Imam Abu Hanifah : The father of Fiqh

Abu Hanifah—Numan ibn Thabit رحمه الل was born in Kufah during the late Umayyad Caliphate era, commonly dated to 699 CE (80 AH). He got the name Abu Hanifah because of the Ink pot (Hanifah) he carried with him. Abu Hanifah became one of the formative architects of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence and the eponym of the Ḥanafī school, the largest school of thought in terms of number of followers. 

In one narration, once the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with the companions and he put his arm around Salman Al Farsi (رضي الله عنه), who himself was Persian and said ,

“Even if faith was left amongst the stars, one of this man’s descendants would grab it”. (Muslim,2546) 

This Hadith is believed to be about Abu Hanifah who became the greatest scholar to have come from the region of Persia. Al-Dhahabī  recorded in his biography that his father, while still young, was taken to Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), who made dua for blessing for him and his progeny—a supplication Abu Ḥanifah’s household would long hope to see fulfilled. One interesting story about the marriage of his parents was that once his father Thabit ate a fruit from another man’s garden. But soon he felt remorseful and worried for its implications on the Day of Judgement, so he went to the man, asking him about the way he could pay for the fruit. The man in turn asked him to marry his daughter, who he described as deaf, mute, blind and slow to understand things. Out of fear of Allah, Thabit agreed to marry her but to his surprise, the daughter was not deaf, mute, blind, but she explained it saying that she is deaf only from that which is displeasing to Allah, mute and blind only from that which is forbidden, and ignorant of idle knowledge. This story also shows Abu Hanifah’s parents as two very pious people.  He himself is regarded as Tabi’in as it is believed that he met Anas Ibn Malik (رضي الله عنه), who lived in Basra for a long time.

Early life 

Abu Hanifah took over the silk business from his father and becomes a successful trader in Kufah. He was known for being fair and reasonable in his trade, he never overpriced his stuff, never praised it unreasonably, never sold a defective item, never made profit from poor people. He used to say ,

“You do not learn true tawakkul until you own a business”,  since trade tests a person’s moral strength and taqwa. 

He would lend money to people, and would not pester them for paying the loan back, he was generous in giving donation and sadaqa. He was known for his fair dealings and high morals in the markets of Kufah.  Before we understand his approach to the Islamic Jurisprudence, it is important to understand the city he was living in.

Kufah  

Kufah was one of the great garrison cities of early Islam which was settled by many smaller tribal groups rather than one dominant tribe. This caused it to  become a fertile ground for factionalism and competing patronage networks. It also sat next to older religious and cultural landscapes, and it became an urban hub where various influences of politics, cultures, tribal rivalries and legal debates caused rifts and divisions. 

Since the time of the Caliphate of Umar (رضي الله عنه), Kufah did not make peace with its Arab governors. Prominent companions like Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqas , Ammar ibn Yasser , Abdullah ibn Masud, Mughirah ibn Sh’uba (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ ) were appointed as governors of Kufah but the resistance and strife continued. At the time of the caliphate of Uthman (رضي الله عنه), Kufah became the base of the rebel groups. After his assassination, supporters of Ali (رضي الله عنه), invited him to establish the Caliphate in Kufah. The events of Battle of Siffin and the  martyrdom of Hussain (رضي الله عنه), in Karbala left Kufah in odds with the Ummayads caliphate. There were frequent revolts and disturbances in the region. For next several decades, Kufah remained a center of many rebel factions, like Kharjites, Alids, Qadaris, Mutazilites, all with their own versions and interpretations of the events since the passing of Prophet ﷺ. 

In this sense Kufah was not like Medina, where most ahadith were better preserved through the narrations from the close companions and tended to be more reliable and acceptable. In Kufah, the prevalence of fabricated ahadith and the disputes among various sects of Islam resulted in an intense discussion around the validity of common narrations. 

His scholarship:

Imam Abu Hanifah is known for the sharpness of his reasoning, and his presence of mind. When Imam Shabi said to him, “Do not live your life like a headless man, focus on learning beneficial knowledge,” he started exploring various fields of studies within Islamic scholarship. He began choosing the sciences and asking about their outcomes. He asked what would happen if he devoted himself to Quran memorization, to ḥadith collection, to grammar, to poetry, to kalam—until, step by step, he concluded that fiqh (jurisprudence) was the knowledge whose end was service: answering people, guiding worship and transactions, and carrying responsibility with clarity. That habit, thinking in terms of outcomes, harm, benefit, and responsibility, is not incidental. It becomes a key to understanding his school of law which is grounded in reasoning and practicality. Abu Ḥanīfah trained jurists to ask not only “What is narrated?” but also “How does this rule guide real human lives under Allah?”

The Hanafi method that emerges from the classical juristic inheritance is usually described in this pattern:

1. Quran first: The authority of Quran is supreme, any ruling which can be derived from Quran is undisputed.
2. Sunnah and Hadith carefully weighed: The validity of the reports are assessed and reconciled with established principles. This was one of the key challenge in Kufah, due to the prevalence of fabricated ahadith.
3. Statements and Practices of leading Companions: If the Quranic text and authentic Hadith does not have reference regarding a matter, the practices of companions are referred to.
4. Qiyas (analogy): extending rulings to new cases by identifying the effective legal cause.
5. Istiḥsan (juristic preference): choosing a stronger equitable/legal consideration when there are multiple possible valid outcomes of analogy .
6. Urf (sound custom): recognized in social dealings when it does not violate Sharī boundaries.

The students and the birth of a madhhab

Abu Hanifah did not write any book of Fiqh himself. He teachings and rulings were recorded and referred by many of his students, especially figures like Abu Yusuf رحمه الل  and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybanī رحمه الل  who carried his reasoning into written form and into public life. Abu Yusuf would later serve in the judiciary, and through him Hanafi legal thought gained a structured presence in governance.

Scholars of other legal schools, even when they disagreed with Abu Hanifah on many points, record striking admiration for his intellect. Imam Malik describes Abu Hanifah as a man so skilled in argument that if he tried to prove a pillar was gold, he could establish his case.

Imam al-Shafi said that

people are dependents on Abu Ḥanifah in fiqh.

The discipline of legal reasoning matured decisively through his work and those who followed him. 

His refusal to align with Caliph

Abu Hanifah did not believe in working in alliance with those in power. Although he took a political stand when he thought it was the correct thing to do, he did not actively involve with those in power.Abu Ḥanīfah was repeatedly pressured to accept judicial authority. Under the Umayyad governor Ibn Hubayrah, Abu Hanifah’s refusal reportedly led to public flogging—ten days, ten lashes a day. He went through the humiliation rather than compromising his conscience. 

Later, under the Abbasid caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur, the pressure intensified. Al-Mansur summoned him from Kufah to Baghdad, intending to appoint him, but Abu Ḥanifah. refused. Al Mansur was furious with this rejection of his order. He pressurized Abu Hanifah in many ways.

Al-Mansur swore that he would make Abu Hanifah accept the position while Abu Ḥanifah swore that he would not. When the chamberlain al-Rabi protested to Abu Hanifah ,“Do you see the ‘Leader of the faithful’ أمير المؤمنين (‘Leader of the faithful’ ) swearing, and you swear?”—Abu Ḥanifah replied with calm audacity: “The أمير المؤمنين (‘Leader of the faithful’ ) is more able than I am to pay the expiation of his oaths.” After this he was ordered into prison, and tortured. 

Another time when the ruler accused him of lying, Abu Ḥanifah turned the accusation into an argument: if I am a liar, I am unfit to judge; but if I am truthful, I have already said I am unfit—either way, I cannot accept the position of the Judge. Al Mansur was speechless at this reasoning. He was ordered to be returned to the confinement again. 

The accounts of his death differ on whether he died from his wounds while still imprisoned or after his release. Some narrations suggest that he might have been poisoned.Allah knows best. He died at the age of 70 years, in 150 AH.

Why the Hanafi school endured

Hanafi madhhab is most widely practiced school of thought in Islam. His followers are spread from Iraq into Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Anatolia, and beyond.

The key ethos of Hanafi school of thought is fidelity to the Quran and Prophet ﷺ first, respect for the Companions, then rigorous human reasoning paired with the humility to revise when truth becomes clearer. 

And perhaps that is the lasting story: not merely that he founded a school, but that he modeled a certain kind of Muslim intellect—clear, cautious, courageous—that could face both the complexity of law and the seduction of authority without losing its fear of Allah.