During the reign of the great Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him), a merchant embraced Islam. This merchant’s son, Thabit ibn Zuta, was a very pious man. Once, he was very hungry when he saw an apple floating in a river and ate it. However, as soon as his hunger subsided, he felt guilty and followed the river’s course to find the orchard where the apple had come from. He inquired about the orchard’s owner and confessed to owning the apple. The orchard owner was so impressed by Thabit ibn Zuta’s humility and honesty that he asked Thabit to marry his daughter!
In the year 80 AH (699 CE), Thabit and his wife were blessed with a son. His son would eventually become the imam of imams, the leader of jurists and scholars – Imam Abu Hanifa (RA).
The life of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA)
The real name of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) was al-Numan bin Thabit bin Zuta bin al-Marzban. He was born during the reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the city of Kufa, in present-day Iraq. Although Imam Hanifa (RA) was born 67 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), many of the Companions were still alive during his childhood.
His ancestors were merchants and dealt primarily in silk. As a child, Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) once went to his father’s silk shop on an errand, where he met a great sheikh who recognized the young boy’s abilities and guided him to a madrasa. Thus began Imam Abu Hanifa’s (RA) lifelong journey of knowledge, wisdom, and intellect. As such, it is not surprising that he was the one who narrated the following Hadith on the authority of Anas ibn Malik: [1]
The pursuit of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.
Love for knowledge
Imam Abu Hanifa’s (RA) love for knowledge kept him on the path of learning. Quite quickly, he began to use his wisdom and intellect to devise unique solutions to emerging problems, not only in jurisprudence, but also in other fields.
When Caliph al-Mansur decided to move his capital from Damascus to a location in modern-day Iraq, the services of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) were sought, which he magnificently provided. He described the area to be designated as the new city, Baghdad, and sowed cotton seeds there. On a moonless night, he set fire to these seeds (cotton seeds have a unique tendency to burn with a bright glow) and showed the glow to the Caliph from a high tower.
Founder of great philosophical thought
George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831 CE), a German philosopher, is famous for his philosophical ideas, known as Hegelianism. According to Hegel, a greater truth can emerge from the debate over less competing truths. Many Marxists and other thinkers have adopted this philosophy as a key ideology underpinning their struggles.
However, they are unaware that this concept was first preached and practiced by Imam Abu Hanifa (RA), at least a thousand years before Hegel’s time. He used debate as a means of reaching a final consensus on a given issue in light of the Quran and the Sunnah.
Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) was also the first scholar to propose rules of jurisprudence that allowed the application of Sharia to new and unfamiliar issues. Later, scholars who undertook the task of redefining Usul-e-Fiqh were aided and supported by the immense knowledge and extensive body of work of Imam Hanifa (RA).
As a resident of Kufa, Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) was aware of the concept of sociocultural diversity because the cosmopolitan city of Kufa was home not only to Muslims but also to migrant Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Zoroastrians. Whenever problems arose, likely due to sociocultural differences, Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) reacted swiftly. For example, addressing the issue of ethnic or racial tensions between native Arab Muslims and non-Arab Muslims in the diverse society of his time, he stated:
The imam (faith) of a believing Turk is equal to the imam of a believing resident of Medina.
A cup of milk
If you’re wondering how a man named Numan bin Thabit became Abu Hanifa, here’s your answer.
The name of this great scholar came to be known as Abu Hanifa, in reference to one of his daughters, Hanifa. She was a highly intelligent woman who had succeeded her father. In fact, just like her father, Hanifa also had her own group of students. It is said that some women once asked Hanifa: how can people work hard or be concerned for the common good of Islam and the world in general, if they have their own family problems and tensions to deal with?
In response, Hanifa told them all to bring a cup of milk. The next day, when they had all brought their individual cups of milk, she poured each person’s milk into a pot. Then she asked them to separate their respective portions of milk. Clearly, this practical example helped the women understand that the Muslim community was, in fact, like the milk in the pot—although it belonged to different cups, there was no question of segregation or a sense of separation.
It was fitting that Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) came to know him, his title literally translating to the father of Hanifa, the lady with commendable intellectual abilities.
A free soul
Throughout history, attempts have been made by those in power to control men and women of scholarly prowess. Yet, the free spirit that resides within these scholars defies all forms of captivity, whether spiritual or emotional.
The case of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) was no exception to this rule. On one occasion, Caliph al-Mansur offered him the position of Chief Qadi (chief judge); but Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) declined the offer, stating that he did not consider himself qualified for such a high position. The Caliph, apparently, considered this refusal an insult to his authority and called the Imam a liar! Subsequently, Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) further retorted that if he were indeed a liar, it would only imply that he was highly unsuited for the position of judge. Enraged and bewildered, the Caliph decided to imprison Imam Abu Hanifa (RA).
Thus, Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) refused to submit to the Caliph’s demands. He passed away in the year 767 CE, while still in prison.
Legacy
Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) was a renowned scholar of his time, and he remains so to this day. The school of law founded in accordance with his jurisprudence, the Hanafi Madhab, would later become the most popular school of thought in the world, and it would eventually become the official madhab of major Muslim empires such as the Mughal and Ottoman Empires.
The teachings and scholarly output of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA) are still relevant today, and his method of codified fiqh has greatly contributed to Islamic jurisprudence and thought.
Major Projects
Kitab al-Athar (compiled from a total of 70,000 Ahadith)
Alim wa al-Mut’alim
Musnad Imam al-Azam
Kitab ar-Rad al-Qadiriyah
References
Jami’at-Tirmidhi Volume 05, Book 39, Hadith 2647