Notes On Al-Imam al-A'zam (rahimahullah)

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#31 [Permalink] Posted on 8th January 2012 10:17

3. Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj (85 - 160 H), the creator of the science of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrated from Hakam ibn al-Mundhir from Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Yusuf Ibn al-Dakhil from Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz from 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi: Yahya ibn Ma'in was asked about Abu Hanifah while I listened. He said: "[He is] trustworthy (thiqah), I have not heard anyone weakening him. Here is Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, writing to him and advising him to narrate. And Shu'bah is Shu'bah!" (Al-Intiqa fi Fada'il al-A'immat al-Thalathat al-Fuqaha, p. 197)

Al-Dawraqi is trustworthy (thiqah) according to al-Daraqutni and reliable (saduq) according to Ibn Abi Hatim (Misbah al-Arib 2:133). The rest of the narrators are known as huffaz and muhaddithin but their reliability is unknown. This narration is therefore either weak (da'if) or sound (hasan), depending on the principles used.

Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj would only narrate from trustworthy narrators, so if the above narration is sound, this would amount to Shu'bah declaring Abu Hanifah trustworthy.

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#32 [Permalink] Posted on 8th January 2012 10:20

4. Yahya ibn Ma'in (158 - 233 H), the great scholar of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhriz, a student of Ibn Ma'in, narrated in his transmission of Ma'rifat al-Rijal of Ibn Ma'in from Yahya ibn Ma'in that he said: "Abu Hanifah, there was no harm in him." And he said once: "Abu Hanifah was, according to us, from the people of integrity. He was not accused of lying. Ibn Hubayrah beat him for [refusing] judgeship and he refused to be judge." (Ma'rifat al-Rijal, Muhammad Kamil al-Qassar ed., vol. 1, no. 230; also al-Khatib with his chain in Tarikh Baghdad 15:580)

Ibn Muhriz's reliability is unknown (he is majhul al-hal) but his narrations from Ibn Ma'in on the narrators of hadith have generally been accepted by the scholars of Rijal, and this transmission from him is corroborated by other narrations (mentioned below). It is well-known that Ibn Ma'in's statement "there is no harm in him" is equivalent to his statement "trustworthy" (thiqah), as mentioned in Tadrib al-Rawi. This narration, therefore, proves Imam Abu Hanifah is trustworthy according to Ibn Ma'in.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: (Abu l-Hasan Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad) ibn Rizq (325 - 412) narrated to us: Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Umar ibn Hubaysh al-Razi narrated to us: I heard Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isam (d. 313) say: I heard Muhammad ibn Sa'd al-'Awfi say: I heard Yahya ibn Ma'in say: "Abu Hanifah was trustworthy. He would not narrate a hadith except what he had memorised and he would not narrate what he had not memorised."

Ibn Rizq is trustworthy according to al-Khatib and al-Barqani. Ahmad ibn Ali ibn 'Umar ibn Hubaysh is trustworthy (Tarikh Baghdad 5:510). Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isam's reliability is unknown. He is mentioned in Tarikh Asbahan of Abu Nu'aym. Muhammad ibn Sa'd al-'Awfi is weak (layyin) according to al-Khatib but according to al-Daraqutni "there is no harm in him." The narration is therefore weak (da'if) or sound (hasan), but more probably the latter as it is supported by similar statements from Ibn Ma'in like the two narrations mentioned above.

Hafiz al-Mizzi (654 - 742), the teacher of al-Dhahabi, writes in the introduction to his major work on narrators Tahdhib al-Kamal, "That in which we did not mention its isnad between us and its speaker: those from them in the form of certainty (sighat al-jazm) [i.e. where he uses the active tense, like "he said", "he narrated"], it is that which we know of no harm in its isnad from its speaker from whom it is related; and those thereof in the in the form of uncertainty (sighat al-tamrid) [i.e. using the passive tense, like "it was said", "it was narrated"], then probably there is a problem in its isnad upto its speaker..." (Tahdhib al-Kamal, Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf ed., 1:153)

In his biography of Abu Hanifah in Tahdhib al-Kamal, he mentions the two narrations above without isnad, and also a third: "Salih ibn Muhammad al-Asadi al-Hafiz said: I heard Yahya ibn Ma'in say: "Abu Hanifah was trustworthy in hadith."" (Tahdhib al-Kamal 29:424) Salih ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Habib al-Asadi (d. 293) is trustworthy as mentioned by al-Daraqutni, al-Khatib and others (Misbah al-Arib, 2:93). Hence, this narration is authentic according to al-Mizzi.

There were other narrations from Ibn Ma'in declaring Abu Hanifah trustworthy as mentioned in Tarikh Baghdad but they have weaknesses in them.

Based on these aforementioned four narrations (from al-Dawraqi, Ibn Muhriz, Salih ibn Muhammad al-Asadi and al-'Awfi), the later scholars have agreed the preserved (mahfuz) opinion of Yahya ibn Ma'in is Abu Hanifah is trustworthy. This is clear from al-Mizzi's relation of only the three abovementioned narrations in his Tahdhib al-Kamal, followed by al-Dhahabi in his Siyar and al-'Asqalani in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib. Dr. Bashshar Awwad also mentions in his footnotes to Tarikh Baghdad the preserved (mahfuz) opinion of Yahya ibn Ma'in is that Abu Hanifah is trustworthy. None of the later scholars like Mizzi, Dhahabi and 'Asqalani mentioned any criticism from Ibn Ma'in of Abu Hanifah, indicating they believed the criticism narrated from him is inauthentic or unreliable.

There is however a narration with an authentic chain to Ibn Ma'in, as narrated by Ibn 'Adi in his al-Kamil fi Du'afa al-Rijal from 'Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Sulayman (227 - 317) who is thiqah according to Ibn Yunus (Siyar A'lam al-Nubala) from Ahmad ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Maryam (d. 253) who is saduq according to Ibn Hajar in al-Taqrib: "I asked Yahya ibn Ma'in about Abu Hanifah and he said: "His hadiths are not written."" This narration is also found in Tarikh Baghdad. Criticising this narration because of Ahmad ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Maryam as was done by Imam al-Kawthari in his Ta'nib al-Khatib is incorrect, as is clear from the biographical notices on Ahmad ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Maryam. While the phrase "his hadiths are not written" does not necessarily indicate weakness in Ibn Ma'in's usage, if it is accepted as a weakening (tad'if), it would contradict the abovementioned more reliable and more numerous narrations, and would thus be shadhdh (an anomaly) and thus rejected when compared to the mahfuz narrations from Ibn Ma'in. There is another narration narrated in Tarikh Baghdad (15:581) from Ibn Ma'in saying Abu Hanifah "was weakened" but this is undoubtedly fabricated due to a particular narrator (Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Shaybah) in the chain.

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#33 [Permalink] Posted on 8th January 2012 10:21

5. Abu 'Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi (321 - 405 H),�the author of al-Mustadrak

Abu 'Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi (321 - 405 H) , one of the first to write on the subject of 'Ulum al-Hadith, wrote in his seminal work Ma'rifatu 'Ulum al-Hadith in "Type 49 of the sciences of Hadith" (p. 642) that, "This type of science is knowledge of the well-known trustworthy imams (al-a'immat al-thiqat al-mashhurin) from the Tabi'in and their successors [i.e. the second and third generations] of those whose hadiths are gathered for memorisation, revision and seeking blessing through them. We will list them, from the east to the west." (p. 642) While listing the "famous trustworthy imams" from Kufa, he mentions "Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man ibn Thabit al-Taymi" (p. 649).

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#34 [Permalink] Posted on 8th January 2012 10:23

In brief, therefore, it is established from Yahya ibn Ma'in, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani and al-Hakim that they believed Abu Hanifah was trustworthy and reliable in narrating hadith. The narration from Shu'bah is not as strongly established, while the narration from Ibn al-Madini is sound according to Abu l-Fath al-Azdi. Once it is established from the reliable scholars of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil that a narrator is trustworthy (thiqah) as is the case here, any unexplained criticism (jarh mubham) will not be accepted, based on the accepted principles of this science. Hence, al-Bukhari's statement "they abandoned him" ("sakatu 'anhu" which for al-Bukhari is equivalent to "tarakuhu"), al-Nasa'i's "he is not strong" (laysa bi l-qawi),�Muslim's assessment in his al-Kuna wa l-Asma (no. 963 ed. 'Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Ahmad al-Qashqari) that he is "confused in hadith" (mudtarib al-hadith) and al-Daraqutni's "da'if" will not be accepted as they are unexplained. The explained criticism mentioned in the printed version of Mizan al-I'tidal by al-Dhahabi in which it mentions "al-Nasa'i and others weakened him due to his memory," this is an insertion by a later scribe as is established by internal evidence (al-Dhahabi said he would not mention the biographies of the four imams of fiqh) and external evidence (al-'Asqalani did not mention it in Lisan al-Mizan which is an expansion of al-Dhahabi's work; and the earliest manuscripts of Mizan al-I'tidal do not contain a biography of Abu Hanifah). This was detailed by Abu Ghuddah in his footnotes to al-Raf' wa l-Takmil.

Ibn Ma'in, in fact, also provides us with an explanation of the reason for other muhaddithun's criticism of Abu Hanifah. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrates: 'Abd al Rahman ibn Yahya narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Sa'id narrated to us: Abu Sa'id ibn al-A'rabi narrated to is: 'Abbas ibn Muhammad al-Duri narrated to us: I heard Yahya ibn Ma'in say: "Our companions have gone overboard in [their bias] against Abu Hanifah and his companions." It was said to him: "Would Abu Hanifah lie?" He said "He was nobler than that." (Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih, Abu al-Ashbal al-Zuhayri ed., p. 1081) The editor Abu al-Ashbal al-Zuhayri says "It's isnad is sahih." This indicates the muhaddithun had a bias against Abu Hanifah and his students due to what they perceived as excessive issuance of rulings based on opinion, so their criticism should be taken with precaution. Hafiz Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (d. 463 H) wrote: "Those who narrated from Abu Hanifah, and declared him trustworthy, and praised him, are more than those who criticised him; and those who criticised him from the scholars of hadith, most of what they blamed him for is immersion in juristic opinion, analogy and irja' [all of which are invalid criticisms]." (Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih, quoted in the footnotes to al-Intiqa' fi Fada'il al-A'immat al-Thalathah, p. 185)

Explained criticism (jarh mufassar), however, has precedence over accreditation (ta'dil). Some scholars of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil did explain their criticism of Abu Hanifah.� Ibn Abi Dawud (230 - 316) said as narrated by al-Khatib (Tarikh Baghdad 15:576) that Abu Hanifah narrated 150 hadiths and erred in half of them. However, it is known that there were individuals who fabricated narrations with chains through Abu Hanifah, and it was probably these narrations that these scholars criticised. This is known to have been the case with Ibn 'Adi who narrated narrations from Abu Hanifah through Abba ibn Ja'far al-Najirami who was active in the third century Hijri and would narrate fabricated hadiths through Abu Hanifah (Lisan al-Mizan 1:231). Many of his false hadiths are included in Musnad Abi Hanifah by Abu Muhammad al-Harithi (257 - 340). Al-Najirami was probably the reason why Ibn Abi Dawud believed Abu Hanifah would make mistakes and confused his narrations. Furthermore, there is some question over the integrity of Ibn Abi Dawud himself as mentioned in Lisan al-Mizan.

There is, however, another narration from Ibn al-Madini as narrated by al-Khatib in Tarikh Baghdad (15:581): 'Ali ibn Muhammad (ibn al-Hasan) al-Maliki informed me: 'Abd Allah ibn 'Uthman al-Saffar reported to us: Muhammad ibn 'Imran al-Sayrafi reported to us: 'Abd Allah ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah al-Madini narrated to us: "I asked my father about Abu Hanifah, the champion of opinion, and he weakened him severely and said: "Were he in front of me, I would not ask him about anything. He narrated fifty hadiths in which he erred."" This is an explained criticism as it states the weakening is due to the errors found in his narrations. All the narrators are trustworthy, besides al-Khatib's shaykh, Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Maliki (350 - 437 H) who is reliable (saduq) as mentioned in Tarikh Baghdad (13:584), and besides the son of Ibn al-Madini whose reliability is unknown. The narration therefore has a questionable chain. Moreover, it is contradicted by the narration mentioned above from Ibn al-Madini that Abu Hanifah is trustworthy in hadith. It is also contradicted by the narration from Yahya ibn Ma'in mentioned above in which he said "I have not heard anyone weakening him," as Ibn al-Madini was a contemporary. This narration from Ibn al-Madini is therefore objectionable (munkar) with respect to its matn (text), particularly since the later specialists in the field of narrator-criticism who had full knowledge of Abu Hanifah's available hadith narrations in the Masanid, Kitab al-Athar and other works, like Imams al-Mizzi, al-Dhahabi, Ibn Kathir and Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, had only praise of him and assessed him to be strong in hadith; and if they found a large number of errors in his hadiths when compared to the hadiths of other narrators, they would not have made such an assessment.

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#35 [Permalink] Posted on 8th January 2012 10:24

The above is a detailed analysis of the bulk of the authentic information from the early scholars explicitly relating to Abu Hanifah's reliability in narrating hadith. There are of course many other narrations relating to Imam Abu Hanifah's piety and knowledge, and others criticising him in relation to fiqh and religion, but these have little relevance when it comes to his reliability in hadith. However, many evidences with respect to Abu Hanifah's knowledge, honesty and memory support the conclusion that he was trustworthy in hadith.

In sum, it is established Abu Hanifah is trustworthy according to Yahya ibn Ma'in, Abu Dawud and al-Hakim, and probably Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj and Ibn al-Madini, so the ambiguous criticism of some muhaddithun will not be accepted based on the principle that an unexplained criticism is rejected in light of accreditation, while the authentic statements of Ibn Abi Dawud and Ibn 'Adi explaining the criticism of Abu Hanifah that he erred when narrating hadiths can be explained by the deliberate fabrications made against Abu Hanifah circulating at that time. There is no doubt that the later pre-modern great scholars who had full access to all the primary sources and used them in their works, like al-Mizzi (in Tahdhib al-Kamal), al-Dhahabi (in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala and Tadhkirat al-Huffaz) and al-'Asqalani (in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib), all believed Abu Hanifah was trustworthy in hadith, based on a complete analysis of the evidence. It should therefore be accepted that Abu Hanifah was trustworthy in narrating hadith. Modern detractors of Abu Hanifah like al-Albani dug up statements criticising Abu Hanifah after the ummah agreed to reject them and with no apparent knowledge of the principles of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil, they present them as conclusive evidence of Abu Hanifah being weak in narrating hadith. Fair analyses, taking into account all the evidence and the principles outlined by the scholars of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil, and devoid of bias in favour of Abu Hanifah or against him, clearly show he was a reliable transmitter of hadith.

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#36 [Permalink] Posted on 9th January 2012 07:56

5) Statements of the Salaf on the Knowledge of Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمه الله)

The following are a selection of some of the sayings of the scholars of the salaf regarding the expansive knowledge of Imam Abu Hanifah رحمه الله

1. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: Al-Khallal reported to us: Al-Hariri reported to us that al-Nakha'i narrated to them: Isma'il ibn Muhammad al-Farisi narrated to us: I heard Makki ibn Ibrahim mention Abu Hanifah and say: "He was the most learned of the people of his time." (kana a'lama ahli zamanihi) (Tarikh Baghdad 15:473)

The narrators are all trustworthy: Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn 'Ali Abu Muhammad al-Khallal (352 - 439) is thiqah according to al-Khatib (Tarikh Baghdad 8:454); 'Ali ibn 'Amr ibn Sahl Abu l-Husayn al-Hariri (292 - 380) is thiqah according to al-'Atiqi (Tarikh Baghdad 13:470); 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn Abu l-Qasim al-Nakha'i known as "Ibn Kas" (d. 324), a Hanafi, and a shaykh of al-Daraqutni and Ibn Shahin, is thiqah according to al-Khatib (Tarikh Baghdad 13:540); Isma'il ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Kathir, Abu Ya'qub al-Farisi (d. 282) is "trustworthy and reliable (thiqah saduq)" according to al-Daraqutni (Tarikh Baghdad 7:271-2).

Makki ibn Ibrahim ibn Bashir al-Tamimi (126 - 215 H) is a narrator of hadith found in all six collections of hadith, blessed with a long life such that he interacted and narrated from Abu Hanifah (some of his narrations from him are found in the Masanid reported from Abu Hanifah) and taught hadith to al-Bukhari. Most of al-Bukhari's thulathiyyat (three-narrator chains) - which are his shortest chains - go through him. Al-Daraqutni, Ibn Sa'd, al-'Ijli, Maslama, al-Khalili and Ahmad ibn Hanbal said he is thiqah. (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 10:293-5)

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#37 [Permalink] Posted on 9th January 2012 08:07

2. 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj al-Umawi (80-150 H), known simply as "Ibn Jurayj" was a shaykh of Makki ibn Ibrahim and is also a narrator of the Six. He was an exact contemporary of Imam Abu Hanifah and died shortly after him. He was one of the most important teachers of 'Abd al-Razzaq the author of the Musannaf, and he was one of the first to write books on hadith. (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 6:402-6)

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: Al-Suri narrated to me: Al-Khasib ibn 'Abd Allah the judge of Egypt informed us: Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Hamdan al-Tarasawsi narrated to us: 'Abd Allah ibn Jabir al-Bazzaz narrated to us: I heard Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isa ibn Nuh say: I heard Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Tabba' say: I heard Rawh ibn 'Ubadah say: I was with Ibn Jurayj in the year 150 and the [news] of Abu Hanifah's death came to him, so he did istirja' [i.e. he said "inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un"] and expressed sorrow, saying "What knowledge has gone!?" Ibn Jurayj died in this very year. (Tarikh Baghdad 15:463) Dr Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf comments, "Its isnad is sahih, and its narrators are trustworthy."

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#38 [Permalink] Posted on 9th January 2012 08:07

3. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: Qadi Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Dawudi informed us: 'Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Ya'qub al-Muqri' informed us: Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Baghandi narrated to us: Shu'ayb ibn Ayyub narrated to me: Abu Yahya al-Himmani narrated to me: I heard Abu Hanifah say: "I saw a dream which frightened me. I saw myself excavating the grave of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) so I instructed a man to ask Muhammad ibn Sirin [about the interpretation of the dream]. So he asked him, and he said: 'This is a man who will excavate the reports of Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace).'" (Tarikh Baghdad 15:458-9) Dr. Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf comments, "Its isnad is hasan."

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#39 [Permalink] Posted on 9th January 2012 08:08

4. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: Al-Jawhari informed us: Muhammad ibn 'Imran al-Marzubani informed us: 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad al-Khasibi narrated to us: Abu Muslim al-Kajji Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah narrated to me: Muhammad ibn Sa'id Abu 'Abd Allah al-Katib narrated to me: I heard 'Abd Allah ibn Dawud al-Khuraybi say: "It is necessary for the adherents of Islam to supplicate to Allah for Abu Hanifah in their prayers." He [Muhammad ibn Sa'id Abu 'Abd Allah al-Katib] said: "He [al-Khuraybi] recollected his [Abu Hanifah's] preservation for them of the sunnah and fiqh." (Tarikh Baghdad 15:472) Dr. Bashshar comments that all the narrators are trustworthy besides Abu 'Abd Allah al-Katib whose reliability is unknown, but according to one opinion amongst hadith scholars, particularly that of Ibn Hibban, if the narrator before and after the narrator whose reliability is unknown are trustworthy (thiqah), which is the case here, the narration will be authentic. So, this narration may be regarded as authentic depending on the principles used.

Al-Khuraybi (126 - 213) is a narrator of the six famous collections of hadith besides Muslim. He was one of the greatest narrators of hadith. He was declared thiqah by Ibn Ma'in, al-Daraqtuni, al-Nasa'i, Abu Zur'ah, Ibn Sa'd and others. However, Abu Hatim degraded him to "saduq" apparently because, as he said "he had an affinity with [the people of] juristic opinion"! - which in this case is Imam Abu Hanifah. Al-Khuraybi in appreciating Imam Abu Hanifah's "preservation of the sunnah" is probably referring to his contribution as the earliest compiler of hadith according to the conventional chapters of fiqh in his Kitab al-Athar via the transmissions of his students - this is discussed in some depth in 'Allamah 'Abd al-Rashid al-Nu'mani's al-Imam Ibn Majah wa Kitabuhu al-Sunan (see: pp. 50-60)

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#40 [Permalink] Posted on 9th January 2012 08:09

When Makki ibn Ibrahim and Ibn Jurayj mention the vastness of Imam Abu Hanifah's knowledge, they mean knowledge of Qur'an and hadiths and athar. Imam al-Dhahabi said, "Logic, dialectics and the philosophy of the ancients were not, by Allah, from the sciences of the Sahabah, nor the Tabi'in, nor al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Malik and Abu Hanifah. Rather, their sciences were the Qur'an and hadith." (Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, 1:192) Hence, it is established major scholars from the salaf confessed Imam Abu Hanifah's expansive knowledge of hadith.

Imam Abu Hanifah's vast knowledge of hadiths and athar is further proven by the great number of juristic rulings (masa'il) he issued and dictated to his students, numbering in the tens of thousands, many of which concur excplicitly or implicitly with hadiths and athar, and Imam Abu Hanifah related them as fatwas as opposed to narrations. However, the narrations which he related by chain through transmission are also not very few in number (see Qawa'id fi 'Ulum al-Hadith pp. 316-17). Like Imam al-Shafi'i, however, his main objective was the extraction of rulings, which is why both he and al-Shafi'i did not narrate many hadiths in the form of hadith-narration.

http://notesonalimamalazam.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/statements-of-the-salaf-on-the-knowledge-of-imam-abu-hanifah/

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#41 [Permalink] Posted on 10th January 2012 08:22

6) The Methodology of Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمه الله) in Fiqh

One indication to Imam Abu Hanifah's vast knowledge of the sources of the Shari'ah is his methodology in deriving rulings from the Shari'ah, since one of his primary sources is the authentic sunnah and the opinions of the Sahabah, as he himself explicitly stated:

Hafiz Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrates: 'Abd al-Warith narrated to us: Qasim narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Zuhayr narrated to us: Yahya ibn Ma'in narrated to us: 'Ubayd ibn Abi Qurrah narrated to us from Yahya ibn Durays, he said: I was present with Sufyan al-Thawri when a man of great knowledge and piety came to him, and he said: "O Abu 'Abd Allah! What do you have against Abu Hanifah?" He said: "And what does he have?" He said: "I heard him [i.e. Abu Hanifah] say a statement in which there is balance and proof: 'Indeed I take [legal opinions] from the Book of Allah when I find it. That which I do not find therein, I take from the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and the authentic narrations from him which have spread between the hands of trustworthy people from trustworthy people. If I do not find it in the Book of Allah, nor the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), I take the opinion of his companions, [adopting the opinion of] whoever [of them] I wish, and I leave the opinion of whoever [of them] I wish. Moreover, I do not leave their opinion for another's opinion. If the [legal] issue reaches [only] to Ibrahim, al-Sha'bi, al-Hasan, 'Ata, Ibn Sirin, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab - and he enumerated [other] men - then, [they are] a people who performed ijtihad, so I may perform ijtihad just as they performed ijtihad.'" Thereupon, Sufyan remained silent for a long period, and then he said some words of which there remained none in the gathering but he wrote them: "We hear harshness in speech and we fear it. We hear softness and we desire it. We do not judge the living; nor do we judge the dead. We accept what we hear. And we entrust what we do not know to its knower, and we put our opinion in doubt in favour of their opinion." (Al-Intiqa' fi Fada'il al-A'immati l-Thalathat al-Fuqaha', pp. 264-5)

This sanad is authentic: 'Abd al-Warith ibn Sufyan al-Qurtubi (d. 395) is thiqah according to al-Dhahabi in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala (Misbah al-Arib 2:297); al-Qasim ibn Asbagh al-Qurtubi (247 - 340) was called "the great hafiz" and "the muhaddith of Cordoba" by al-'Asqalani and is saduq (Lisan al-Mizan (6:367-8); Ahmad ibn Zuhayr ibn Harb (d. 299) is thiqah according to al-Daraqutni and Khatib; 'Ubayd ibn Abi Qurrah is a shaykh of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and is thiqah according to Ya'qub ibn Shaybah and Yahya ibn Ma'in (Tarikh Baghdad 12:386-9); Yahya ibn al-Durays (d. 203) is a narrator of Muslim, and is thiqah according to Ibn Ma'in (Tahrir al-Taqrib 4:89).

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi transmitted the same narration with a different chain leading up to Yahya ibn Ma'in after which the chain is the same, and Dr. Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf commented on it, "This is a report with a sahih isnad, and its narrators are trustworthy and well-known." (Tarikh Baghdad 15:504)

Several other narrations with similar wordings from Imam Abu Hanifah about his methodology have been reported in al-Intiqa' by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (pp. 266-7). These narrations from Imam Abu Hanifah regarding his methodology in deriving laws reveal the baselessness of the allegation that in most of his opinions he relied on analogy and parted from the transmitted sources of the Shari'ah. In fact, the Qur'an, well-known sunnah and narrations from the Sahabah were the primary foundations of his madhhab.

http://notesonalimamalazam.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/the-methodology-of-imam-abu-hanifah-in-fiqh/

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#42 [Permalink] Posted on 13th January 2012 08:17

7) An Explanation of the Irja' of Imam Abu�Hanifah رحمه الله

This issue of irja' (literally: postponement) with respect to Imam Abu Hanifah - which has unforunately become a common talking point for the denigrators of the Imam - was discussed in great detail by Imam 'Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi in his al-Raf' wa l-Takmil (pp. 149-81). When the term "irja" was applied to Imam Abu Hanifah, his shuyukh and his students, it was from two groups:

1. The first are the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij who used this term for them because they actively opposed the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij in their belief that a major sin takes one out of faith (iman). Imam al-Shahrastani (d. 548) wrote in his work al-Milal wa l-Nihal, "[Abu Hanifah] would oppose the Qadariyyah and the Mu'tazilah who appeared in the early period, and the Mu'tazilah would designate all who opposed them with regards to faith "murji'"." (quoted in al-Raf' p. 155)

The Mu'tazili and Khariji belief is that a believing perpetrator of a major sin who does not repent will forever be punished in the Fire, and this belief is opposed by the Ahl al-Sunnah. Imam al-Shahrastani also said: "The men of the murji'ah [i.e. the famous personalities who believed in irja'], as transmitted, are: al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Talq ibn Habib, 'Amr ibn Murrah, Muharib ibn Dithar, Muqatil ibn Sulayman, Dharr, 'Amr ibn Dharr, Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan and Qudayd ibn Ja'far. These are all imams of hadith. They did not declare the perpetrators of major sins disbelievers due to a major sin, and they did not make a judgement that they abide eternally in the Fire, as distinguished from the Khawarij and the Qadariyyah." (quoted in al-Raf' p. 164)

Similarly al-Taftazani said in Sharh al-Maqasid: "It is well-known regarding the madhhab of the Mu'tazilah that the perpetrator of a major sin without repentance will be made to stay eternally in the Fire, even if he lived for a hundred years upon faith and obedience. They do not distinguish between the major sin being one or many, and [whether] it occurred before the acts of obedience, after them or between them. They deem [the position of] uncertainty about punishment, and consigning the matter to Allah, forgiving if He wishes and punishing if He wishes, which is the madhhab of the people of truth, irja', in the sense that it is postponement of the matter and uncertainty of punishment and reward. By this consideration, Abu Hanifah and others were placed amongst the murji'ah." (quoted in al-Raf' p. 158)

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#43 [Permalink] Posted on 13th January 2012 08:19

2. The second group who referred to Abu Hanifah and other fuqaha as "murji'" are the muhaddithun, like Imam al-Bukhari, who believed that works/deeds ('amal) are included in the definition of iman and iman increases and decreases, so they referred to those who said works are not included in the definition of iman and that it does not increase and decrease in its essence "murji'ah." Al-Laknawi offers a number of quotes from the books of Rijal to prove this, including the following: Al-'Asqalani narrated in Lisan al-Mizan in the biography of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan: Ibn 'Adi transmitted from Ishaq ibn Rahwayh: I heard Yahya ibn Adam say: Sharik would not permit the testimony of the murji'ah. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan bore testimony before him and he rejected his testimony. He was asked about this, and he said: "I do not permit the testimony of one who says prayers are not from faith!" (quoted in al-Raf' pp. 162-3) This is clear in showing that the muhaddithun regarded those who believed works are not included in the definition of iman as murji'ah.

It is clear, therefore, that the reason Imam Abu Hanifah, his students and his teachers, were called "murji'ah" by the Mu'tazilah firstly and the muhaddithun later, is their belief in the following:

1. Works are not included in the definition of the essence of faith (iman)
2. Faith (iman) does not increase or decrease
3. The believing man who perpetrates a major sin and does not repent may be punished and he may be forgiven

The latter is the belief of all of the Ahl al-Sunnah. The first two is the belief of the 'aqidah-scholars including Imam al-Tahawi (in his al-Aqidat al-Tahawiyyah), al-Maturidi, Abu Hanifah, and others, with the hadith-scholars disagreeing. However, this is only a semantic dispute as concluded by the verifying scholars, because although the muhaddithun include works in the definition of iman, if a man has no works and he is sinful, they still accept that he may be a believer (mu'min) which implies that the absence of works does not necessarily imply even according to them the absence of faith (iman). Therefore, works, in this sense, even according to the muhaddithin, are not included in iman, whereas confirmation with the heart (tasdiq bi l-qalb) is universally accepted as being fundamental to the nature and essence of iman.

Regarding the second point, it is as articulated by al-Tahawi, "Iman is confession with the tongue and confirmation with the heart, and that everything that was revealed by Allah in the Qur'an and everything that is authentic from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) regarding the Shari'a and explanation [of the Qur'an] is all true. Iman is one and its adherents are in its essence the same, and the superiority [of some over others] is due to taqwa and opposing desires." (al-'Aqidat al-Tahawiyyah) Again, the dispute with the muhaddithun on this issue is a semantic dispute as all agree the believers vary, but Abu Hanifah, al-Tahawi and others say this variation is not in the essence of iman but in its branches, while others say this variation is in iman itself.

There is no doubt, therefore, that the murji'ah are two types: those of the Ahl al-Sunnah and those deviants who claimed that sins do not harm a believer and faith is sufficient for salvation, both of which Abu Hanifah rejected. This division of the murji'ah was explicitly mentioned by some of the scholars, including al-Shahrastani, Abu Shakur al-Salimi (d. 1077), and al-Birgivi (d. 981). It was even reported from Imam Abu Hanifah in his letter to 'Uthman al-Batti.

Regarding a commonly quoted passage from Ghunyat al-Talibin by Imam 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani in which he includes the "Hanafiyya," subscribers to the doctrine of irja' amongst the deviant groups, al-Laknawi discusses this at great length on pages 166-81. He shows that at best this is a contradiction from al-Jilani (who is not infallible), since he refers to Imam Abu Hanifah as "Imam" and quotes his opinions as valid fiqhi opinions. Examples of this are given in page 169 of al-Raf' wa l-Takmil. This shows al-Jilani did not believe Abu Hanifah was a deviant.

Then, al-Laknawi offers a number of responses to this text from Ghunyat al-Talibin, and he favours the following: Al-Shahrastani, while listing the murji'ah, included the sect called "Ghassaniyyah" which he describes as "the Ghassaniyyah, the companions of Ghassan ibn Aban al-Kufi who believed that faith is knowledge of Allah and His Messenger and acceptance of all that the Messenger brought, and that if a speaker were to say "I know that Allah made Hajj to the Ka'bah obligatory but I do not know where the Ka'bah is, and it may be in India, he is a believer."" (quoted in al-Raf' p. 153) In Ghunyat al-Talibin, al-Jilani uses almost the exact same description of the beliefs of "Hanafiyya" when describing their irja: "As for the Hanafiyyah, they are the companions of Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man ibn Thabit. They believe that faith is knowledge and acceptance of Allah and His Messenger and all that he brought from His presence." (quoted in al-Raf' p. 167) Al-Jilani, while listing the groups of murji'ah, did not mention the Ghassaniyyah and it is known Ghassan would falsely attribute his madhhab to Abu Hanifah: Al-Shahrastani said, "It is strange that Ghassan would narrate his madhhab from Abu Hanifah and he counted him amongst the murji'ah. This is most probably a slander against him." (quoted in al-Raf' p. 155) Ibn Hajar al-Makki said something similar. Al-Jilani, therefore, by "Hanafiyyah" and the "companions of Abu Hanifah" most probably meant the Ghassaniyyah who claimed to follow Abu Hanifah. It is also well-known that many of those who followed Abu Hanifah in the peripheral matters of jurisprudence were Mu'tazili in creed or followed another deviant creed. Al-Jilani's statement is therefore best understood not as referring to Abu Hanifah and his true companions/followers, but this deviant sect called the Ghassaniyyah who claimed to be followers of Abu Hanifah.

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#44 [Permalink] Posted on 13th January 2012 08:22

Abu Hanifah lived at a time when many new deviations were emerging, like Rafidism, Jahmism and Muqatilism, and he stood fast on the beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunnah, and condemned them in strong terms. For example, Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates: al-Khallal reported to us: al-Hariri reported to us that 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Nakha'i narrated to them: Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Mukram narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walid narrated to us: I heard Abu Yusuf say: Abu Hanifah said: "Two groups of the worst of people are from Khurasan: the Jahmiyyah and the Mushabbihah (antropomorphists)," and he probably said [instead of "Mushabbihah"] "Muqatiliyyah (followers of Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 150 H))." (Tarikh Baghdad 15:514-15) Dr. Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf said: "Its isnad is sahih, its narrators are trustworthy (thiqat)."

With the same chain, al-Khatib narrates: al-Nakha'i said: Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Affan narrated to us: Yahya ibn 'Abd al-Hamid ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Himmani narrated to us from his father: I heard Abu Hanifah say: "Jahm ibn Safwan is a kafir." (Tarikh Baghdad 15:515) Dr. Bashshar 'Awwad Ma'ruf said: "Its isnad is hasan."

Imam Abu Hanifah's opinion on Jahm is in fact quoted in the books of Rijal. Al-'Asqalani said in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (vol 10:281): "Muhammad ibn Sima'ah (who is thiqah according al-Saymari and saduq according to al-'Asqalani in al-Taqrib) narrated from Abu Yusuf from Abu Hanifah that he said: 'Jahm went overboard in negation until he said: He [i.e. Allah] is nothing, and Muqatil went overboard in affirmation until He deemed Allah to be like His creation.'" Al-'Asqalani also quotes him saying: "Two disgusting opinions came to us from the east: Jahm the negator [of Allah's attributes] and Muqatil the anthropomorphist."

This clearly illustrates Imam Abu Hanifah's greatness in the eyes of the scholars of Rijal, and the fact Imam Abu Hanifah stood against the distortions in 'aqidah, of ta'til (negating Allah's attributes) and tashbih (comparing Allah to creation) in this early period. Some of his expressions in 'aqidah were recorded by his students, and the most famous statement on the creed of Abu Hanifah is Imam al-Tahawi's Bayanu 'Aqidati Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah which is probably the most well-known and accepted formulae on Muslim creed throughout the history of Sunni Islam.

http://notesonalimamalazam.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/an-explanation-of-the-irja-of-imam-abu-hanifah/

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#45 [Permalink] Posted on 16th January 2012 07:45

8) Examples of the Eminent Disciples of Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمه الله) from the Salaf

One of the greatest indications that Imam Abu Hanifah's opinions in fiqh were informed by an immense knowledge of hadiths, and related Islamic sciences, is the companionship with him of some of the most learned scholars of the salaf. In this respect, the following narrations should shed some light:

1. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392 - 463) narrates in Tarikh Baghdad: Al-Khallal informed me: 'Ali ibn 'Amr al-Hariri informed me that 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Nakha'i narrated to them: Najih ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Ibn Karamah narrated to us: We were with Waki' [ibn al-Jarrah] (126 - 196) one day and a man said: "Abu Hanifah erred!" Waki' said: "How can Abu Hanifah err when with him are the likes of Abu Yusuf (113 - 182) and Zufar (110 - 158) in their logic; and the likes of Yahya ibn Abi Za'idah (120 - 182), Hafs ibn Ghiyath (117 - 194), Hibban (111 - 171) and Mindal (103 - 169) in their memorisation of hadith; and the like of al-Qasim ibn Ma'n (100 - 175) in his knowledge of language and Arabic; and Dawud al-Ta'i (105 - 162) and Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (107 - 187) in their asceticism and their scrupulousness? The one whose sitting partners are such, he does not come close to erring, because if he erred they would correct him." (Tarikh Baghdad 16:365)

All the narrators in this chain are trustworthy (thiqat) with the possible exception of Najih ibn Ibrahim: Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn 'Ali Abu Muhammad al-Khallal (352 - 439) is thiqah according to al-Khatib (Tarikh Baghdad 8:454); 'Ali ibn 'Amr ibn Sahl Abu l-Husayn al-Hariri (292 - 380) is thiqah according to al-'Atiqi (Tarikh Baghdad 13:470); 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Abu l-Qasim al-Nakha'i known as "Ibn Kas" (d. 324), is thiqah according to al-Khatib (Tarikh Baghdad 13:540); and Ibn Karamah is Muhammad ibn 'Uthman ibn Karamah (d. 256), and he is a narrator found in Bukhari's Sahih, declared thiqah by al-'Asqalani in al-Taqrib.

The problematic narrator between Ibn Kas and Ibn Karamah, Najih ibn Ibrahim, is mentioned in Ibn Hibban's al-Thiqat (9:220), which means he is saduq or thiqah according to Ibn Hibban. However, Maslamah ibn al-Qasim (d. 353) believed him to be weak (da'if) as mentioned by al-'Asqalani (Lisan al-Mizan 8:254). Maslamah ibn al-Qasim, himself, however, was considered da'if by al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I'tidal (Lisan al-Mizan 8:61), and Abu Ja'far al-Malaqi (d. 702) said "he is questionable (in his reliability)." Imam al-Dhahabi transmitted some criticism of him in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, and no one said he is trustworthy or reliable. A principle of al-Jarh wa l-Ta'dil states that the criticism of someone who was himself subject to valid criticism is not accepted unless the one criticised is free of any words of praise. Hence, the accreditation (ta'dil) of Ibn Hibban stands and Maslama's criticism is rejected. This narration is therefore either hasan or sahih. Moreover, the companionship of those mentioned in this narration is established by other evidence, like those below.

All of the companions mentioned by Waki', besides Abu Yusuf and Zufar, are narrators whose hadiths can be found in some of the six famous collections of hadith, and two of them, Yahya and Hafs, have narrations in all six. All of them are also trustworthy narrators (thiqat) of hadith with the possible exceptions of Hibban and Mindal, the sons of 'Ali al-'Anbari, regarding whom hadith scholars had mixed opinions.

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