Author: Mufti Muhammad Gul Saeed
Imam al-A’zam Abu Hanifah (RA): The Role Model (part 14)
Collection of Articles
The Exceptional Intelligence of the Great Imam
The accounts of the Great Imam’s intelligence and profound knowledge are countless. Muslim scholars have compiled collections of stories from his life and have even authored independent books dedicated to this subject. Yazid said, “I have never seen anyone more knowledgeable or more pious than the Great Imam, RA.”
Kharijah ibn Mus’ab said, “I met nearly one thousand scholars, among whom three or four stood out as exceptionally learned. One of those distinguished scholars was the Great Imam, RA.” Al-Shami, RA, narrated from Imam Abu Yusuf, RA, that a man came to the Great Imam and said, “I swore an oath to my wife that I would not speak to her until she spoke to me first. She, in turn, swore that she would not speak to me until I spoke to her first. What should we do now?”
The Great Imam replied, “Go and speak to her; neither of you will have broken your oath.” The man then went to Sufyan al-Thawri, RA, and related the incident. Sufyan became upset and went to the Great Imam, saying, “Why are you causing people to fall into what is forbidden?” The Great Imam responded, “Let the man repeat his question from the beginning.”
The man repeated the story, and the Great Imam gave the same answer. Sufyan al-Thawri then asked, “On what basis do you say that neither of them will have broken their oath?” The Great Imam explained, “When the husband took his oath, the wife subsequently uttered the words of her own oath, thereby speaking to him. Thus, the husband’s oath was fulfilled without being broken. Now the husband should go and speak to his wife so that her oath will likewise not be violated.” Upon hearing this explanation, Sufyan al-Thawri remarked, “The subtle intricacies of knowledge are revealed to you in ways that we do not even perceive.”
The Martyrdom of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA)
The oppressed Imam of the Muslim world endured immense hardship, suffering, and pain in the prison of tyrants. With remarkable resolve and extraordinary patience, he faced repeated threats of death without wavering. As he approached the age of seventy, his blessed body had grown weary from years of teaching and answering people’s questions, and his noble beard had turned white. Yet despite these trials and tribulations, he never retreated from his principles, nor did his unwavering determination weaken in the slightest. His pure heart, elevated spirit, and steadfast faith stood firm like a mountain against every threat, although his frail body could no longer bear the relentless burden.
Thus, this heroic leader and courageous elder prepared to meet his Lord while imprisoned under oppression. In the year 150 AH (767 CE), he departed from this transient world in a state of profound injustice and isolation. With his eyes fixed upon the Hereafter and while bound by the chains of a tyrannical caliph, he passed away, awaiting the Day of Resurrection—the Day when neither wealth nor children will avail anyone—to seek justice before Allah from the oppressive ruler.
The ruthless Caliph al-Mansur had reportedly ordered that poison be mixed into the Imam’s food, thereby bringing the life of this defenseless and righteous scholar to a tragic end. Other reports maintain that he attained martyrdom under the lashes of the executioner’s whip. Strong historical evidence and reliable narrations also indicate that Imam Abu Hanifa, RA, had completed the recitation of the entire Qur’an seven thousand times in the place where he eventually passed away.
At first, only a few people were aware of his death. Judge Hasan ibn ‘Umarah, RA, performed the ritual washing (ghusl) of the imam’s body, while Abdullah ibn Waqid and Abu Raja’ al-Harawi poured water over him. Hasan ibn ‘Umarah, one of Baghdad’s distinguished scholars, wept throughout the washing and spoke of the Imam’s many virtues.
When news of the Imam’s martyrdom spread throughout Baghdad—a martyrdom that many reports attribute to the lashes ordered by al-Mansur—people came in large groups to attend his funeral. Al-Muwaffaq writes: «کثرالبکاء عليه» Translation: “The weeping and mourning for him were overwhelming.” Abu Raja’ al-Harawi said, “لم أر باكياً أكثر من يومئذ.” Translation: “I have never seen more mourners than I saw on that day.”
It is reported that funeral prayers were held for him over the course of five days because of the immense crowds wishing to participate. Eventually, his son Hammad, RA, led one of the funeral prayers for his father. It is said that fifty thousand people attended the first funeral prayer, and according to one narration, even Caliph al-Mansur himself was present. Imam al-Dhahabi, RA, wrote: «الإمامة في الفقه ودقائقه مسلمة إلى هذا الإمام، وهذا أمر لا شك فيه. وسيرته تحتمل أن تفرد في مجلدين، رضي الله عنه ورحمة. توفي شهيدا مسقيا في سنة خمسين ومئة.» Translation: “Leadership in Islamic jurisprudence and its subtle intricacies is unanimously attributed to this Imam, and there is no doubt concerning this. His biography alone deserves to be compiled into two volumes. May Allah be pleased with him and shower him with His mercy. He died as a martyr after being poisoned in the year 150 AH [1].
Elsewhere, he writes: «وبلغنا ان المنصور سقاه السم فاسود ومات شهيدا.» Translation: “It has reached me that al-Mansur gave the Imam poison in his food; his body turned dark, and he died as a martyr. [2]
Muslim scholars delivered deeply moving eulogies in mourning for him. Among them was Ibn Jurayj al-Makki, RA (d. 150 AH), the eminent hadith scholar and one of the principal transmitters whose narrations appear in the Six Authentic Collections (al-Kutub al-Sittah). Upon hearing of the Imam’s death, he recited istirjāʿ (“Indeed, we belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return”) and exclaimed, «ای علم ذهب» (translation: “Alas, knowledge has departed”). [3]
He also said, “لقد ذهب معه علم کثير.» [4] Translation: “RA. With his passing, an immense body of the account of the martyrdom of Imam Abu Hanifa, RA, is generally regarded as authentic on the basis of reliable historical sources and trustworthy narrations. Nevertheless, some reports describing the final moments of his life may reflect the profound devotion and admiration of his followers. As is often the case with accounts of tragic martyrdoms, certain details may have been embellished over time. At the same time, reports such as al-Mansur’s attendance at the Imam’s funeral, the guarantees offered by his senior ministers, and al-Mansur’s expression of remorse in response to the grief of his uncle, Abd al-Samad ibn Ali, constitute historical evidence that invites further examination of the claim that the Imam was martyred directly through flogging or poisoning while still imprisoned.
In mourning for Imam Abu Hanifa, RA, the eminent scholar Sadaqah al-Mughabiri—who was renowned for having supplications that were readily answered—repeated the following elegiac verses continuously for three days:
ذَهَبَ الـفِقْهُ فَـلاَ فِقْهَ لَکُمْ Translation: “Jurisprudence has departed, and you have no jurist left.”
فَا تَّقُو الله وَکُوْنُوْا خَلَفاً Translation: “So fear Allah and appoint a successor to him.
مَاتَ نِعمانُ فَمَن هَذَا الَّذِي Translation: Nuʿman has passed away—who is there now.
يُحيی اللیلَ إِذَ اسْجَفَّاً Translation: “Nuʿman has passed away—who is there now
to spend the dark night in worship until the break of dawn?”
Performing the Dawn Prayer with the Ablution of the Night Prayer for Forty Years
The biographers who recorded the virtues of Imam Abu Hanifa, RA, consistently relate that he performed the Dawn (Fajr) prayer with the same ablution (wuḍūʾ) as the Night (ʿIshsaʾ) prayer for forty-five years. This expression signifies that he spent his nights in worship without sleeping and devoted his days to teaching jurisprudence (fiqh) and hadith to seekers of knowledge in his study circle until late hours.
Qadi Hasan ibn ʿUmarah, RA, who was entrusted with washing the Imam’s body after his passing, addressed him with the following words upon completing the ritual washing: «رحمك الله لم تفطر منذ ثلاثين سنة ولم تتوسدي يمينك بالليل منذ اربعين سنة كنت أفقهنا و أعبدنا و أزهدنا و أجمعنالخصال الخير و قبرت اذ قبرت الى خير و سنة أتعبت من بعدك.»
Translation: “May Allah have mercy on you! For the past thirty years, you never broke your fast except on the days when fasting is prohibited. For the past forty years, you never laid your right side upon the ground to sleep during the night. Among us, you were the most learned in jurisprudence, the most devoted in worship, the most ascetic, and the most complete in noble character. You lived upon righteousness and the Sunnah, and you departed upon them, leaving those who came after you struggling to emulate your path.”
Some object to this narration by pointing out that Hanafi sources state that Imam Abu Hanifa performed the Dawn (Fajr) prayer with the ablution (wuduʾ) of the Night (ʿIshaʾ) prayer for forty years. They then claim that the Hanafis have elevated their Imam to a rank superior to that of the Prophet (PBUH). (نعوذ بالله من ذلک). Two responses may be offered to this objection:
Scholarly Response:
This objection stems from a misunderstanding of the distinction between the quantity of an act of worship and its spiritual weight and merit. In terms of quantity, the Prophet (PBUH) performed only one pilgrimage (Hajj), whereas many members of the Muslim community have performed Hajj ten or more times. Likewise, the Prophet (PBUH) worshipped Allah for approximately fifty years, while some Muslims have lived for a hundred years and spent eighty years in prayer and devotion. Yet in terms of spiritual value and excellence, all the pilgrimages of humanity—including those of the Companions—cannot equal a single Hajj of the Prophet (PBUH), nor can all the prostrations of mankind compare to one prostration performed by him.
The Hanafi position is precisely this: even if Imam Abu Hanifa worshipped in this manner for forty years, such devotion would not elevate him to the rank of even an ordinary Companion of the Prophet, let alone to the exalted station of Prophethood.
A Practical Response:
It is narrated that a man once came to Mawlana Amin Safdar Okarvi, RA, and asked, “You claim that Imam Abu Hanifa performed the Dawn (Fajr) prayer with the ablution (wuduʾ) of the Night (ʿIshaʾ) prayer for forty years. Did he not have a wife? Did he not fulfill her rights?”
Mawlana Amin Safdar replied, “The right to raise such an objection belongs only to two people: either the Imam’s wife or her legal representative. Now tell me, are you his wife or her representative?” The man remained silent.
Mawlana then explained that the statement should not be understood literally to mean that there was not a single night during those forty years in which this routine was interrupted. Rather, it indicates that this was the Imam’s regular and predominant practice, while on occasion he also rested and attended to the normal needs of human life.
The narrators of this report are not limited to Hanafi scholars. It has also been transmitted by prominent scholars of the Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Maliki schools. Among them are:
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Imam al-Nawawi (Shafi’i), in Tahdhīb al-Asmāʾ, p. 704.
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Al-Damiri, in Ḥayāt al-Ḥayawān, vol. 1, p. 122.
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Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Shafi’i), in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, vol. 10, p. 450.
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Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (Shafi’i), in Tabyīḍ al-Ṣaḥīfah, p. 15.
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Qadi Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Diyar al-Maliki, in Tārīkh al-Khamīs, vol. 2, p. 366.
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Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani (Shafi’i), in Kitāb al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 61.
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Ibn Hajar al-Makki (Shafi’i), in Al-Khayrat al-Ḥisān, p. 36.
Shaykh Abd al-Qader al-Jilani (Hanbali) further states that it has been authentically narrated concerning forty of the Tabi’un (the Successors) that they performed the Dawn prayer with the ablution of the Night prayer continuously for forty years. [5]
We therefore ask those who criticize or reject these reports: What is your assessment of these distinguished scholars? What judgment do you pass upon those forty eminent members of the Tabi’un who, like Imam Abu Hanifa, are reported to have maintained this practice for forty years? Do you also claim that Shaykh Abd al-Qader al-Jilani exaggerated in relating their biographies? Or that all of these Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi’i scholars were guilty of exaggeration in their accounts of Imam Abu Hanifa? وإلى الله المشتكى”. [6]”
To be continued…
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References:
[1] Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Vol. 6, pp. 390–403; Tahdhīb al-Kamāl fī Asmāʾ al-Rijāl, Vol. 29, p. 422.
[2] Manāqib Abī Ḥanīfah wa Ṣāḥibayh, p. 30.
[3] Tahdhīb al-Kamāl fī Asmāʾ al-Rijāl, Vol. 19, p. 180.
[4] Al-Intiqāʾ fī Faḍāʾil al-Aʾimmah al-Thalāthah al-Fuqahāʾ, p. 135; Manāqib Abī Ḥanīfah wa Ṣāḥibayh, p. 18.
[5] Ghunyat al-Ṭālibīn, p. 496.
[6] Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah fī al-Aḥādīth al-Wāhiyah, Vol. 1, p. 128, no. 169; Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt, Vol. 1, p. 111; Tārīkh Baghdād, Vol. 3, p. 32; Al-Kāshif fī Maʿrifat Man Lahu Riwāyah fī al-Kutub al-Sittah, Vol. 1, p. 128, no. 5845 (Dar al-Qiblah li’l-Thaqāfah al-Islāmiyyah & Mu’assasat ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, Jeddah, 1st ed., 1413 AH / 1992 CE); Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, Vol. 1, p. 127 (see also Vol. 1, p. 168); Tahdhīb al-Kamāl fī Asmāʾ al-Rijāl, Vol. 29, p. 417; Musnad al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah, Vol. 1, p. 24 (“Dhikr Man Raʾā min al-Ṣaḥābah wa Rawā ʿAnhum”); ʿUqūd al-Jumān fī Manāqib al-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfah al-Nuʿmān; Manāqib al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah, p. 18. Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah fī al-Aḥādīth al-Wāhiyah, Vol. 1, p. 128, no. 169; Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt, Vol. 1, p. 111; Tārīkh Baghdād, Vol. 3, p. 32; Al-Kāshif fī Maʿrifat Man Lahu Riwāyah fī al-Kutub al-Sittah, Vol. 1, p. 128, no. 5845 (Dar al-Qiblah li’l-Thaqāfah al-Islāmiyyah & Mu’assasat ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, Jeddah, 1st ed., 1413 AH / 1992 CE); Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, Vol. 1, p. 127 (see also Vol. 1, p. 168); Tahdhīb al-Kamāl fī Asmāʾ al-Rijāl, Vol. 29, p. 417; Musnad al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah, Vol. 1, p. 24 (“Dhikr Man Raʾā min al-Ṣaḥābah wa Rawā ʿAnhum”); ʿUqūd al-Jumān fī Manāqib al-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfah al-Nuʿmān; Manāqib al-Imām Abī Ḥanīfah, p. 18.
