Preface
Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad
and his family and Companions.
This is a study of Imam Abu Hanifa –
his life, opinions and
fiqh
. I first address
his life in order to
understand his personality, psychology and thought, so that I can offer the reader a true and sound picture in
which the special qualities and attributes of this Imam are revealed. Then I examine his views on dogma,
fatwas
and analogy.
Deriving a true picture of Abu Hanifa from the books of history and biographies
is not easy since the
adherents of his school have been excessive in their praise,
going beyond acceptable bounds, and his
detractors have been equally intemperate in their criticism. When
faced with these two extremes, the
investigator who seeks only the truth may be confused and this uncertainty can only be resolved with
difficulty and great effort.
I think that I have managed to reveal a true picture of Imam Abu Hanifa, with all its shadows and shafts of
light, and in the process of discovering it I have shed light on the time in which he lived and mentioned some
details of the most notable contemporary sects. It is certain that he used to argue and debate with these sects
and that their opinions and ideas were much discussed at that time. Mentioning them will clarify the spirit of
the age and the currents of thought prevalent in it.
Then I examine his opinions on politics and dogma. This is necessary
if we want to study all the
intellectual aspects of any thinker. His views on politics had an effect on the course of his life. To ignore them
would be to ignore an important aspect of his personality, psychology, heart and thought. His views on dogma
were the clarification of all the ideas prevailing in his age and the pure core of the opinions of those who were
free of excess and extravagance. They were a sound expression of the views of the Muslim community.
Indeed, they are the core of the
deen
and the spirit of certainty.
I then go on to look at his
fiqh
, which is the primary goal of this study. I begin by elucidating the general
principles which he used in his deduction and which define its path and clarify his method in
ijtihad.
For this I
rely on what the early Hanafis wrote regarding the principles on which they depended and the method
employed by Abu Hanifa. Concerning that I chose to be succinct rather than
comprehensive, general rather
than specific, and did not go into all the principles mentioned by the Hanafis since many of them cannot be
ascribed to the Imam and his companions but come from a later period.
Having identified
the method of Abu Hanifa, I turn to the study of some of the secondary areas of his
views derived from a detailed examination of his life, such as some of the areas of
fiqh
which are connected to
human free will in respect of property and some of the areas which are connected to trade and merchants in a
general fashion. Scholars also mention that Abu Hanifa was the first to speak on legal stratagems and so it is
essential to clarify that area of his thought, distinguishing the reality of what he did, and balance between what
is actually transmitted from him and what is said about him.
In all the methods and branches mentioned, the Imam’s thought will be clarified by
mentioning some of
the disagreements between him and his companions. Clarification of their differences will show their ideas
and orientations.
In order to reach a fruitful conclusion to this study, it was also necessary to clarify the action of the later
adherents of this school in respect of the intellectual legacy left by the Imam and what subsequent generations
did with it when faced with disparate customs. It was also necessary to examine the extent to which deduction
played a part in the school and to look at the flexibility of its general principles of extrapolation and the role it
had in preserving the path of Islam, and the Book and the
Sunna
and their guidance.
We must affirm that the need for the help of Allah Almighty in doing this is immense. If it were not for His
help, we should not reach any end or achieve any goal. We beseech Him to help us and grant us success.
