Imam al-A’zam Abu Hanifah (RA): The Role Model (part 16)
Collection of Articles
The Virtues of Imam Abu Hanifah (AS)
This article is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the virtues and merits of Imam Abu Hanifah (RA), while the second part is devoted to the codification of the Islamic legal sciences (fiqh), the consultative system of the Hanafi school, and its scholarly methodology of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), legal derivation, and juristic deduction.
The Virtues of Imam Abu Hanifah (RA)
Classical and later Muslim scholars have authored dozens of volumes concerning the virtues of Imam Abu Hanifah (RA). They have written extensively on his intellectual legacy, legal school, ijtihad, scholarship, asceticism, piety, fear of Allah, and commercial expertise and business success, as well as his personal life and political views. Here, we shall briefly highlight some of his outstanding virtues, while a more detailed discussion will, Allah willing, be presented in the second part.
Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) was born in Kufah in 80 AH. His given name was Numan, and his father’s name was Thabit. Many of his biographers trace his family origins to Khurasan and the region of Kabul in present-day Afghanistan, stating that his forefathers migrated from this region to Iraq.
Regarding the revelation of the following verse from Surat al-Jumuʿah: (وَآخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “لو كان العلم بالثريا لناله رجال أو رجل من هؤلاء”(Sahih al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Tafsīr) Translation: “If knowledge were suspended at the Pleiades, men—or a man—from among these people would surely attain it.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to Salman al-Farsi (RA) while making this statement.
The eminent scholars Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Salihi al-Dimashqī, Ibn Hajar al-Makki al-Shafiʿī, Muhammad Muʿīn al-Dīn al-Sindī, Shah Walī Allah al-Dihlawī, and ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-ʿAzīzī (may Allah have mercy on them all), as well as the non-muqallid scholar Nawwāb Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān, unanimously maintained that Imam Abu Hanifah (AS) is the intended person referred to in this Hadith.
Muhammad ibn Yūsuf al-Dimashqi writes in ʿUqud al-Juman: «وَمَا جَزَمَ بِهِ شَيْخُنَا مِنْ أَنَّ الْإِمَامَ أَبَا حَنِيفَةَ هُوَ الْمُرَادُ مِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ السَّابِقِ ظَاهِرٌ لَا شَكَّ فِيهِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَبْلُغْ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ فَارِسَ أَحَدٌ فِي الْعِلْمِ مَبْلَغَهُ وَلَا مَبْلَغَ أَصْحَابِهِ. » (Uqud al-Juman, pp. 46–47) Translation: “Our teacher firmly maintained that the person referred to in the aforementioned Hadith is Imam Abu Hanifah. There is no doubt concerning this, for among the descendants of Persia no one attained the level of scholarship reached by Imam Abu Hanifah and his disciples.”
Among the four Sunni Imams, Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) alone attained the rank of the Tabiʿun (the successors). Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī writes in Al-Khayrat al-Hisan: «أَنَّهُ أَدْرَكَ جَمَاعَةً مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ كَانُوا بِالْكُوفَةِ بَعْدَ مَوْلِدِهِ بِهَا سَنَةَ ثَمَانِينَ، فَهُوَ مِنْ طَبَقَةِ التَّابِعِينَ، وَلَمْ يَثْبُتْ ذَلِكَ لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ أَئِمَّةِ الْأَمْصَارِ الْمُعَاصِرِينَ لَهُ كَالْأَوْزَاعِيِّ بِالشَّامِ، وَالْحَمَّادَيْنِ بِالْبَصْرَةِ، وَالثَّوْرِيِّ بِالْكُوفَةِ، وَمَالِكٍ بِالْمَدِينَةِ الشَّرِيفَةِ، وَاللَّيْثِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ بِمِصْرَ.» (Al-Khayrāt al-Ḥisān, pp. 43–44) Translation: “After his birth in Kufah in the year 80 AH, Imam Abu Hanifah met a number of the Companions who were still residing there. Therefore, he belongs to the generation of the Tābiʿun. This distinction has not been established for any of the leading jurists of his time, including al-Awzāʿi in Syria, the two Hammads in Basra, al-Thawri in Kufah, Malek in the Noble City of Madinah, or al-Layth ibn Saʿd in Egypt.”
Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) said: «رَأَيْتُ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ قَائِمًا وَهُوَ يُصَلِّي.» (Musnad Abī Hanifah, p. 24) Translation: “I saw Anas ibn Malik (RA) standing in prayer.”
In his early years, Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) was engaged in the textile trade and was regarded as one of the most distinguished merchants of his time. The fabrics he sold were rare and highly sought after in the marketplace. He later devoted himself entirely to the pursuit of knowledge, eventually becoming one of its foremost scholars and pioneers.
Al-Dhahabī (may Allah have mercy on him), describing his devotion to worship, writes: Imam Abu Hanifah consistently observed Qiyām al-Layl and Tahajjud, spending his nights in worship until dawn. Because of the extraordinary length of time he remained standing in prayer, he was likened to a firmly planted stake.
He was a man of exceptional wisdom, sound reasoning, eloquence, devotion, piety, generosity, and remarkable intelligence. Yazīd ibn Hārūn said: «ما رأيت أعقل ولا أفضل ولا أورع من أبي حنيفة.» (Tārīkh Baghdād, vol. 15, p. 498) Translation: “I have never seen anyone wiser, more distinguished, or more God-fearing than Imam Abu Hanifah (AS).”
Allah had endowed him with such extraordinary trustworthiness that people entrusted him with thousands of dinars for safekeeping. Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ said: «كان أبو حنيفة والله عظيم الأمانة.» (Tārīkh Baghdād, vol. 15, p. 490) Translation: “By Allah, Abu Hanifah possessed an extraordinary degree of trustworthiness.”
Imam Abu Hanifah held his teacher in the highest esteem. Abu Muḥammad al-Hārithī narrates that Imam Abu Hanifah said: «ما مددت رجلي إلى دار حماد بن أبي سليمان قط، وبين داري وداره سبعة أزقة.» (ʿUqūd al-Jumān, p. 236) Translation: “As a mark of respect, I never stretched my legs toward the house of my teacher, Hammad ibn Abī Sulaymān, even though seven streets lay between his house and mine.”
Allah also blessed him with contentment and independence from worldly wealth. He showed complete disinterest in the riches of rulers and kings. Al-Ṣaymarī narrates from Ḥasan ibn Ziyād: «والله ما قبل أبو حنيفة لأحد منهم جائزة ولا هدية.» Translation: “By Allah, Abu Hanifah never accepted any reward or gift from any of the rulers.”
Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (RA) said: «ما رأيت أحدًا أورع من أبي حنيفة وقد جُرِّب بالسياط والأموال. » Translation: “I have never seen anyone more scrupulously pious than Abu Hanifah. He was tested with both the lash and worldly wealth, yet remained steadfast.”
With regard to the disagreements that arose among the Noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), Imam Abu Hanifah consistently adopted a balanced and moderate position. He also held the eminent scholars of the Muslim community in the highest respect. Ultimately, because he refused to accept the office of chief judge (qadi), he was imprisoned by the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jaʿfar al-Mansur and, at the age of seventy, attained martyrdom while in prison.
Distinctive Features of the Hanafi School
Among the greatest and most distinctive merits of the Hanafi school was its pioneering role in the systematic codification and classification of Islamic law. This monumental undertaking was initiated by the founder of the school, Imam Abu Hanifah (RA), together with his students. It was an unprecedented achievement that later jurists and founders of other legal schools subsequently followed.
A second unique characteristic of the Hanafi school is that, unlike the other schools of Islamic jurisprudence, it is not merely the product of the independent reasoning, legal derivation, and juristic deduction of a single individual. Rather, it is the only school that emerged through the deliberations of a structured consultative council composed of forty scholars. Consequently, it represents the collective outcome of forty distinguished juristic minds. Although later additions and refinements were made, the existing corpus of Hanafi jurisprudence is fundamentally the product of nearly three decades of collaborative scholarship, scholarly gatherings, legal discussions, analytical reasoning, debates, intellectual exchanges, and collective deliberations among the foremost jurists and mujtahids of the Muslim community. This distinction is unique to the Hanafi school and is unmatched by any other school of Islamic law. Since this significant aspect of the Hanafi tradition has received comparatively little attention, the following discussion will focus primarily on this subject.
Before proceeding, it should be noted that during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the technical terminology of Islamic jurisprudence known today had not yet developed. Rather, the Noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) simply practiced whatever they observed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) doing and acted upon whatever they heard him say.
Following the Prophetic era, during the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them), vast territories came under Islamic rule. As the Noble Companions dispersed throughout different regions during the Islamic conquests and Islam spread across diverse lands, new legal issues inevitably arose. Consequently, the need for qiyās (analogical reasoning) became increasingly apparent. Since different textual evidence could lead to different legal conclusions, the Companions did not always arrive at a unanimous opinion, and juristic differences naturally emerged.
During this period, approximately one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty Companions issued legal verdicts (fatawa). They are generally classified into three categories:
The Prolific Muftis (al-Mukthirun): Those who issued legal opinions extensively. They numbered seven: Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abī Talib, ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿūd, the mother of the believers ʿAʾishah al-Siddiqah, Zayd ibn Thābit, ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbas, and ʿAbdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them all).
The Moderate Muftis (al-Mutawassiṭūn): Those who issued fewer legal opinions than the first group. They are reported to have numbered thirteen: Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddiq, Umm Salamah, Anas ibn Malek, Abu Saʿid al-Khudrī, Abu Hurayrah, Uthman ibn Affan, ʿAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-ʿAs, ʿAbdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Musa al-Ashʿarī, Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqṣ, Salman al-Farsi, Jabir ibn ʿAbdullāh, and Muʿadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with them).
The Less Prolific Muftis (al-Muqillun): Those from whom comparatively fewer legal opinions have been transmitted than from the previous two groups.
