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Post by Shiraz Ashrafi on Jan 5, 2010 23:38:42 GMT
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Better known as `Imam-e-`Adham' (The Greatest Imam), or by his kunyah `Abu Hanifah', Nu'man ibn Thabit Radi Allahu anhu was born in the city of Kufa (modern day Iraq) in the year 80 A.H (689 A.D).� Born into a family of tradesmen, the Imam's family were of Persian origin as well as descending from the noble Prophet's (saw) Companion Salman al-Farsi Radi Allahu anhu. Imam Abu Hanifah's Radi Allahu anhu father, Thabit Radi Allahu anhu,� had met in Kufa Imam `Ali Ibn Abi Talib Radi Allahu anhu who made dua for him and his progeny, and some say that Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu was a result of this dua.
� A hadith given by al-Bukhari and Muslim states that Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu anhu narrated Allah's Messenger Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam as saying:"If the Religion were at the Pleiades, even then a person from Persia would have taken hold of it, or one amongst the Persian descent would surely have found it." Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu anhu also narrates:"We were sitting in the company of Allah's Apostle Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam when Surat al-Jum`a was revealed to him and when he recited amongst them, (those who were sitting there) said `Allah's Messenger?' but Allah's Apostle Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam made no reply, until he was questioned once, twice or thrice, and there was amongst us Salman the Persian Radi Allahu anhu. Allah's Apostle Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam placed his hand on Salman Farsi Radi Allahu anhu and then said:"Even if faith were near the Pleiades, a man from amongst these would surely find it."
� Imam as-Suyuti a Shafi'i alim Radi Allahu anhu remarked:"It has been communicated unanimously that this hadith refers to Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu."
Kufa at the time of the Imam's birth was a great center of knowledge and learning, with many of the noble Prophet's Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam Companions Radi Allahu anhu having taken residence there.� Due to the presence of these venerable people who had engendered so much interest in hadith and riwayat that practically every house in Kufa had become a center of these disciples and their disciplines.�
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Post by Shiraz Ashrafi on Jan 5, 2010 23:47:42 GMT
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
At first, Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu was not a student of knowledge. However, by coincidence, while one day passing by the house of Sha'bi (an acclaimed "Great Scholar among the Successors Radi Allahu anhu"), Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu was called in by the shaykh who mistook him for a student. "Where are you going young man?" asked Sha'bi. Radi Allahu anhu Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu named the merchant he was going to see.� "I meant to ask," asked Sha'bi Radi Allahu anhu, "Whose classes you attend?" "Nobody's," replied the Imam regretfully. "I see signs of intelligence in you," began Sha'bi Radi Allahu anhu,"you should sit in the company of learned men
It was after this encounter that the young Imam began his quest for knowledge. Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu acquired knowledge from over four thousand people. His teachers included many prestigious men of the time whose sanad went back to a number of Companions Radi Allahu anhum.� He himself was blessed with the meeting of the Companions: Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu, Abdullah ibn Afwa Radi Allahu anhu and Sahl ibn Sa'ad Radi Allahu anhu, thus gaining him the rank of being a Tabi'i (Successor to the Companions).
Amongst Imam Abu Hanifah's Radi Allahu anhu shayukh was Hammad ibn Sulayman Radi Allahu anhu, he joined his circle at the age of 22, having already become a well-known debater and studied with this shaykh until the latter's death, whereupon he took over his majlis (circle) at the age of forty. Shu'ba, a leading muhaddith who knew-by-heart two thousand traditions was also a teacher of Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu. Shu'ba Radi Allahu anhu was greatly attached to Imam Abu Hanifah saying: "Just as I know that the sun is bright, I know that learning and Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu are doubles of each other."
The Imam's quest for knowledge inevitably took him to the Holy Sanctuaries, at a time when Makkah was a busy center for learning. A number of acknowledged masters of hadith, who had had access to the Prophet's Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam Companions had established their own schools there. Of these was `Ata bin Rabah's Radi Allahu anhu school. `Ata Radi Allahu anhu was a famous Tabi'i who had associated with most of the Companions Radi Allahu anhu and acquired from this association a status of authority. He himself claimed to have met two hundred men who had associated with the Noble Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam. The leading Companions Radi Allahu anhum/i] all acknowledged his learning. Abdullah ibn `Umar Radi Allahu anhu, son of the Caliph `Umar Radi Allahu anhu often used to say:"Why do people come to me when `Ata ibn Abi Rabah Radi Allahu anhu s there for them to go to?" Of the other Muhaddithin of Makkah whose classes the Imam attended was `IkrimahRadi Allahu anhu.He was the slave and pupil of Abdullah ibn `Abbas Radi Allahu anhu, who educated him with great care and attention, making him so Radi Allahu anhu proficient that he, during his own lifetime gave Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu the authority to exercise personal judgement and rulings. "Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu was the first to analyze Islamic jurisprudence, divide it into subjects, distinguish its issues and determine the range and criteria for analytical reasoning (qiyas)."
Al-Hafiz al-Kabir Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Harizmi Rahmatullahi 'alayh wrote in his book"Musnad":
`Saif al-Aimma' Rahmatullahi 'alayh reports that when Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu derived a matter from the Qur'an and Hadith, he would not give the answer to the inquirer unless all of them [his students] confirmed it. One thousand of Abu Hanifah's Radi Allahu anhu disciples attended all his classes when he taught in the Mosque of Kufa City. Forty of them were mujtahids. When he would find an answer for a matter, he would suggest to his students who would study it together, and when they reached an agreement of it being consistent with the Qur'an and Hadith, and with the words of the Sahabah Radi Allahu anhum, he would be delighted and say, "Al-hamdu li'llah wallahu Akbar," and all those who were present would repeat his words. Then he would tell them to write it down.
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Post by Shiraz Ashrafi on Jan 5, 2010 23:53:55 GMT
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Ibn `Abd al-Barr Rahmatullahi 'alayh relates in"Al-Intiqa'":
`Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Dawraqi Rahmatullahi 'alayh said:"Ibn Ma'inn was asked about Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu as I was listening, so he said"He is trustworthy (thiqatun), I never heard that anyone had weakened him."� No less than Shu'ba wrote to him [for narrations], and ordered him to narrate hadith.'
Ibn Hajar Rahmatullahi 'alayha said in Kharija ibn al-Salt's notice in"Tahdhib al-Tahdhib":
Ibn Abi Khaythama said:"If al-Shu'bi narrates from someone and names him, that man is trustworthy (thiqa) and his narration is used as proof (yuhtajju bi hadithihi)".
Many well-known shuyukh narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu, to name but a few: al-Thawri, ibn al-Mubarak, Hammad ibn Zayd and `Abd al-Razzaq (one of Imam al-Bukhari's shaykhs.) Radi Allahu anh, Al-Mizzi in"Tahdhib al-Kamal" names about one hundred names of those who narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu.
Imam as-Shafi'i Radi Allahu anhu is recorded to have stated:"All men of fiqh are Abu Hanifah's Radi Allahu anhu children" and"I would not have acquired anything of knowledge had it not been for my teacher. All men of knowledge are children of the ulema of Iraq, who were the disciples of the ulema of Kufa, and they were the disciples of Abu HanifahvRadi Allahu anhu."
The Hanafi madhhab, entitled after the Imam, spread far-and-wide during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Today, more than half of the Muslims on the earth perform their `ibabadah according to the Hanafi madhhab.� The Hanafi school has decided court cases in the majority of Islamic lands for the greater part of Islamic history, including the `Abbasid and Ottoman periods.
Not only was Imam Abu Hanifah's Radi Allahu anhu extraordinary mind and knowledge something to be admired, but so too was his exemplary character and piety. Al-Dhahabi writes:"Accounts of his piety and devotion have reached a degree of tawatur (i.e., an unbroken chain of uncontradicted narrations)."
He Radi Allahu anhu was given the title of"The `Peg'" by some, for his continuous standing in prayer, often reciting the entire Qur'an in his nightly rakahs. He performed the Fajr prayer with the ablution made for the Isha prayers for forty years (due to him praying the whole night through). It is reported that he had recited the whole Qur'an seven thousand times in the place where he died.
He Radi Allahu anhu earned his living through trade (sending goods to other places), and with the earnings he made, he met the needs of his students. He gave much to charity and every Friday he would distribute twenty gold coins to the poor for his parents' souls.
In the year 146 A.H, Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu was sent to prison by Mansur, the leader at the time, after the Imam's refusal to state that Mansur was the rightful khalifa, as well as refusing the position of presidency of the Supreme Court in recompense. While in prison, Imam Abu Hanifah was thrashed with a stick. Mansur repented and sent the Imam money, only to be refused again. By now, Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu had become well-known and thousands flocked to meet and seek his opinion wherever he went. His imprisonment far from reduced his popularity, and Mansur realized that he would have to treat the Imam carefully, thus he allowed him to teach while still in prison. Mansur finally decided to do away with the great Imam and had him poisoned. Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu, feeling the effects of the poison, bent down in prayer and died in the month of Rajab. News of the Imam's death reached far-and-wide, and thousands gathered at the prison. The city Qadi washed his body, and kept repeating:"By God, you were the greatest faqih and the most pious man of our time ..."
By the time the bathing was finished, so many people had assembled that the funeral prayer was performed attended by fifty thousand people.
The Great Imam Radi Allahu anhu died in Baghdad in 150 A.H at the age of seventy. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala be pleased with him.
Ameen.
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Saracen
Full Member
http://www.muslimcharity.org.uk/index.php
Posts: 451
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Post by Saracen on Jan 6, 2010 1:19:54 GMT
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu What a beautiful post, may Allah (azza wa jall) reward you immensly, Ameen. The Great Imam Radi Allahu anhu was one of the greatest people that have walked this earth, Subhanallah!.  |
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Sanam1
Senior Member
Posts: 2,018
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Post by Sanam1 on Jan 6, 2010 10:55:32 GMT
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu What a beautiful post, may Allah (azza wa jall) reward you immensly, Ameen. The Great Imam Radi Allahu anhu was one of the greatest people that have walked this earth, Subhanallah!. I agree gud post shiraz bhai. |
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Post by Shiraz Ashrafi on Jan 6, 2010 14:12:50 GMT
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu What a beautiful post, may Allah (azza wa jall) reward you immensly, Ameen. The Great Imam Radi Allahu anhu was one of the greatest people that have walked this earth, Subhanallah!. Well they did sit in the company of the GREAT GREAT Hazrat Imam Jafar Saadiq alayhis 'salam, so its no surprise how great they are. Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu themselve said if it wasnt for the year or 2 which they sat in the company of Imam Jafar Saadiq alayhis 'salam, then they would have been not on the level they are on now. |
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Post by Sister Nomee on Jan 6, 2010 21:55:12 GMT
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
ASALATU WASALAMU ALAYKA YA RASULLALLAH Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam
SubhanAllah a beautiful post I enjoyed reading the Bioagraphy of our Imam Hazrat Abu Hanifa Radi Allahu anhu, who had vast amount of knowledge as well pure devotion towards Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and our beloved Nabi Hazrat Muhammad Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam.
JazakAllah Shiraz bhai for enlightening us all.
Wasalaam
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