Third Objection

A common objection which is nothing short of gross ignorance is that Imām Abū Hanīfa (رحمه الله) was not a muhaddith (hadith expert), and hence many hadīths did not reach him. Therefore, it is unwise to follow an imām whose knowledge of the Sunna of Allāh’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) was deficient.

Answer

It is totally incorrect to claim that Imām Abū Hanīfa (رحمه الله) was not a muhaddith or that he lacked knowledge of hadīth. It is established through many sources that Imām Abū Hanīfa (رحمه الله) spent many years travelling across the muslim world to acquire hadīths, until he became a hadīth master (hāfiz al-hadīth). He remained a student in the circle of the muhaddith ʿAtā ibn Abī Rabāh (رحمه الله) in makka for several years, with ʿAtā (رحمه الله) recognising him from amongst his distinguished students. Similarly, he obtained narrations from muhaddiths all across the muslim world.

Kufa, the Imām’s birthplace and where he spent most of his life, was a hub of learning and hadīth circles. Major Companions such as Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه) and ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) had migrated to Kufa and transmitted their wealth of narrations to their students who held their circles throughout the city. ʿAllāma Zāhid al-Kawtharī (رحمه الله), in his Fiqh Ahl al-ʿIraq – printed as an introduction to ʿAllāma Zaylaʿī’s (رحمه الله) Nasb al-Rāya, vol.1, pg.16-18 - has recorded a number of their students who taught hadīths in Kufa, making the city a focal point for hadith students from around the muslim world. These narrators include: ʿUbayda Sulaymānī (رحمه الله)(d. 72 ah), ʿAmr bin maymūn (رحمه الله)(d. 74 ah), Zarr bin Hubaysh (رحمه الله)(d. 82 ah), Abū ʿAbd al-Rahmān al-Sulamī (رحمه الله)(d. 74 ah), Suwayd bin Ghafala (رحمه الله)(d. 82 ah), ʿAlqama ibn Qays (رحمه الله)(d. 82 ah), Masrūq (رحمه الله)(d. 63 ah) and others. Thus, the hadīths which were prevalent in makka, Madīna, Syria and ʿIraq were undoubtedly in the knowledge of the Imām. Consequently, the Imām’s biographies testify to his abundance of narrations, his many teachers and students.

Another interesting fact is that Imām Abū Hanīfa (رحمه الله) narrates many hadīths with chains that are termed thunā’iyyāt (narrations consisting of two narrators) and thulāthiyyāt (narrations consisting of three narrators). This means that between the Imām and Allāh’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم), there only exists three narrators and ofen only two. In a book entitled Al-Imām al-Aʿzam Abū Hanīfa Wa ’-l-Tunā’iyyāt fī Masānīdihī, by Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Saʿdi (رحمه الله), it is stated that just the thunā’iyyāt (narrations consisting of two narrators) of the Imām are approximately two hundred and nineteen narrations. This makes his narrations, according to the standards of the classical hadīth scholars (muhaddithūn), stronger than the narrations found in the Sahīhs of Bukhārī and muslim, as one will find that the number of narrators between them and the Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) are in most cases not less than four (in fact, the thulāthiyyāt of Imām Bukhārī (رحمه الله) only number twenty-one narrations). This proves beyond doubt that Imām Abū Hanīfa (رحمه الله) was not only a reputable muhaddith, moreover he was among the major authorities and experts of hadith!

(Understanding Taqlid: Following One Of The Four Great Imams, Mufti Muhammad Sajjad)

Also see: Abu Usamah at-Thahabi's false claim of Imam Abu Hanifa (rahmatullahi alaih)

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 18th February 2011

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