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The Four Juristic Schools: Their Founders – Development – Methodology – Legacy

THE FOUR JURISTIC SCHOOLS – Book Sample

The Four Juristic Schools

Imam Abu Hanifah al-Numan’s School of Thought – The Four Juristic Schools

The Hanafi School of Thought is the oldest and one of the most important of all reputable schools of thought. Its popularity has spread across the horizon, and people from all backgrounds have studied, taught and adhered to it, in order to observe the rituals of daily worship. 

The Hanafi School is one of the few schools that Allah (exalted is He) decreed would continue to remain active, and be preserved throughout the centuries, meeting with the approval of the ummah (Muslim nation), even while many other schools became extinct with the passing away of their founders. In actual fact, today it is the most widespread school in the world, with well over one-third of the Muslim population abiding by its teachings in their daily practice of Islam. After the grace of Allah, this school owes its impressive success to numerous factors that the scholars have detailed in their books.(( See Page 364 of Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah; Mohammed Abu Zahra))

Chapter One Biography of the Founder

Firstly: His Name, Lineage and Birth

He is Abu Hanifah Nu’man b. Thabit b. Zuwta b. Mah al-Taymi al-Kufi (may Allah have mercy upon him), the Grand Imam, the Jurist of this nation; one of the greatest jurists and most illustrious scholars of Islam. His grandfather Zuwta was a slave of the Taymullah b. Tha’labah tribe, and upon his coming into Islam, they released him. As for his father Thabit, he was born and raised as a Muslim.

Differences of opinion exist regarding his origin, and it has been said that he was from Kabul or Babylon or Anbar or Termez or Nisa. It seems the best reconciliation of these reports is that the Imam’s grandfather was from Kabul in Afghanistan, but he had travelled to these other lands. 

With regards to his lineage, it is stated that he is: Nu’man b. Thabit b. Nu’man b. Marzubaan from the land of Persia, and of free birth, never enslaved.

Ibn Hajr al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated that the difference of opinion regarding the names in the lineage of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) may be due to several reasons: 

“Zuwta is the same person as Nu’man, as it is possible that he had two names or he had a name and an agnomen, or that Zuwta translates from Persian into Nu’man; and that Marzubaan is Mah.”

Regarding the differences of opinion regarding the social status of his family, it can be concluded that the biographers who maintain they were captives, are referring to the Imam’s grandfather, as he was freed by the Taymullah b. Tha’labah tribe. Those who rejected this status are referring to Thabit, the father of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah

have mercy upon him). The Imam is regarded by most scholars of history to be of non-Arab lineage, and Allah knows best.

His Kunya (sobriquet): Abu Hanifah. It is stated that he was called this due to his constant use of an ink-pot, which in the Iraqi dialect was called hanifah. It has also been said, that he had a daughter called Hanifah, however this is a weak opinion as it is not known that he had any other children besides his only son Hammad.

His Birth: The most correct opinion is that he was born in the year 80 AH in the city of Kufa during the caliphate of Abdul Malik b. Marwan. It has also been said that he was born in 61 AH, but  al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said that he did not find any supporting evidence for this claim. Ibn Hajr  al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated that this was an anomalous opinion. 

The Noble Sahabah (Companions) whom Imam Abu Hanifah Met – The Four Juristic Schools

Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) was born in the year 80 AH as mentioned previously, so it is without doubt that he met some of the junior companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) such as Abu l-Tufail Aa’mir b. Wathilah al-Kinani al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him), as he passed away in either 100 or 102 AH.

Some scholars opine that he met four of the sahabah, namely: Anas b. Malik, Abd Allah b. Abi Awfa, Sahl b. Sa’ad al-Sa’idi and Abul-Tufail Aa’mir b. Wathilah (may Allah be pleased with them). It has also been said he met more, however differences of opinion exist with regards to this. Ibn Hajr al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy upon him) wrote a detailed chapter discussing this subject and evaluated the most accurate position with regards to the claims made. The most correct position as held by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi and  al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy upon them) is that he saw Anas b. Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) during his visit to Kufa, but he did not narrate directly from him or any of the other sahabah. 

Based upon his seeing Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), we can establish that Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) was from the tabi’een as most of the hadith scholars state: “A tab’iee is one who has met a sahabi even if he does not accompany him or narrate from him”. This was the opinion held by Ibn al-Salah and al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon them).

Secondly: His Upbringing and Seeking of Knowledge

Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) was born and grew up in Kufa. During his childhood and early adulthood, there is little sign that he dedicated himself to seeking knowledge; rather he engaged himself in commerce and was a skilled silk-cloth merchant whose shop was well-known in the Amr b. Huraith quarter of Kufa. This all changed one day, when the great Imam al-Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy upon him) came across the young Abu Hanifah, and perceiving his ingenuity and insight, advised him to consider seeking the company of scholars and the path of knowledge.

These sincere words of advice etched themselves into the heart of Abu Hanifah, and he started his journey on the sacred path, undertaking the study of theology until he mastered the subject. However, Allah so willed that he then became uninterested in theology through the following incident that he faced.

A lady, realising that he had knowledge, came to him with a question on an Islamic issue, but he did not have knowledge of it and was unable to answer. She then went to the study circle of Imam Hammad b. Abi Sulaiman (d. 120 AH) and asked him the question, which he promptly responded to. She returned to Abu Hanifah and said: “You deceived me, I spent much time listening to your speech and you are incapable of much.” This led Abu Hanifah to give up his interest in theology, and he began to attend the circle of Imam Hammad (may Allah have mercy upon him) studying fiqh until he became widely recognised for his ability in it.

Thirdly: The Imam’s Most Notable Teachers and Students – The Four Juristic Schools

1) Imam Abu Hanifah’s Most Notable Teachers:

Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) lived in an era of great scholarship, the era of the tabi’een; and was therefore able to study with many of them. The most notable of his teachers were: 

 ‘A’ta b. Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH), who was the oldest of his teachers and the best of them as he himself stated. Al-Sha’bi (d. 104 AH), who was the one who advised him to study, as previously mentioned. ‘Amr b. Dinar (d. 126 AH), Nafi’ servant of Ibn Umar (d. 117 AH), Qatadah b. Di’amah (d. 118 AH), Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (d. 124 AH), Mohammed b. Munkadir (d.130 AH), and Hisham b. Urwah (d. 146 AH). Imam Abu Hanifah’s most famous teacher who had the greatest single impact upon him, and upon whose hands he graduated and continued to study for eighteen years until his passing away, was Imam Hammad b. Abi Sulaiman (d. 120 AH).

2) Imam Abu Hanifah’s Most Notable students:

The circle of Imam Hammad (may Allah have mercy upon him) was frequented by his students and those who wanted to specialise in fiqh. Upon his passing, Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) assumed the chair in the circle of his mentor. Through his guidance, knowledge and patience, this circle was blessed and continued to flourish, causing people to flock to it from all lands, until it became the single largest circle in the mosque, graduating countless students from it. Not surprising, some of these students became great scholars in their own right, such as:

• The Chief Judge of his time Abu Yusuf, Ya’qub b. Ibrahim  al-Ansari (d. 182 AH) 
• The adept jurist Zufar b. Hudhayl al-Tamimi (d. 158 AH)
• The eloquent jurist Mohammed b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH)
• The attentive, noble and virtuous al-Hasan b. Ziyad al-Lulu’i (d. 204 AH)
• The scrupulous jurist Abd Allah b. al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH) The great scholar of hadith Wakee b. Jarrah (d. 197 AH) ‘Eisa b. Abaan b. Sadaqa (d. 221 AH)
• Hammad b. Abi Hanifah (d. 170 AH) his only child;
• and many others…

Fourthly: His assuming the chair for teaching and legal verdicts

After the passing of Imam Hammad b. Abi Sulaiman (may Allah have mercy upon him), known as the leading jurist after Ibrahim

al-Nakha’ie (may Allah have mercy upon him), students and colleagues sought to find a suitable replacement to assume the chair left vacant by his death. They were afraid that Hammad’s knowledge would be lost and that his legacy would become non-existant. Initially, they chose Isma’il the son of Hammad for this role, however he did not prove a suitable successor for this position in fiqh, as most of his time had been spent focusing on Arabic language and literature.

Thereafter, they agreed on choosing Imam Abu Hanifah, and found him to be knowledgeable, sympathetic and patient, which were personal traits that they did not find with other teachers. This led them to dedicate themselves to his circle until it became the largest in the mosque, and its reputation spread throughout the land with benefactors and royalty bestowing awards upon the school, and great scholars graduating from it.

THE FOUR JURISTIC SCHOOLS

Some of the scholars mentioned that Imam Abu Hanifah saw a dream which motivated him further in his commitment to assume the chair and assist the people in their religious queries. He said: “I saw a dream that frightened me. I saw that I was digging up the earth at the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I sent

someone to ask Mohammed b. Sireen (may Allah have mercy upon him) of its interpretation. He said: ‘This man will stir up knowledge that no one before him has preceded him to.’” It was after this incident that Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) opened up and brought to the people that which would amaze intellects.

Fifthly: His Writings

Despite his deep knowledge and his leading and venerable position among the scholars of fiqh, the Imam (may Allah have mercy upon him) did not pay great attention to penning written works or compiling his thoughts. This is due to his complete engagement in issuing fatawa (pl. legal verdicts), discussing with and teaching his students, debating with the innovators and heretics from the Mu’talizah and Khawarij, and other similar duties. Nevertheless, some of his work even if small in size, are great in benefit, such as al-Fiqh al-Akbar in Islamic creed, and al-Aalim wa l-Muta’alim.

Sixthly: His Tribulation – The Four Juristic Schools

As is the tradition of Allah in testing those close to Him from the prophets and the pious in order to elevate their status and increase their rewards, Allah destined that Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) endure his own personal tribulation.

This would occur through the government’s forceful attempt to engage him in the position of Chief Judge in Kufa, which he vehemently refused to accept due to his scrupulousness and desire to remain away from a position of public office where his principles may be compromised. Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) was from the most scrupulous of people;

he would flee from wealth, status, and the company of royalty. His student Imam Abd Allah b. Mubarak famously said: “I have never seen anyone more scrupulous than Abu Hanifah, he was tried by the use of the whip and the use of wealth.”

Upon researching the various historical accounts of his life, and works dedicated to his virtue, it becomes apparent that he faced this tribulation on two occasions in his life; once during the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, and then again during the Abbasid dynasty. 

THE FOUR JURISTIC SCHOOLS

The first tribulation was during the reign of Marwan b. Mohammed (d. 132 AH), the last Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. It occurred when the Governor of Iraq, Yazid b. Amr b. Hubayrah requested Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) to take the office of Chief Judge in Kufa. The Imam declined the offer, and as a result he would be whipped 10 times a day over 11 days; yet he still obstinately refused. The governor realising that the Imam would not have a change of heart, gave up and released him.

The second tribulation occurred during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansoor (d. 158 AH) when he requested the Imam to take the office of Chief Judge, but he again refused as he did the first time. Abu Jafar swore an oath that the Imam would take the position and Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy upon him) swore an oath that he would not.

It was said to the Imam: “Do you not see that the Leader of the Believers has sworn an oath?” He replied: “The Leader of the Believers is more capable (due to his wealth) of expiating for his oath.” And he continued his refusal to accept the position until he was imprisoned on the orders of the Caliph.

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