Imam Abu Hanifa and his knowledge of Ahadith

Imam Abu Hanifa and his knowledge of Ahadith

AL-MOHIUDDIN WELFARE ORGANIZATION·THURSDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 20181 read

Imam Abu Hanifa and his knowledge of Ahadith

To say that Imam Abu Hanifa ra either did not have access to many Hadith or that he was weak in the science of Hadith is injustice and based on ignorance. The truth is that even non - Hanafi scholars and scholars of Hadith have testified to his acumen and expertise in the field. Listed here under are authentic quotations of reliable, undisputed authorities in the Hadith sciences, attesting to the expertise in Hadith of Imam Abu Hanifa ra:

Imam Yahya Ibn Sa‘eed al-Qattan – “A Tabayee” & Grand teacher of Imam Bukhari (Died 198 AH)

Imam Yahya States: “We have never heard a better understanding of the Quran and Sunna than that of Abu Hanifa, and we follow him in most of his opinions.” (Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah, p.418 vol.13)

Imam Bukhari, as great as he is, was the student of Imam Yahya’s student – Ali al-Madini who spent years sitting under feed of great this great hadith scholar. His word used to be counted as definitive in narrator verification.

The point is that had Imam Abu Hanifa been a weak narrator or deficient in hadith, it is not conceivable that he would have been given such an unequivocal endorsement by such a high ranking hadith specialist.

Imam Dhahabi

Imam Dhahabi supports rank of Abu Hanifa in Deen by describing him as: “the Imam, the Faqih of the nation, the scholar of ‘Iraq: Abu Hanifa…,” (Siyar a‘alam al-Nubala, vol.6 p.390).

A person who is weak in hadith is not given such titles except to establish his solid rank.

Imam Yahya Ibn Ma‘een

Hafiz al-Mizzi cites the following attestation of Imam Yahya bin Maeen: “Abu Hanifa was a trustworthy narrator. He would only transmit hadith that he had memorised. He would never narrate those hadith he had not memorised,” (Tahzib al-Kamal, vol.29, p.424).

Imam Makki Ibn Ibrahim – One of greatest teachers of Imam Bukhari

Imam Makkī Ibn Ibrāhīm says, “He (Abu Hanifa) was the most knowledgeable person of his era.” (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol 10, pg.451)

Imam Makki Ibn Ibrahim was also the student of Imam Abu Hanifa,

Imam Abdullah Ibn al-Mubarak

Attesting Imam Abu Hanifa’s deep perception of the Deen, Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: “I have not seen a person like him when it comes to comprehending the Deenn,” (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol.29 p.430).

Imam Al-Hakim al-Nisapuri – Author of Al-Mustadrak

Attests rank of Imam Abu Hanifa’s and including his name in prestigious list of hadith experts (p.245, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya Edition).

Imam ‘Ali al-Madni

Ali ibn al Madni says, “Abu Hanifa: Thawri and Ibn al-Mubarak narrated from him. He is reliable; there is no problem with him (la ba’sa bihi).” (Al-Jawahir al-Mud&i’a, vol.1 pg.29)

Imam Abu Daud

Imām Abu Dawud & says, “May Allāh have mercy on Mālik. He was an imām. May Allah have mercy on Shafaee. He was an imam. May Allah have mercy on Abu Hanifa. He was an imam.” (Jami‘ Bayan al-‘ilm wa fadlihi, pg.21)

It is important to note that the title imam is among the greatest words used by the muhaddiths to declare someone reliable. Thus, Imam Abu Dawud’s & referring to Imam Abu Hanifa & as an imam is in essence declaring his expertise in all fields.

In view of these facts, any odd statements that seek to establish the weakness of Imam Abu Hanifa can only be seen as fabricated and not truly the words of the scholars they have been ascribed to. Often, if the chains of such statements are analysed, as done by the authors of Taneeb al-Khateeb and Makanat al-Imam Abi Hanīfa bayna al-Muhaddithin, they can be shown to be weak, containing such narrators who were known for their enmity for the great Imam.

Shu'ba ibn Hajjaj

Shu'ba ibn Hajjaj was known as the "Commander of the Faithful" in the science of Hadith and he was also the first scholar who specialized in the evaluation of narrators (Jarh wa Ta'deel). Speaking of Imam Abu Hanifa: "He was, by Allah, a person with good understanding and excellent memory."

And when Shu'ba heard the news of Imam Abu Hanifa's death, he said:

"The light of knowledge has been extinguished in Kufa. They [the people of Kufa] may never see the like of him." [Al-Khayratul Hisaan by Ibn Hajar of Makkah, page 32 and 71, also from Injaal watan, page 8 and 17]

These quotations are merely for shed some light on his status, needless to say Imam Abu Hanifa had written his book: Kitabul Aathaar at a time when even the earliest of canonical books of Hadith such as Muwaata Imam Malik, the Musannaf of Abdur Razzaq and Ibn Abu Shaibah had as of yet not been compiled.

Imam Zaranjari confirmed that Imam Abu Hanifa wrote his book (on the quotations of the Companions) from a collection of 40,000 narrations. [The virtues of The Great Imam (Imam Abu Hanifa), by Muwaffiq: vol.1, page 192]