Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man ibn Thabit

Al-Nu'man ibn Thabit al-Kufi, Abu Hanifa, a Sunni jurist and scholar from Iraq. His birth is given as 80 AH (699 CE) and his death as 150 AH (767 CE). He is the founder of the Hanafi school. ^{1 2}

Ibn al-Nadim says that he was al-Nu'man ibn Thabit ibn Zawta, and that he was a silk-merchant in Kufa. Zawta was a client of the Banu Taym Allah ibn Tha'laba, and was from Kabul; it is said he was a client of the Banu Tha'laba. Ibn al-Nadim says that he was of the Successors and met a number of the Companions. ³

Ibn al-Nadim relates that he died in 150 AH at the age of seventy, and was buried in the cemetery of al-Khayzuran in the camp of al-Mahdi on the east side, and al-Hasan ibn Imara prayed over him. Attributed to him are the book "al-Fiqh al-Akbar", his letter to al-Busti, the book "al-Alim wa al-Muta'allim", and the book "Refutation of the Qadariyya". ³

Al-Baladhuri says that Abu Hanifa, together with Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, Malik, Ibn Abi Dhi'b and Abu Yusuf, held that double the amount taken from a Muslim should be taken from a Taghlibi in his land, livestock and property. The people of Iraq, including the companions of Abu Hanifa, held that double the alms should be taken from the land of a child or an imbecile, but not from his livestock. This relates to the peace with Taghlib. ⁴

• The page has two sources for the date of death, Ibn al-Nadim and the encyclopaedia; the other sources have not been checked. The two Gregorian dates are converted from the Hijri dates.

The Sheikh says that a former president, king or emperor is called "former" once he is gone, whereas scholars are not spoken of in that way; one does not say "the former Abu Hanifa", although Abu Hanifa died in the year 150 of the Hijra (needs_source) ⁵.

He holds that rulers die while the people of knowledge live on, and that though people try to kill their memory it stays in people's hearts; he gives Abu Hanifa and Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) as examples of men whom people still remember and love ⁶.

The Sheikh narrates that Abu Hanifa declined the judgeship when al-Mansur asked him to take it. He told the caliph that if he was lying, the caliph would be appointing a liar as judge, and that if he was truthful about being unable to do the work, he asked to be excused (needs_source: narration with no source given in the lecture). ^{7 8}

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy places Abu Hanifa's youth before his jurisprudence became widely known, and dates it to around 80 AH (needs_source: the dates and his age are the sheikh's own) ⁹.

He recounts a judgement in which two parties disputed a jar of gold found in a house that one of them had bought. Abu Hanifa ruled that the children of the two parties should be married to each other, with the jar as the dowry (needs_source: the story as the sheikh tells it) ^{10 11 12}. He recounts that Abu Hanifa refused to sell a cloth for four hundred when it was worth one hundred; he took the cloth back to his shop while the buyer followed him, thinking he was a thief (needs_source) ¹³.

He recounts a neighbour who drank wine and sang at night. When Abu Hanifa noticed the man was missing, he went at dawn to a police station to intercede for him, the man was released, repented, and prayed the noon prayer behind Abu Hanifa (needs_source: the story as the sheikh tells it) ^{14 15 16}.

He recounts Abu Hanifa's principle in disagreement: our view is correct but may be wrong, and the view of others, which we judge to be wrong, we bear with (needs_source) ¹⁷.