The Position of Imam Abu Hanifah (ra) in the Science of Hadith
The following is a short booklet entitled: “The Position of Imam Abu Hanifah (ra) in the Science of Hadith”, by Shaykh Habibur Rahman A’zami of India (and translated by Mufti Mujibur Rahman of Darul Uloom New York) . He is not to be confused with the late and more famous Shaykh with the same name and whose biography is available on this website
Forward:
“Firstly, all praise belongs to Allah Ta’ala, without whom nothing is possible. Also, salutations are due to Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam), who is the greastest teacher that Allah Ta’ala ever bestowed upon mankind. Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was taught the Qur’an by Allah Ta’ala’s most-trusted angel, Jibril (A.S.). Beyond this, Jibril (A.S.) was also sent to demonstrate to Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) the way of life that Allah Ta’ala prefers the most. By way of this process of teaching, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) taught his companions, the Sahabah (R.A.), who taught their companions the Tabi’een, and so forth and so on.
We can see that Allah Ta’ala has always decreed the transmission of important knowledge through a rightly-guided teacher. As is stands in Islam, the chain that links all the way back to Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) has never been broken. One of the Tabi’een (people who have seen the Sahaabah [R]) was Imaam Abu Hanifah (R), who has millions of followers from amongst the Muslims today, and is held in high esteem amongst the great Scholars of Islam. Unfortunately, today severe criticism has been leveled against him which is mainly due to either ignorance, jealousy or misunderstanding.
Was Imam Abu Hanifa (R) weak in the science of Hadith? Did he rely on Qiyaas (analogical deduction)? Has he based his school of thought on Dha’eef Ahaadith? Was he considered unreliable in the Islamic sciences? Did the ‘Ulama consider him untrustworthy? This booklet will address these claims, as well as other remarks leveled at the prestigious Imaam (R)…”
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