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The true picture concerning the criticism levelled
against IMAM E AA'ZAM (RADIYALLAHU ANHU)
Imam
Abu Hanifah was very diligent in this topic. Whenever he use to do
Qiyyas he used to always do it in the light of Qur’an or Sunnah.
Now let us examine what Hafidhh Dhahabi, and Hafidhh Ibn Kathir wrote
about Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh. They say:
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh was
born in 80A.H, living in the time when there were still some Sahaba
living. He saw the famous companion, Anas Bin Malik Radi allaho
unho and six other companions too. He learnt Ahadith from a
group of Tabi’een, and spent much of his time in worship.
Abdullah Ibn Mubarrak said:
'He was the Greatest of all those who was well-versed in Islamic laws'.
Imam Shaf’i said: 'All those who study Fiqh, are children of
Imam Abu Hanifah' (Islamic law). Imam Yahya Bin Mau’een said:
'there are no accusations on Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh, and
he is clean from all lies'. Whoever wants to learn Fiqh, he
is dependent upon Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh.
The people should pray for Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh after
their prayers. He was the one of the greatest scholars on the
earth. When he used to recite the Qur’an at night, he used to
cry so much that his neighbours used to pity him. The place
were he died, Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh read the Qur’an seventy
thousand times. He died on 15 Rajab, 150 A.H. At his funeral,
there were so many people that the Salaah of Janazah had to
be read six times. May Allah grant him peace and Blessings.
[Tazkarra
Al Hufaz, Tarikh Ibn Kathir, By Hafidhh Dhabi and Hafidhh Ibn Kathir,
“biography of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh]
Hafidhh
Ibn Taymiyyah says:
There is no doubt regarding Imam Abu
Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh’s knowledge, people later attributed many
lies to Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh, which were all untrue.
The aim of such writings was to taint Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh.
[Minhaaj
Al Sunnah Al Nabaweea, Vol./1, page. 259, By Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah]
Hafidhh
Ibn Al Qayyim says:
Imam Abu Hanifah would not do Qiyyas,
even if he found a weak Ahadith. There are two types of Qiyyyas:
1) Which is against the Qur’an and the
Sunnah, this is not permissible:
2) One that is in the light of Qur’an/Sunnah,
this is permissible, our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him
peace] also gave permisiion to Ma'az Bin Jabal to do Qiyyas.
[Aalmul
Muaqqeen chap Qiyaas]
Why
is it then today, after such great scholars like Hafidhh Dhahabi and
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir who have corrected such erroneous lies against
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh, that people still propagate such
vile accusations?
A
review of Islamic history reveals that when Allah Almighty bestows
any extraordinary scholar with His blessings, you can be sure that
they would not have respite from distortions, slander and lies that
are leveled against them. Imam Abu Hanifah was one of those great
scholars of Islam against which such attempts were made. It
is apparent, from the history books that Imam Abu Hanifah, (like the
three Orthodox Sunni Mujtahid Imams; Imam Malik, Imam
Shafi'ee, and Imam Ahmed) had many enemies.
Why
did they have enemies, one may ask? Many of those who argued
against and attacked them, were from misled Sects, such as the Khawarij.
There were also those from amongst the court of the Khalif who for
one reason or another, had opened their hearts to jealousy, but as
such, had the support of the court and their stances were often enough
not questioned
With
such ferocity, and by the number of accusations leveled against Imam
Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) it is unfortunate to say that some of these
accusations did have an effect on a few simple minded Muslims.
It should be said that they cannot be entirely at fault, since even
with the case of Aisah (Radiallaho anha.) we recall that even some
of the Companions were convinced of these false accusations.
However, this incident was no small matter. It resulted in Allah
Ta'ala sending Revelation as a warning to those companions who believed
the accusation. Allah Ta'ala questioned them that upon hearing the
accusations, why did they not reject such slander?
To
some extent, we can also say that similarly to the erroneous accusations
that were leveled against Aisha that were shown to be baseless. Imam
Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) also faced such accusations, that have been
mentioned by various pious people of later generations in their books.
We
should thus learn from the incident involving Aisha (May Allah bless
her and grant her peace]) that we should not accept accusations from
the enemies of Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) such as the Kawarij
and the Mutazilah. Whenever people utter words of malice and indulge
themselves in accusations against Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) they
never mention that the majority of them are found to stem from two
particular misled Sects – namely the Khawarij and the Mu’tazilah.
Rather, people end up mentioning two particular people. They are Imam Bukhariand Khatib al Baghdadi.
1)
Imam Bukhari has stated:
Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah
alayh) was a Murji’i.
[Al
Tareekh Al Kabir under the life history of Nauman Bin Thabit]
Imam
Bukhari also writes:
The time when Sufian Thuri (great
scholar of Islam) heard news about the death of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh he said ‘Praise be to Allah that such a man had died
as he was gradually destroying Islam. There could not be a worse
person born in Islam’.
[Tareek
Sagheer biography of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh]
Imam
Bukhari also writes that :
On two occasions Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh was ordered to repent from making blasphemous statements.
[Khitab
Al Daufa Walmat Rukin by Imam Bukhari, Al Intiqa By Imam Abdul 'barr]
Imam
Bukhari informs us that he had taken these statements from his tutor
Na’eem bin Hamad. [Tareekh Al Saghir by Imam Bukhari]
Imam
Bukhari was so impressed by his tutor, that he never mentioned or
used Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh as a reference for his book
“As Sahih Al Bukhari” Although whenever he did mention Imam Abu Hanifah
Rahmatullah alayh he referred to him as Kufi
(Nicknamed
from his homeland - Kufa).
Before
we proceed any further, it is important to refer to one particular
accusation against Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) which was that he
belonged to a deviant sect called the Murji'i. To answer this,
we first need to see what character Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah)
possessed. Importantly, who gave Imam Bukhari information regarding
Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) and In Sha Allah, we will demonstrate
that he was not a Murjie and pinpoint from where this false accusation
came from.
I
have mentioned that Naeem Bin Hammad conveyed this information to Imam Bukhari, but before
proceeding any further, let us take note of what Hafidhh Dhahabi,
Hafidhh Asqalani and Kateeb al Baghdadi have written in connection
to Naeem bin Hammad.
We learn that
Naeem Bin Hammad was a famous Scholar from a reion called Marau. He
had sight in one eye only. During the later part of his life he went
to live in Egypt. At first, he belonged to a sect called Jahmiyya, and was an active member. He then later left this sect and
wrote a book, which was the first book to use the science of Musnad. These were a compilation of narrations by the Sahaba,
which were placed in an alphabetical order, according to whom he had
narrated the Hadith. During this particular period, the Umma
used to question whether the Holy Qur’an was Makhluq (created). When this question
was put forward to Naeem Bin Hammad he did not give an explanation.
He was then sent to prison along side Yaqub Faqia. He died in 228 Hijra.
It was noted that no Janza [funeral prayer] was prayed over him and he was buried without a Kaffan [shroud].
[Tazkara
tul Hufaz, Khateeb Baghdadi and Tahzeeb al Tahzeeb, by Hafidhh Dhahabi,
Hafidhh Asqalani and Khateeb , biography of Naeem Bin Hammad]
This
is a brief overview of his life and now we shall examine as to what
status he held as a scholar. We shall do this by looking at
what Hafidhh Dahabi and Hafidhh Asqalani have written, since they
compiled together all the works by previous scholars who had written
concerning Naeem Bin Hammad. What follows, are their accounts:
Imam
Abu Dawud said that:
Naeem Bin Hammad, had attributed 20
Hadith to the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] which
he in fact had never said, thus being fabricated sayings.
Here
are two examples of such fabrications:
1)
Abu Huraira reported that:
The Prophet of Islam [May Allah
bless Him and grant Him peace] had said: "A time would come,
when if you adhered to ten percent of Allah's commands you will succeed,
and if you leave this ten percent you will die. (spiritually,
not physically).
The
Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] had never uttered
such words, this is a Munkar narration.
2)
Abu Huraira narrated that :
The Prophet [May Allah bless Him and
grant Him peace] had said: "A time will come when my Ummah
will be split into more than 70 sects. The worst will be those
who indulge in Qiyyas (analogical deduction) in matters of uncertainty.”
Abu
Zur’a said: “I asked Imam Yayha bin Mu’een, where did Naeen bin Hammad
get this Hadith? He answered that it has no origins and that
this is not a Hadith but has been invented. Whatever Naeem Bin
Hammad had said about Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh were all
lies and had no substance. Abu Zur’a said that whenever Naeem
Bin Hammad would narrate a Hadith of the Prophet [May Allah bless
Him and grant Him peace], he would add in his own words in the
Hadith. Whenever he would narrate a fabricated Hadith
he would attribute it to the “great Imam of Hadith.”
Daar
Qutni said that whenever Naeem used to mention a fabricated Hadith,
he would do so to support the Sunnah. He had a lot of Munkar
narrations, which other Imams did not have.
[Mizan
Al Etedaal, and Tahzeeb Al Tahzeeb, by Hafidhh Dahabi and Hafidhh
Asqalani, biography of Naeem Bim Hamaad]
Imam
Bukhari took his narrations from Naeem Bin Hammad for his book, Sahih
al-Bukhari and Tareekh. Since Naeem Bin Hammad
received criticism from amongst the Muhaditheen likewise, Imam Bukhari
also received criticism for his book of Hadith from the scholars of
Hadith.
This
overview concerning the character of Naeem Bin Hammad will allow us
to understand that he was not a reliable Hadith expert in the eyes
of the Scholars of Hadith. Now we shall elaborate upon the statements
made by Imam Bukhari about Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah) by noting
what the scholars of Hadith had to say concerning him.
From
this we can demonstrate that Imam Bukhari’s Tarikh is in no way free
from error, nor did it remain uncriticised from hadith scholars.
As a result, it would be unfair to “blindly” accept everything that
has been written in it as the absolute Truth.
By
now, it should have been made obvious that the person that gave Imam
Bukhari (ie Naeem Bin Hammad) information regarding Imam Abu Hanifah
Rahmatullah alayh was unreliable. The Muhaditheen tell us that
he used to make up fabricated Hadith of the Prophet [May Allah bless
Him and grant Him peace], and he also made false stories about
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh. As we are told not to believe
in his narrations, similarly, we should not accept those statements
regarding Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh since they are all lies,
according to Hafidhh Dhahabi and Hafidhh Asqalni.
Anyone
who has read the the history of Islamic scholarship accepts and understands
that criticisms were not only made against Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh but were also made against many of the Muhaditheen. The
simple principal is, that when accusations are made against any of
the great scholars of Islam, who have the respect from the majority
of the Umma those accusations are rejected. We shall provide
you with some examples:
Accusation made against Imam Bukhari.
Hafidhh
Ibn Hajar Asqalani stated:
Imam Bukhari was accused of saying that
the Qur’an was Makhluq (Created) but in reality he was saying the
words that we are reciting are Makhluq (Created). In one meeting
a question was posed to Imam Bukhari, as to whether the Qur’an is
Makhluq or not? He replied, that whatever we do is our doing,
and our doing is Makhluq. When the Ulema heard about this everyone
ceased to communicate to him, except for Imam Muslim and Ahmad Salma.
However, Imam Muslim stopped taking any narrations from Imam Bukhari.
Imam Muhammad Ibn Yahya (who was the teacher of both Imam Muslim,
and Imam Bukhari) was also against Imam Bukhari on this issue.
He then wrote many letters to various scholars informing them about
Imam Bukhri’s belief of the Qur’an. The result of this was that
wherever Imam Bukhari traveled the people would always harass him.
Imam Bukhari prayed to Allah that He would take his soul into the
next life. As a result from the fear of the scholars Imam Bukhari
never clarified whether the Qur’an was Makhluq or not to the Scholars
of the Kharasaan.
[Tahzeeb
Al Tahzeeb by Hafidhh Asqalani]
From
this incident, you can see what Imam Bukhari implied something else,
but what people understood it to be was something else. It went so
far that Imam Bukhari made Du'a for himself, "O Allah Take me
away from this world” and Allah accepted his Du'a and he passed away;
Both Hafidhh Asqalani and Hafidhh Ibn Kathir have mentioned in their
books. The same happened to Imam Abu Hanifah: as he used to say one
thing and the Khawarij and Mutazilah interpreted it as a completely
different thing.
Another
accusation:
Hafidhh
Asqalani writes:
Imam
Bukhari also had another teacher whose name was Ibn al Madini.
Imam Bukhari used to attend his classes (Kitaab Al Ilaal) from
which Ibn Al Madini used to teach from a book. This book was
very precious to him and he would not allow anyone to come near it.
One day, Ibn Al Madini went to visit some of his property and Imam
Bukhari saw this as an opportunity to obtain the book. He went
to Ibn Al Madini’s son and persuaded him with some money to part with
the book for a short while. Once Imam Bukhari received the book
he took it to be copied hastily. By the time Ibn Al Madini had returned,
Imam Bukhari had returned the book. When classes resumed and
Ibn Al Madini began to read from the book, he asked a question to
his students. Before he finished the question Imam Bukhari had
already produced the correct answer (which was from his book). Ibn
Al Madini then realized that Imam Bukhari had seen the contents of
his book. The shock of this behavior from Imam Bukhari sent
Ibn Al Madini into a state of illness, from which he later died.
Hafidhh
Ibn Al Asqalani after writing this account said that he did not believe
it and then he gave the reason. He said that this was against
the status of Imam Bukhari.
[Tahzeeb
Al Tahzeeb, under “Life History of Imam Bukhari,” by Hafidhh Ibn Asqalni]
Imam
Muslim writes that:
Hadrat Abbas and Hadrat Ali (Radiall
hu anhu) had a dispute between each other, so thay went to the Khaleefah
of the time, i.e. Hadrat Umar (Radiall hu anhu) to settle their dispute.
Hadrat Abbas (Radiall hu anhu) said, concerning Hadrat Ali (Radiall
hu anhu) “O Ameer-ul-Mu’mineen, judge between me and this liar, sinner,
disloyal person, betrayer” Hadrat Umar(Radiall hu anhu) then made
his judgement in their affair.
[Sahih
Muslim baab-ul-fayy]
Hafidh
Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
Hadrat Ibn Mas’ud, and Hadrat Uthmaan
(Radiall hu anhu) used to verbally abuse each other. Hadrat Ammar
bin Yaasir said to Hadrat Uthmaan that Uthmaan, had become a kaafir.
Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) once asked Ammar, “Do you not deny the
God who Uthmaan worshipped?” Once, Husaid bin Huzair said to Sa’d
bin Ubaidah, “You have become a munaafiq and you support the munaafiqeen!”
In this way other Sahaba used to do this to each other but we know
that when one pious person accuses another pious person it has no
effect on his status.
[Minhaaj-as-Sunnah,
chapter, ikhtilaaf-us-sahaba, by Hafidh Ibn Taymiyyah]
Sayyed
Mawdoodi writes:
The scholars of Hadith criticized each
other throughout history, but they were human and so have made mistakes.
The reason for this was because sometimes a scholar may not like another
scholar for a personal reason. This is why we see in history that
scholars have criticized each other in strange ways. An example is
of Ibn Abdul Barr, who wrote in his book Jaami’al-bayaan, Imam Hummad
had once said that the scholars of Hijaaz have no knowledge. He also
said that our children know more than them. He also said that Imams
Ataa ibn Rubaah, Tawoos, and Mujaahid had no knowledge. Imam Zuhri
said, whilst commenting on the scholars of Makkah, he had never seen
anyone break the walls(i.e the rules) of Islam more than the scholars
of Makkah. Even though great Sahaba and Taabe’een were resident in
Makkah.
We know that Shaabee and Ibraheem Nakhee
were great scholars but they used to attack each other. Shaabee said
“Look at at Ibraheem Nakh’ ee! He asks me masaa’il by night and preaches
to the people in the morning as though it is his own research!” Ibraheem
Nakhee said: “Look at Shaabee! He is a liar, and narrates Hadith from
Masrook, but he has never met him!” Imam Dahaaq once boasted that
he know more than the companions. Imam Sayyid bin Jubair once said
that Shaabee was a liar. He also said about Imam Ikramah that he is
the student of Abdullah bin Abbas and he attributes false Ahadith
to ibn Abbaas.
Imam Malik said about Muhammad bin Is-haaq
that he is was one of the dajjaal. Imam Malik also said about the
scholars of Iraq that they have become like the people of the book,
so don’t say that they are speaking the truth or that they are lying.
Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak once said, “I don’t consider Imam Malik
to be a scholar” Imam Abu Hanefah said about Imam ‘Amash that he has
never kept the fast of Ramadhan nor taken the bath of major impurity.
Imam Yahya bin Mu’een has criticised the high-ranking scholars of
Hadith. He has even said that Imam Shafi’ is weak in Hadith. This
is the situation of the scholars of Hadith but the strangest thing
is that human weaknesses even overcame the Sahabah. For this reason
the Sahabah used to critisize each other. An example is Abdullah bin
Umar, who when was told that the Witr Salaah was not compulsory by
Abu Hurairah, said that Abu Hurairah was a liar.
Hadrat A’isha (Radiall hu anha) once
said the Anas bin Malik and Abu Sa’eed Khudree do not know anything
About Hadith as they were children at
the time of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace].
Once Hasan bin Ali (Radiall hu anhu) interpreted a verse of the Qur’an
and someone said that ibn Umar and Abdullah bin Zubair have given
another interpretation. Hasan then said that they are both liars.
Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) once said that Mugheerah bin Shubah is
a liar. Ubaidah bin Thabit said that Mas’ood bin Aws Ansaari is a
liar, even though he fought in the battle of Badr.
If one wants to investigate this matter
further one can read the history of jarh-ut-ta’deel. These books have
critisised other scholars. The reason for this is that they were human
and had human weaknesses and so sometimes they would call a weak scholar
a good scholar, and vice versa. It is necessary to refer to these
books carefully before making any presumptions about a particular
scholar.
[Tafheemaat,
chapter, maslak-e-it’daal, by Sayyed mawdoodi]
It
is proved, from the above, that if a scholar claims something about
another scholar then we cannot say that his claim is always correct.
The only thing that we can conclude is that the claim is only the
scholar’s personal view. If we say that the claim is always correct
then we would have to accept every scholar’s word, which is impossible.
An example is that of Hadrat Abbas (Radiall hu anhu) claiming that
the Ali (Radiall hu anhu) was a liar, sinner, and betrayer. We
cannot accept that Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) was actually that
which Abbas (Radiall hu anhu) said. This is because we know about
the greatness of Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) who was neither a liar
nor betrayer. He was one of the ten who was given glad tidings of Jannah (Paradise)
in their lifetime and the fourth Khaleefah of Islam. We know also
that Imam Malik was a great scholar so no-one can accept Abdullah
bin Mubaarik’s claim that Imam Maaik was not a scholar. We also do
not accept Imam Yahya bin Mu’een’s claim that Imam Shaafe’ee was weak
in Hadith. In the same way, no-one can accept the claims made against
Imam Abu Hanefah by following what some scholars say about him. In
short, we have to see what the majority of scholars have said about
a particular scholar and then accept or reject their opinions.
Now
let us look into the second person who is often used to justify attacks
against Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh
2) Khatib al Baghdadi:
His
correct name was Abu bakr Ahmed Bin Ali Al Khatib Al
Baghdadi and he passed away 463 Hijra. Khatib Baghdadi was
a great scholar of Hadith wrote many books on Usul-al-Hadith (principles
of Hadith) but his most popular book is Tareekh Baghdad, (written
in 14 volumes). The copy that I am using was issued in Al Maktaba
Salfia Al Madina Al Manawara. If we look at volume 13 under the life
history of Nauman Bin Sabit (name of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh) there are two chapters on Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh.
In
the first chapter he writes how the other scholars have praised Imam
Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh and in the second chapter he talks about
what the enemies of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh said about
him. Khatib Baghdadi said that I personally recognized the greatness of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh
and his knowledge. It is my right that where I have mentioned
his excellence I can also bring forward the opinions of the people
who were against him. The enemies of Imam Abu Hanifahh do not mention
those narrations, which are in praise of Imam Abu Hanifahh. They only
mention Khateeb’s narration, which are against him- and imply that
al Khateeb too was against the Imam.
Before
we go further, at this point it can be concluded that whatever has
been said against Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh cannot be accepted
as the truth:
Our Shaykh Shah Abu Al Hassan Zaid Farooqi
Naqsh Bandi said: “In 1931 I was in Egypt. In that period an article
was published in the popular newspaper Al Ahraam that Khateeb’s Tareek
has been published and will be available soon. In his Tareekh
there is one chapter against Imam Abu Hanifah. Al Azhar
decided that it was upon themselves to respond to this chapter written
by Khatib Baghdadi. This response was then printed in the footnote
of the book Tareekh Baghdad. Upon reading the above book and
its footnote it is clearly understood that the said chapter is totally
untrue.
Furthermore
it is noted that whosoever reported Khateeb’s accusations against
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayy. We see that in the same book he
also says that these narrators are not trustworthy.
Moreover Muhadis Al Asar Alama Zahidul Al Kausri (Rahmatullah
Alai) wrote a book called Taneeb Al Khatib in which he clarifies
that truly these accusations are false and notes that all the evidences
used were from the same book Tareekh Baghdad.
Now
let us see what Khateeb says about Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh
in Tareekh Baghdad under the biography of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh. (a number of examples are taken)
1.
Khateeb says Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh was from the Murj’iee
2.
He says that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh confirmed that
Riba (interest) is halal (Permissible)
3.
In Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh Halqas (meetings) there was
no salutation
(Salaah/blessings)
bestowed on the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace].
3.
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayhs and his students were like Christians.
(As’tagfirullah) (Changing Qur’an and Sunnah like the Christians).
4.
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayhs followers said that his knowledge
was greater than that of the Prophets [May Allah bless Him and grant
Him peace]. (‘Astagfirullah’)
5.
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh used to say that had the Prophet
[May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] been present at his time
he would have taken his opinion (that is He would have learnt many
things) from me. (‘Astagfirullah’)
6.
When a Hadith would be presented he would reject and say scrap this
with the pig’s tale.
[Tareekh
Baghdad by Khateeb Al-Baghdadi under Nu’maan Bin Thabit]
We
do not need to go any further as you will have already realised that
this is not acceptable by any Muslim. From the above accusations
let us clarify one thing that the other accusations are very similar.
Imam
Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh said that if Usman Bathi Al Basri was
present in my time he would have taken many of my opinions but the
above narrator Khateeb al-baghdadi removed Usmans name and replaced
it by the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace].
[Footnote,
Tareekh Baghdad chapter Abu Hanifahh]
Khateeb
took this information from Yusaf Bin Sabat, Abi Nassar, Azdi, and
Al Wass Wassy, In the same book, Khateeb also wrote about these narrators,
that:
One of them was who used to make fabricated
Hadiths. One of them was weak in the Hadith, the other was a person
who did not even believe in Hadiths. One of them was Qadari
(Sect), one of them used to make up fabricated stories.
To
prove that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh was a Kaffir.
From the writings of Khateeb, we are led to believe that Imam Abu
Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh was an atheist, Jew, innovator, etc., etc.,
we seek shelter in Allah, from this!!!
Now
we shall review the accusations that were made against Imam Abu Hanifah
Rahmatullah alayh who said that he was a Murji’i. Who were the Murji’ee?
And who called Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh one?
Allama Shahar Sattaani, wrote in
his famous book Al Milal, that:
In the early days the Shi’ahs began
to propogate stories against Abu Bakr and Umar Radi Allaho unhooma.
During a period where there were differences amongst the Companions,
the Shi’ahs also made strange stories concerning their differences.
It was also the time when the Khawarij declared the majority of Muslims,
as Kafir they believed that whoever committed a major sin was a Kafir.
At this time,the sahiah sect became famous. They said that differences
that the companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant
Him peace] had should go without anything said about them, we should
remain silent, and the matter will be dealt with Allah Sub Hana hu
Wataala. They also believed that those Muslims who commit a
great sin (Kabiraa) are not kafirs. Some of the Murji’e believed that
Imaan (Faith) is embedded in the heart, so that, if someone utters
blasphemous remarks, or worships statues, or has a belief like a Jew
or Christian, or worships whatever he likes, he still is beloved to
Allah and a perfect Muslim. They thus believed that if a Kafir
was to perform a good act then he/she would receive no benefit from
it, similarly, if a Muslim was to indulge himself in blasphemous he/she
remarks, or commits any major sin, it would have no effect on his/her
Imaan. In this way, they left all good actions out and they
openly indulged themselves in bad actions.
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh also
said that those who commit a major sin were not Kafirs. The enemies
of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh picked upon this point to argue
that he was a Murji’e. Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh openly conducted
good acts and never said not to do good actions. He also never encouraged
people that worship what you like. The Mutazillah called every
one who did not agree with them concerning their belief as Murji’e.
The Khawarij, on the other hand, argued that the one who claimed that
to perform a major sin is not to be a Kafir. In this way, the Khawarij
and Mutazillah gave Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh the title of
Murji’ee. These two sects not only called Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh a Murji’e, but many other great scholars of Islam, such as:
Hassan Bin Muhammad, Sa’eed Ibn Jubair, Talaq Bin Habib, Umar Bin
Murar, Mahaarib Bin Wassaar, Maqaatil Bin Sulimaan, Hamaad Bin Abi
Sulaimaan, called a number of the scholars as Murji’e.
[Al
Milal, By Allama Shahar Sitaani, Madhab Al Islammiya and Hiyaat Imam
Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh, By Allama Abu Zuhraar Misri]
If
Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh was a Murji’ee, it would have become
apparent in all the Hanafi books that it is permissible to worship
the cross, idols or you can be a Christian, Jew etc. Why is
it then that in the Hanafi books it is clearly stated that to worship
idols, the cross etc., is Kufr? (See the books of Hanafi Fiqh)
Why
is it also, that there is a special book, which explains what punishments
are expected for those who perform bad acts? If you take any
book concerning Hanafi Fiqh, you will see two chapters dedicated to
explaining what things can make you a Kafir. The other chapters will
deal with the punishments' that those people will receive who indulge
themselves. In acts of adultery, stealing and other evil acts.
This is a clear proof that those who claim that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh is a Murji’ee, is repeating those accusations made by the Khawarij
and the Mutazalah are wrong.
There
is another accusation made by people that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah
alayh knew only seventeen Hadith.
Let’s examine what little truth this bears but before we go further
lets see the sources from which Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh
extracted his information.
Hafidhh
Iban Al Qayyim states:
Allah Soob ha Na hu Wat'aala sent
the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] to teach Islam.
During that early period those that learnt became known as companions
which were over hundreds of thousands, out of which one hundred and
thirty (130) gave more Fatwas than the rest. There were seven amongst
the companions that gave the highest number of Fatwas. Those
seven were Umar Bin Khatab, Ali Bin Abu Talib, Abdullah Bin Masaud,
Umul Momineen Aisha, Zaid Bin Sabet, Abdullah Bin Abbass, Abdullah
Bin Umar Radi allahounhoom. Umar sent Abdullah Bin Masaud
to reside at Koofa. This was because Abdullah Bin Masaud had great
knowledge. Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]
said in a statement that he was great scholar.
Once two groups of people came from
Syria and Koofa to visit Umar. Umar gave gifts to both groups
and the group from Koofa asked Umar “why is it that we have received
less than the Syrians.” Umar replied: 'Did I not give you Abdullah
Bin Masaud which is the greatest of all gifts'. Abdullah Bin
Masaud often said that I know about every Surah in the
Qur’an and further who and what it was
revealed for, if I know a person that knows more than me I must go
to him and learn from him. Ibn Umar used to say Ibne Masaud is filled
with knowledge. Imam Ibn Jareer says that there is no other
companion whose students wrote all his Fatwas and his Fiqh, except
Abdullah ibn Masuood. After a short while hundreds of other
companions also went to Koofa to reside there. Later when Ali became
Khaleefah he also moved to Koofa that is how Koofa became the capital
of the Islamic State. This then influenced further companions to move
to Koofa. Koofa became one of the center points of knowledge
of the Companiuns. At that time the most popular school was
of Ali and Abdullah Bin Masaud.
Later on some people started to attribute
fabricated narrations linked to Ali. Which is why the only acceptable
narrations of Ali are those which are through his generation and through
students of Abdullah Bin Masuad. Ali and Abdullah Bin
Masaud had many popular students like Umar Bin Sharjeel, Masrooq,
Al Qamma, and others. And then Abraham and Hammad Bin Suleiman became
their students and Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah alayh became their
student.
[Aalam
Al Muwaqqaiy-een Chapter Qiyyas by Hafidhh Ibn Al Qayyim]
Imam
Ibn Sa'ad says:
One large group of Companions started
to reside in Kufa, There were more than five hundred companions residing
in Kufa. That is why Umar Radi allaho unho said that Kufa is
the center of the treasure. (Faith) Kufa was the center at that
time of knowledge.
[Tabaqat
Ibn Sa'ad volume 6 chapter Kufa]
In
the very same Kufa Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah was born. In
the same place, he acquired his knowledge, he saw and learnt from
the Companions and learnt from the Tabe'een. To learn more knowledge
he often travelled to Makkah, Madina, Syria, Yemen and Basra.
How can it be said that he only knew seventeen Ahadith? It is
like saying to a Hafidhh of the Qur’an that he knows Surah Fatiha
only!
Hafidhh
Ibn Taymiyyah writes that:
Amongst the Scholars there were those
who are Scholars of Ahadith, and some that were Scholars of Fiqh.
The Scholars who are knowledgeable of both Ahadith/Fiqh are Imam Sahfi’,
Imam Ahmed, Imam Ishaq, Imam Abu-Yusuf, Imam Abu Hanifah.They also
had a very high status which was suitible for all of them Rahmatullahe
ajmaeen.
[Kitab
Al Istegatha page 13 by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyya]
When
Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyya writes and accepts that Imam Abu Hanifah was
a scholar in Ahadith, and fiqh, then how can his followers discredit
Imam Abu Hanifah, and say that he only knew seventeen Ahadith?
Ibn
Khaldun has touched upon the accusation that Imam Abu Hanifah knew
only seventeen hadith. He has written about it in his book At-Muqadmah.
He writes that this accusation is completely false as, Imam Abu Hanifah’s
student Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad narrated a great number of
Hadith from Imam Abu Hanifah. Which they have written in their
books, and they have written two books where they have accumulated
all the Ahadith that they narrate from Imam Abu Hanifah; (the name
of the books are Kitabul Al Athar by Imam Abu Yusuf, and Kitabul Al
Athar by Imam Muhammad.) More-over all the narrations of Hadith are
accumulated in one book, which is called Jamie Al-Masaneed by Imam
Abu Hanifah the famous scholar of Hadith/Fiqh. Imam Abu Hanifah
is one of the first people who have dictated books on Hadith/Fiqh.
The Hadiths which Imam Abu Hanifah has narrated, he heard them directly
from the Companions or the Tabeen (Student of the Companions) He was
the first Imam in Hadith/Fiqh, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Nasai,
Imam Tirmizi, Ibn Majah, etc, etc, they all came a very long time
after him, So that is why his status should be the highest of all
of them. From the famous scholars of Hadith/Fiqh he is the only
one who is a Ta’bee (Who have seen the Companions) This Privilege
was awarded to Imam Abu Hanifah and not to Imam Malik Imam Sahfi’,
Imam Ahmed, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawood, Imam Tirmizi,
etc, etc, He was unique in this privilege
Lastly
I make Du'a that may Allah Soobha Nahu Wata'ala grant all the scholars
the best possible place in Paradise. They worked hard for Islam
and spent their lives gathering information and passing it on to us,
especially Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah Soobha Nahu Wata'ala fill his
grave with (Noor) light.
May Allah Soobha Nahu Wata'ala accept
what I have written and if I have made any mistakes may He forgive
me. Amin.
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