Imam Azam Abu Hanifa (May Allah be well pleased with him) in the opinion of the experts of Hadith

Imam Malik (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  In Islam, there are 60,000 utterances of Abu Hanifa, meaning that so many rulings of Jurisprudence are from him.  After relating this Tradition, Imam Muwwaffaq (May Allah shower His mercy on him) relates the Tradition of a reliable narrator that Imam Azam Abu Hanifa (May Allah be well pleased with him) has written 83,000 rulings of which 38,000 are about worship and 45,000 are about affairs and dealings. 

 

‘Abdullah bin Dawood Khairabi says:  Any one who desires to free himself of the humiliation of ignorance and desires to learn jurisprudence should study the books of Abu Hanifa

 

It is also related that Imam Shafa’ee said that the person who doesn’t study the books of Abu Hanifa cannot gain erudition in Jurisprudence (Fiqh).

 

Abu Ishaq says that I pity those people who didn’t gain anything from the knowledge of Abu Hanifa.  These are the people who are bereft of Jurisprudence.

 

Yahya bin Atham says:  I heard from Wahb bin Jareer that he would say:  My father Jareer bin A’azim would exhort me to study the books of Abu Hanifa and he was among those who sat in the study circle of the Imam.

 

Muhammad bin Dawood says:  I once went to ‘Isa bin Younus and saw that books of Abu Hanifa are placed before him and he is reading them.  I asked him:  Do you narrate on his authority?  He said:  I was pleased with him in his life.  Will I be displeased with him after his death?

 

Ma’aroof bin ‘Abdullah says:  Once, I was with ‘Ali bin A’asim.  He told his students:  You people acquire knowledge and jurisprudence.  We said:  That which we learn from you is not knowledge?  He said:  Knowledge is the knowledge of Abu Hanifa. 

 

Muhammad bin Sa’adaan says:  I, Yahya bin Ma’een, ‘Ali bin Al Madeeni, Ahmed bin Hambal and Zuhair bin Harb, etc. (all of whom are experts in Hadith) were sitting with Yazid bin Haroon.  A person asked him a question.  He said:  Go to the people of knowledge.  ‘Ali bin Al Madeeni said:  Shouldn’t he come to you?  Meaning he himself was also a man of knowledge.  Yazid bin Haroon said:  The men of knowledge are the associates of Abu Hanifa and all of you are musk-sellers.

 

‘Abdur Rahman bin Mahdi (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  Abu Hanifa is the Chief Justice among the scholars.  ‘Abdur Rahman is that person whom Imam Dhahabi writes as “Hafidh Ul Kabeer” and “Alim Ush Shaheer”

 

Yahya bin Adam says that when the incidents and rulings of Abu Hanifa were related before Hasan bin Sabah bin Hayy Al Hamadani, he would praise them.  Hasan bin Sabah was so meticulous in matters of religion that because of the irreligiousness of the rulers, he considered even the Friday Salaat as inappropriate.

 

Abu Numaila says:  Muhammad bin Talha told me: When you hear a saying of Abu Hanifa from a reliable person, rely on it, as his opinion is very firmly based on evidence.  These books of Jurisprudence in our hands are all those firm opinions of the Imam which have reached us through reliable people.

 

‘Abdullah bin Mubarak once told his students:  Accept Hadith after checking them and understanding them as they are your religion…..  Then he said:  When a reliable person relates the opinion of Abu Hanifa to you, accept it.

 

Abu Muslim asked Yazid bin Haroon: What do you say about the books of Abu Hanifa?  He said:  If you want to gain jurisprudential acumen and understanding of religion, then study the books of Abu Hanifa.  I haven’t seen any Jurisprudent (Faqeeh) who considers it undesirable to study the books of Abu Hanifa.

 

Did Imam Azam Abu Hanifa make any mistake?

 

One person said before Wak’ee bin Al Jarrah that Abu Hanifa made a mistake.  Wak’ee scolded him and said:  The person who says anything like this is like an animal and even worse than them.  Jurisprudents like Abu Yusuf and Muhammad were with him.  There were many Imams of Hadith, Arabic language and Imams of piety like Fudhail and Dawood Taai.  The one whose associates are like these can never make any mistake and even if he does make a mistake then these people will turn him towards the truth.

 

The names of the Imams mentioned here are only as an indication.  Otherwise, there always used to be a huge gathering there.

 

[Excerpted from Haqiqatul Fiqh, Vol. 1]