Imam Abu Hanifa, may God have mercy on him, is one of the great scholars who was accused of being “Morjaeh”. Some of those who didn’t have a good acquaintance with this great personality, have called him Morjaeh. Imam Azam, may God have mercy on him, is one of the great and famous personalities of the Islamic world, who is famous worldwide and is the leader of almost half of the Muslims on earth.
Introducing the personality, scientific achievements, beliefs and services of the imam is not something that can be included in an article or a book or books; Therefore, in this article, we will briefly explore and pay attention to a corner of the biography of this honorable figure of the Islamic world, and by presenting the reason, we will state that his belief is completely different from the beliefs of “Morjaeh”.
Who was Imam Abu Hanifah?
Today, we know Imam Abu Hanifa more as the founder of the biggest jurisprudence of Ahl al-Sunna; However, according to the testimony of historians and biographers, he was a great theologian of great fame in his time before he became a jurist. He was a great personality who, with his unceasing efforts, scrutinized such issues that are rarely seen in other religions.
He was successful and victorious in his life and world endeavors, and he had great genius in the study of science and knowledge, and he was efficient, outstanding and brilliant in the field of thinking, thinking and deriving Sharia rulings. He had such virtuous morals that made him worthy of friendship and companionship with prominent leaders of Islam.
At that time, he earned the title of “Al-Imam al-Azam”, a title that illuminated the horizons of the world like the sun, and when we put this glorious title next to the fact that he was an “Iraqi jurist” and “Imam of the People of Rai”. we find out what made Abdullah bin Mubarak say about him: “«ابوحنیفة مخ العلم»”; (Abu Hanifah is the brain of knowledge.) And Ibn Jarij said: «إنه الفقیة»؛ (He is the only jurist). This part of the article is dedicated to examining the life of Imam Abu Hanifa and examining whether he was a reference or not.
A tour of the biography of Imam Abu Hanifah, may God have mercy on him
The name and lineage of Imam Abu Hanifah, may God have mercy on him
His blessed name is Nouman, his father’s name is Sabit, his grandfather’s name is Marzban, and he belong to a respectable family that was highly respected and important among their relatives and society. In fact, Imam Abu Hanifa is from Kabul, the current capital of Afghanistan, and according to the most correct version, he was born in the year (80 AH) at the same time as the caliphate of Abdul Malik bin Marwan in the city of Kufa, Iraq.
His grandfather, Marzban, converted to Islam during the caliphate of Umar Farooq, may God be pleased with him, and after that, he moved to Kufa and settled in this city. Khatib narrated from Ismail bin Hamad, the grandson of Imam Abu Hanifah, that he said: “I swear by God, none of our ancestors were slaves; My grandfather, Imam Abu Hanifah, was born in the year (80 AH) and his father Sabit went to Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, when he was a child, and he prayed that God would bless him and his children, we hope that his prayer will be accepted. It is right.”
Imam Abu Hanifah may God have mercy on him, in his childhood and at the beginning of his life, devoted himself to memorizing the Qur’an. His initial interest was in theology. In order to become proficient in this field by participating in theological debates, he traveled a lot to Basra the center of theological debates and through numerous debates with the Mu’tazila and Khawarij sects, he was able to achieve a master’s degree in the science of theological debates.
According to the historical reports, “Takfir” was one of the main topics that revolved around Imam Abu Hanifah’s theological debates with the Khawarij. The Khawarij, with their violent reading of Islam, used the blade of takfir and mercilessly attacked the faith and the lives of other citizens of the Islamic sect, and on this pretext, they shed blood and incited seditions.
Seeing this unfortunate situation, Imam Abu Hanifah, may God have mercy on him, saw the solution in it to hang in theological circles with the blasphemous and violent Khawarij, and by criticizing the fundamentals, save the innocent lives from the sting of their sharp blades and raised swords.
He himself says: “I was a person skilled in theological topics, a time passed when I became famous in these topics and landscapes, and since the center of the caliphate was mostly in Basra, I probably traveled there twenty times and stayed there for up to six months in some cases. And I debated with different Kharijite groups.”
