيني, Badr al-ʿAynī; born 762 AH/1360 CE, died 855 AH/1453 CE) was a Sunni Islamic scholar of the Hanafi m ...

included another 260 students who studied Hadith and Fiqh from Abu Hanifa. His most famous student was Imām Abu Yusuf, who served as the first chief justice in the Muslim world. Another famous student was Imām Muhammad al-Shaybani, who was the teacher of the Shafi‘i school of jurisprudence founder, Imām Al-Shafi‘i. His other students include: # Abdullah ibn Mubarak # Abu Nuāim Fadl Ibn Dukain # Malik bin Mighwal # Dawood Taa’ee # Mandil bin Ali # Qaasim bin Ma’n # Hayyaaj bin Bistaam # Hushaym bin Basheer Sulami # Fudhayl bin Iyaadh # Ali bin Tibyaan # Wakee bin Jarrah # Amr bin Maymoon # Abu Ismah # Zuhayr bin Mu’aawiyah # Aafiyah bin Yazeed

Sources and methodology

The sources from which Abu Hanifa derived Islamic law, in order of importance and preference, are: the Qur'an, the authentic narrations of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (known as hadith), consensus of the Muslim community ( ijma), analogical reasoning (

qiyas In Islamic jurisprudence, qiyas ( ar, قياس , "analogy") is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new ...

), juristic discretion ( istihsan) and the customs of the local population enacting said law ( urf). The development of analogical reason and the scope and boundaries by which it may be used is recognized by the majority of Muslim jurists, but its establishment as a legal tool is the result of the Hanafi school. While it was likely used by some of his teachers, Abu Hanifa is regarded by modern scholarship as the first to formally adopt and institute analogical reason as a part of Islamic law. As the fourth Caliph, Ali had transferred the Islamic capital to Kufa, and many of the first generation of Muslims had settled there, the Hanafi school of law based many of its rulings on the prophetic tradition as transmitted by those first generation Muslims residing in Iraq. Thus, the Hanafi school came to be known as the Kufan or Iraqi school in earlier times. Ali and Abdullah, son of Masud formed much of the base of the school, as well as other personalities from the direct relatives (or Ahli-ll-Bayṫ) of Moḥammad from whom Abu Hanifa had studied such as Muhammad al-Baqir. Many jurists and historians had reportedly lived in Kufa, including one of Abu Hanifa's main teachers, Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman.

Generational status

Abu Hanifa is regarded by some as one of the Tabi‘un, the generation after the Sahaba, who were the companions of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...

, Muhammad. This is based on reports that he met at least four Sahaba including

Anas ibn Malik Anas ibn Mālik ibn Naḍr al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī ( ar, أنس بن مالك الخزرجي الأنصاري (c.612 – c.712 Finding the Truth in Judging the Companions, 1. 84-5; EI2, 1. 482 A. J. Wensinck J. Robson) was a well-known ''saha ...

, with some even reporting that he transmitted Hadith from him and other companions of Muhammad.Imām-ul-A’zam Abū Ḥanīfah, The Theologian
/ref> Others take the view that Abu Hanifa only saw around half a dozen companions, possibly at a young age, and did not directly narrate hadith from them. Abu Hanifa was born 67 years after the death of Muhammad, but during the time of the first generation of Muslims, some of whom lived on until Abu Hanifa's youth. Anas bin Malik, Muhammad's personal attendant, died in 93 AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah, died in 100 AH, when Abu Hanifa was 20 years old. The author of al-Khairat al-Hisan collected information from books of biographies and cited the names of Muslims of the first generation from whom it is reported that the Abu Hanifa had transmitted hadith. He counted them as sixteen, including

Jabir ibn Abd-Allah Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥarām al-Anṣārī ( ar, جابر بن عبدالله بن عمرو بن حرام الأنصاري, died 697 CE/78 AH), was a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Life Early life Jabi ...

and Sahl ibn Sa'd.

Reception

He attained a very high status in the various fields of sacred knowledge and significantly influenced the development of Muslim theology. During his lifetime, he was acknowledged by the people as a jurist of the highest calibre. Outside of his scholarly achievements, Abu Hanifa is popularly known amongst

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

as a man of the highest personal qualities: a performer of good works, remarkable for his self-denial, humble spirit, devotion and pious awe of God. His tomb, surmounted by a dome erected by admirers in 1066 is still a shrine for pilgrims. It was given a restoration in 1535 by Suleiman the Magnificent upon the Ottoman conquest of Baghdad. The honorific title ''al-Imam al-A'zam'' ("the greatest leader") was granted to him both in communities where his legal theory is followed and elsewhere. According to John Esposito, 45% of all Muslims follow the Hanafi school. Abu Hanifa also had critics. The Zahiri scholar Ibn Hazm quotes Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah: " e affairs of men were in harmony until they were changed by Abù Hanìfa in Kùfa, al-Batti in Basra and Màlik in Medina". Early Muslim jurist Hammad ibn Salamah once related a story about a highway robber who posed as an old man to hide his identity; he then remarked that were the robber still alive he would be a follower of Abu Hanifa.

Connection with the family of Muhammad

As with Malik ibn Anas (who was a teacher of Imam al-Shafi'i, who in turn was a teacher of Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal), Imam Abu Hanifa was a student of Ja'far al-Sadiq, who was a

descendant Descendant(s) or descendent(s) may refer to: * Lineal descendant, a consanguinous (i.e. biological) relative directly related to a person ** Collateral descendant, a relative descended from a brother or sister of an ancestor Books * "The Descen ...

of the Islamic ''Nabi'' ( Prophet) Muhammad. Thus all of the four great Imams of Sunni '' Fiqh'' are connected to Ja'far from the ''Bayt'' (Household) of Muhammad, whether directly or indirectly. In one hadith, Abu Hanifa once said about Imam Ja'far: "I have not seen anyone with more knowledge than Ja'far ibn Muhammad." However, in another hadith, Abu Hanifa said: "I met with Zayd (Ja'far's uncle) and I never saw in his generation a person more knowledgeable, as quick a thinker, or more eloquent than he was."

Opposition to deviations in belief

Imam Abu Hanifa is quoted as saying that Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128/745) went so far in his denial of

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

(Tashbih) as to declare that 'God is nothing (Allah laysa bi shay')'. And

Muqatil ibn Sulayman Muqātil ibn Sulaymān () (d. 767 C.E.) was an 8th-century story teller of the Quran. He wrote one of the earliest, if not first, commentaries (tafsir) of the Qur'an still available today. Biography Born in Balkh in Khorasan, there are no works ...

's extremism (d. 150/767), on the other side, likened God with His creatures.

narrated in his Tarikh Baghdad (History of Baghdad) that Imam Abu Hanifa said:

Works

Confusion regarding Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar

The attribution of ''Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar'' has been disputed by A.J. Wensick, as well as Zubair Ali Zai. Other scholars have upheld that Abu Hanifa was the author such as Muhammad Zahid Al-Kawthari, al-Bazdawi, and Abd al-Aziz al-Bukhari. Past Scholar, Ibn Abil-'Izz Al-Hanafi even attributed the book to Abu Hanifa Scholars such as Mufti Abdur-Rahman have pointed out that the book being brought into question by Wensick is actually another work by Abu Hanifa called: "''Al-Fiqh Al-Absat''".