Biography of Muslim Scholar – Abu Hanifa (80-150 H)
He is An Nu’man Ibn Tsabit Ibn Zuthi At-Taimi Al-Kufi. He was originally from Persia. He was born on year 80 H, and he had a chance to live in a similar period with several companions of the Prophet, four of them to be exact: Anas Ibn Malik, Abdullah Ibn Abi Aufa, Sahl Ibn Sa’ad As-Sa’idi, and Amr Ibn Watsilah -may Allah be pleased with them-. Some said that he didn’t get a chance to meet any of the companions, but others said that he did meet Anas Ibn Malik -may Allah be pleased with him-, and he learned from him the hadith “studying is compulsory for every muslim”. If the news that he ever met Anas was true, then he was one of the tabeen.
He paid great attention to hadith and knowledge seeking. Among his teachers was Hammad Ibn Abi Sulaiman. He learned from Imam Hammad for eighteen years, until Imam Hammad said, “Abu Hanifa has been draining my knowledge.”
Praises for Imam Abu Hanifa
Abu Hanifa was a grand scholar, the expert of jurisprudence in Iraq, and leader of the logicians (a group of scholars who mainly used the analogy in their argumentations). Imam Ash Shafi’i said, “All men were descended from Abu Hanifa in jurisprudence.” Abdullah Ibn Mubarak said, “I’ve never seen a greater man in jurisprudence than Abu Hanifa, and I’ve never seen a more cautious man than Abu Hanifa.”
The death of Abu Hanifa
Once, he was beaten by the government because he refused the governor’s request to appoint him as a judge. He died in Baghdad, year 150 H, aged 70 years. May Allah have mercy on Imam Abu Hanifa. (See: “Tarikh Tasyri’ Al-Islami”, Master Text Book of Mediu, page 145)
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