Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which remains the most widely practiced to this day. His school predominates in Central and South Asia, Turkey, Africa, the Balkans, Russia, and some parts of the Arab world.
Sources disagree on exactly where he was born, whether in Kufa, Kabul, Anbar, Nasa or Termez. Abu Hanifa traveled to the Hejaz region of Arabia in his youth, where he studied in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He was named by al-Dhahabi as "one of the geniuses of the sons of Adam" who "combined jurisprudence, worship, scrupulousness, and generosity".
As his career as a jurist and theologian progressed, he became known for favoring the use of reason in his jurisprudential rulings, and even in his theology. His school grew after his death, and the majority of its followers would also eventually come to follow the Maturidi school of theology. He left behind two major students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, who would later become celebrated jurists in their own right.

Name

Muslim scholarship states that there is no disagreement with his name being Nu'man. This name is said to mean blood on which the body survives, which some suggest is the soul. An alternate meaning is that this is the name of a pleasantly smelling red or purple flower. A third alternative is that it is the fa'lan from the word ni'mah, as Muslims believe Abu Hanifah is God's blessing upon His creation.
How Abu Hanifa earned his patronymic is disputed. According to some linguists, including Muhyi al-Din, ḥanīfa refers to "inkpot" in Abu Hanifa's dialect. He was often seen with one, thus earning his name this way. According to this interpretation, his name literally means the "Father of the Inkpot". Alternatively, Hanifah is the feminine form of hanif, which means a recluse or submitter.
However, some historians contest he earned it as he had a daughter named Hanifa. His name would then mean the "Father of Hanifa". The opposing side believes he never had a daughter with such name.

Biography

Birth

Historians disagree with regards to where he was born, though they agree he was born during the period of the Umayyad Caliphate. However, they differ regarding the year: 699 CE / 80 AH, 696 CE / 77 AH, 689 CE / 70 AH, or 680 CE / 61 AH. Many historians choose the latest date, 699 CE / 80 AH; however, Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari believed the date of 689 CE / 70 AH is supported by two considerations:

First, Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Attar considered the narration of Abu Hanifa's son, Hammad, from Malik ibn Anas to be an example of an older man's narration rather than a younger man.
Second, Abu Hanifa was concerned with who should succeed Ibrahim al-Nakha'i after his death in 96 AH. This concern would have only arisen if he was older than 19, since it is considered he only took his religious studies seriously after then. If Abu Hanifa was born in 80 AH, Abu Hanifa would have been 16 at the time of al-Nakhai's death.
Family background

Abu Hanifa is thought to be of Persian ancestry. However, he has also been stated to have been an Arab from Azd or descended from the Zutt — Jats who migrated into Iraq during the Islamic Golden Age. His grandfather, Zuta, may have been captured by Muslim troops in Kabul and sold as a slave in Kufa, where he was purchased and freed by an Arab tribesman of the Taym Allah, a branch of the Banu Bakr. Zuta and his progeny thereafter would have become clients of the Taym Allah, hence the sporadic references to Abu Hanifa as "al-Taymi". According to his grandson Isma'il, however, his lineage went back to free Persians who had never been held as slaves. He called Abu Hanifa's great-grandfather "Marzuban", which is an Arabicized form of the Sasanian military office of marzban, held by governors of the frontier provinces of the Sasanian realm. Another view taken from the Iraqi historian Naji Ma'ruf, One of Iraq's most prominent figures in scholarship and literature, who authored a book establishing Abu Hanifa's Arab origins and ancestry through historical documentation, refuting all previous claims about his non-Arab origins. In his valuable work, and based on the principle that 'the people of Mecca know best its valleys,' Hanafi sources confirm that he was of Arab stock, and that Thabit ibn al-Nu'man ibn al-Mirzban was from the Banu Yahya ibn Zayd ibn Asad, from the Arab tribe of al-Azd who migrated from Yemen and settled in Iraqi lands after the collapse of the Marib Dam due to the Great Flood, becoming part of the Nabataeans of Iraq. Among the Orientalists, the prominent scholar Carl Brockelmann expressed surprise in his study published in the German Journal of Orientalists at how Iraqi historians had overlooked the Iraqi identity of Abu Hanifa, who was one of the ancient Arabs of al-Hira, and how they attributed him to people other than his own, despite him being a national symbol of Baghdad. From among the Indian Hanafis, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi affirmed that the great Imam was of Arab origin and no other, and he strongly criticized anyone who attributed him otherwise.

Early life and scholarship

There is scant biographical information about Abu Hanifa. It is generally known that he worked a producer and seller of khazz, a type of silk clothing material. He attended lectures on jurisprudence conducted by the Kufan scholar Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman. He also possibly learnt jurisprudence and narrated Hadith from the Meccan scholar Ata ibn Abi Rabah while on pilgrimage.
When Hammad died, Abu Hanifa succeeded him as the principal authority on Islamic law in Kufa and the chief representative of the Kufan school of jurisprudence. Abu Hanifa gradually gained influence as an authority on legal questions, founding a moderate rationalist school of Islamic jurisprudence that was named after him.

Adulthood and death

In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid caliph offered Abu Hanifa the post of qadi al-qudat, but he declined the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was later appointed to the post by Caliph Harun al-Rashid.
In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa said that he was not fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post accused Abu Hanifa of lying.
"If I am lying," Abu Hanifa responded, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a qadi?"
Incensed by this reply, al-Mansur had Abu Hanifa arrested, locked in prison and tortured. It was said that once in prison he was never fed nor cared for. Even in prison, the jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to visit him.
On 15 Rajab 150, Abu Hanifa died in prison. The cause of his death is not clear, as it was said by some that Abu Hanifa issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against al-Mansur, so al-Mansur had him poisoned. His fellow prisoner and founder of Karaite Judaism, Anan ben David, was said to have received life-saving counsel from Abu Hanifa. It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for the more than 50,000 people who had massed before he was actually buried. The historian al-Khatib said that for a full 20 days people performed funeral prayers for him. Many years later, the Abu Hanifa Mosque was built in the Adhamiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad. Abu Hanifa also supported the cause of Zayd ibn Ali and Ibrahim al Qamar, both Alid Zaydi Imams.
The structures of the tombs of Abu Hanifa and Abdul Qadir Gilani were destroyed by Shah Ismail of the Safavid Empire in 1508. In 1533, the Ottomans conquered Baghdad and rebuilt the tombs of Abu Hanifa and Abdul Qadir, as well as other Sunni sites.

Creed

The creed of Imam Abu Hanifa, is found in several short works attributed to him, such as al-Fiqh al-Akbar, al-Fiqh al-Absat, and Kitab al-Wasiyyah. These texts express his belief in the oneness of God, His transcendence beyond creation, and the affirmation of His attributes without asking how. Over time, his creed became a subject of debate among later scholars and different theological schools.
Abu hanifa was not an Athari in creed, rather, it is clear from Abu Hanifas writings that his beliefs are closely in line with the teachings later expressed by the Maturidi school, particularly in their understanding of concepts such as ta'wil, istiwa, kalam and kalam lafzi, however, many modern-day Salafis continue to argue that Abu Hanifa followed an Athari approach to belief. They point to statements attributed to him such as, "God Almighty is called from above, not from below," and "Whoever says, 'I don't know whether Allah is in the heavens or on the earth,' has committed disbelief." They also cite his words: "Whatever God Almighty mentioned in the Qur'an of the face, hand, and soul, these are attributes of His without how. And it is not said that His hand is His power or His blessing, because that would invalidate the attribute, and this is the saying of the people of predestination and the Mut'azila. Rather, His hand is His attribute without how". Based on these phrases, Salafis argue that Abu Hanifa affirmed the divine attributes in their apparent form, without interpretation.
However, classical Hanafi scholars explained these statements differently. al‑Kawthari clarified that when Abu Hanifa said "God Almighty is called from above, not from below," he meant that the sky is simply the direction of supplication, not the dwelling place of God, who is exalted beyond place and direction. Imam Abu Al-layth Al-Samarqandi also explained that when Abu Hanifa said "Whoever says, I don't know whether Allah is in the heavens or on the earth has committed disbelief," this was because such a statement implies that God has a location, which is shirk. He added that if someone says, "I do not know whether the Throne is in the heavens or on the earth," it leads to the same mistake, because it indirectly suggests that God exists in a place.
As for Abu Hanifa's statement about the divine "hand," The Maturidi scholars understood this to mean that Abu Hanifa was refuting the Mutazila who denied God's attributes altogether, not that he intended to affirm a literal hand. According to the Maturidis, Abu Hanifa affirmed the wording of the Qur'an while maintaining that these attributes do not resemble those of creation. Thus, expressions like "hand" are affirmed as attributes mentioned in revelation but are understood in a way that befits God's majesty, without implying form, limb, or direction.
The Maturidis base their evidence on what Abu Hanifa said in his book al-Fiqh al-Akbar: "It is permissible to say 'in the presence of God, the Exalted and Majestic, without likening Him to anything or specifying how. God's nearness and distance are not determined by the length or shortness of the distance, but rather by the meaning of honor and humiliation." They explained that this statement clearly shows Abu Hanifa performed ta'wil, because he interpreted nearness and distance as referring to status and honor rather than physical space, proving that he did not believe God occupies any location. This clearly proves that Abu Hanifah is not Athari, because unlike the Atharis who affirm divine attributes without interpretation, he employed ta’wil.
Abu Hanifa also said, "He is something unlike other things. The meaning of 'thing' is that it is constant without body, substance, accident, limit, opposite, equal, or likeness." This further supports the Maturidi understanding that Abu Hanifa affirmed God's existence as real, yet completely beyond physical form or comparison. By describing God as a "thing" only in the sense of existence and not in the sense of material being, Abu Hanifa made it clear that Allah cannot be confined by body, direction, or limitation in any way
Abu Hanifah, held a position on Istiwa' that aligns closely with the Maturidi and Ash'ari theological perspectives, distinguishing it from the views of later Salafi interpretations, In Al-Wasiyyah, Abu Hanifa said, "Two We recite that Allah is established on the throne, without Him having a need, or being established on the Throne. He is the Protector of the Throne and of other than that, without Him having any need, for if He was in need of anything, He would not have been able to bring this world into existence, nor what happens to it, like the creations. If He had the need to sit or to establish Himself, then before creating the Throne, where would He have been . Allah is free from what the unjust people attribute to Him".
In Fiqh al-Akbar, Imam Abu Hanifah distinguishes between the eternal, uncreated speech of Allah and the created, verbal forms of the Qur'an. He stated: "What God Almighty mentioned in the Qur'an, narrating the stories of Moses and other prophets, peace be upon them, and of Pharaoh and Satan, is all the speech of God Almighty, informing us about them. The speech of God Almighty is uncreated, while the speech of Moses and other created beings is created. The Qur'an is the speech of God Almighty, so it is eternal, not their speech. And Moses, peace be upon him, heard the speech of God Almighty, as in His statement, 'And God spoke to Moses directly.' God Almighty was the one who spoke to them, and He did not speak to Moses, peace be upon him. God Almighty was the Creator from eternity and did not create creation. When God spoke to Moses, He spoke to him with His speech, which is an attribute of His from eternity. All of His attributes are unlike the attributes of created beings. He knows, but not like our knowledge; He has power, but not like our power; He sees, but not like our vision; He speaks, but not like our speech; He hears, but not like our hearing. We speak with instruments and letters, but God Almighty speaks without instruments or letters. Letters are created, but God Almighty's speech is not created."
Abu Hanifah thus affirmed that the essence of Allah's speech is uncreated and eternal, while its verbal expression -such as writing, recitation, or sound-is created. This distinction aligns with Maturidi and Ash'ari theology and contrasts with Salafi positions that reject the created-verbal distinction.
In Al-Fiqh al-Absat, Abu Hanifas student Abu Muti reports the Imam's explanation regarding the question of "Where is Allah?": "I said: What if it was said: Where is Allah Almighty? He said: It would be said to him: Allah Almighty existed and there was no place before He created creation, and Allah Almighty existed and there was no place, no creation, and nothing." This statement emphasizes that Allah's existence is independent of time, space, and creation. Before anything was created, there was no "place" for Allah, yet He existed perfectly.
Muhammad al-Shaybani narrated that Abu Hanifa said: It is disliked for a person to say in his supplication: "I ask You by the place of might of Your Throne." Abd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi explained his statement, "and it is disliked," refers to two expressions: one from sitting and one from holding/establishing. The first is disliked because it falsely ascribes sitting on the Throne to God, a view held by anthropomorphists. The second, common in supplication, is also disliked because it implies His glory is connected to the Throne, suggesting contingency if linked to something created