Abu Hanifa

For other uses, see Abu Hanifa (disambiguation).

Imam
Abu Hanifa
أَبُو حَنِيفَة
Title
  • Shaykh al-Islam ('Shaykh of Islam')
  • Al-Imam al-A'zam ('the Greatest Imam')
  • Siraj al-A'imma ('Lamp of the Imams')
Personal
BornSeptember 699 CE (Rajab 80 AH)
Kufa, Umayyad Caliphate (modern-day Iraq)
Died767 CE (150 AH; aged 68–70)
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Iraq)
Resting placeAbu Hanifa Mosque, Baghdad, Iraq
ReligionIslam
Children
  • Hammad
  • Hanifa[1]
EraLate Umayyad – early Abbasid
RegionKufa[2]
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceIndependent (eponym of the Hanafi school)
Main interest(s)
Notable idea(s)
Notable work(s)
Occupation
Arabic name
Personal
(Ism)		Al-Nuʿmān
ٱلنُّعْمَان
Patronymic
(Nasab)		Ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān
ٱبْن ثَابِت بْن زُوطَا بْن مَرْزُبَان
Teknonymic
(Kunya)		Abū Ḥanīfa
أَبُو حَنِيفَة
Toponymic
(Nisba)		Al-Taymī al-Kūfī
ٱلتَّيْمِيّ ٱلْكُوفِيّ
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced

Abu Hanifa[a] (Arabic: أَبُو حَنِيفَة, romanized: Abū Ḥanīfa; September 699–767)[5] was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,[3] and eponym of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which remains the most widely practiced to this day.[3] His school predominates in Central and South Asia, Turkey, the Balkans, Russia, and some parts of the Arab world.[6][7]

Born to a Muslim family in Kufa,[3] Abu Hanifa traveled to the Hejaz region of Arabia in his youth, where he studied in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina.[3] He was named by al-Dhahabi as "one of the geniuses of the sons of Adam" who "combined jurisprudence, worship, scrupulousness, and generosity".[8]

As his career as a jurist and theologian progressed, he became known for favoring the use of reason in his jurisprudential rulings, and even in his theology.[3] His school grew after his death, and the majority of its followers would also eventually come to follow the Maturidi school of theology.[3] He left behind two major students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, who would later become celebrated jurists in their own right.

  1. ^ "imamAbuhanifah". muftisays. May 19, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ A.C. Brown, Jonathan (2014). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications. pp. 24–5. ISBN 978-1780744209.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: Encyclopaedia Islamica, Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cambridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ ABŪ ḤANĪFA, Encyclopædia Iranica
  6. ^ Nazeer Ahmed (2001). Islam in Global History: Volume One: From the Death of Prophet Muhammed to the First World War. Xlibris Corporation. p. 113. ISBN 9781462831302.
  7. ^ Ludwig W. Adamec (2012). Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. Scarecrow Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780810878150.
  8. ^ Al-Dhahabi. Al-Ibar fi Khabar man Ghabar. Vol. 1. p. 164.


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