Answering the claim that Imam al-Dhahabi weakened Imam Abu Hanifa in his Mizan al-I’tidal
The great Hadith expert (Hafiz), proficient assessor of Hadith (Naqid), biographer, and historian (Mu’arrikh), al-Imam al-Hafiz Shamsud-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH), is agreed upon to have been one of the leading specialists in critically examining the background and status of the narrators of Hadith from the earliest times up until his time. He amassed a number of scholarly works in this venture.
In this lengthy article approaching a hundred pages, focus will be made principally on the work entitled Mizan al-I’tidal by Imam al-Dhahabi and whether or not the great Mujtahid Imam known as Abu Hanifa al-Nu’man ibn Thabit al-Kūfī (b. 80 AH – d. 150 AH) was included amongst the entries on over 11,000 narrators, male, female, reliable and unreliable reporters within the Mizan al I’tidal, or not. In carrying out this task the reader will be introduced to the background to the Mizan, the works that were written as a continuation of it, the utilisation of a number of original Arabic manuscript copies of the Mizan, scholarly views, and the matter of whether or not al-Imam al-A’zam Abu Hanifa was enlisted within the accessible manuscripts of the Mizan, as well as in the modern printed editions spanning over a century now.
The contents in the article include the following:
A LOOK AT THE PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE MIZAN AL-I’TIDAL.. 8
A LOOK AT SOME OF THE MANUSCRIPT EDITIONS OF THE MIZAN AL-I’TIDAL 36
- The original handwritten copy of al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi 36
- The handwritten copy by al-Hafiz Sharafud-Din Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Wani (d. 749 AH) 47
- The handwritten copy by al-Hafiz Sibt ibn al-Ajami (d. 841 AH). 51
- The handwritten copy by Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Khalaf al-Haytami al-Shafi’i 55
- The handwritten copy by Ibn al-Rayhani al-Mawsili. 58
- The handwritten manuscript from the Maktaba Ahmed al-Thalith collection stored in the Topkapi palace museum in Istanbul. 62
- The handwritten manuscript from the Bayazid Waliuddin collection in Istanbul 67
- The handwritten manuscript from the Feyzullah Effendi collection in Istanbul 70
- The handwritten manuscript from the Maktaba al-Ahmadiyya library in Halab (Aleppo), Syria.. 72
- The handwritten manuscript from the Vahid Pasa library in Kutahya, Turkey 72
MANUSCRIPT EDITIONS OF THE MIZAN AL-I’TIDAL THAT HAVE THE INSERTION OF AL-NU’MAN IBN THABIT.. 73
IMAM AL-DHAHABI AND HIS ENTRY ON IMAM ABU HANIFA IN HIS DIWAN AL-DU’AFA 83
Compiled by:
Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
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You should address the earlier hadeeth scholars whom the majority said abi hanifa is weak, including many of his students hassan shaybani and lu’lui in particular. You should then address the book of the son of imam ahmed kitab sunnah which provides evidences declarations of innovations of abi hanifa by senior scholars of atba tabieen and also some even made takfeer of abi hanifa in particular sufyan thawri. Happy to provide all that has been written above.
Reply:
A lot of this has already been answered on our website if you care to look through it carefully. Here are replies to those like al-Albani and Muqbil ibn Hadi:
https://www.darultahqiq.com/makana-al-imam-abi-hanifa-fil-hadith-radd-on-al-albani/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/imam-abu-hanifas-high-rank-hadith-reply-al-albani-et-al/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/reply-muqbil-ibn-hadi-weakening-imam-abu-hanifa-reliable-transmitter-hadith/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/imam-abu-hanifahs-rank-in-hadith/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/imam-muhammad-al-shaybani-and-his-reliability-in-hadith-transmission/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/imam-abu-yusufs-powerful-memory-profound-intellect/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/ahmad-shakir-criticism-qadi-abu-yusuf-unjust/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/imam-abu-yusuf-and-his-reliability-in-transmitting-hadith/
https://www.darultahqiq.com/the-salafs-acceptance-of-imam-abu-hanifahs-rank-and-knowledge/
As for your claim that the majority weakened Imam Abu Hanifa then this is not true as Imam ibn Abd al Barr declared in the 5th century. He said in his Jami Bayan al Ilm (2/1082):
2114 – قَالَ يَحْيَى: وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ مِنَ أَبِي يُوسُفَ الْجَامِعَ الصَّغِيرَ، [ص:1084] ذَكَرَهُ الْأَزْدِيُّ نا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، سَمِعْتُ عَلِيَّ بْنَ الْمَدِينِيِّ، فَذَكَرَهُ مِنْ أَوَّلِهِ إِلَى آخِرِهِ حَرْفًا بِحَرْفٍ” قَالَ أَبُو عُمَرَ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: ” الَّذِينَ رَوَوْا عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ وَوَثَّقُوهُ وَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ تَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ، وَالَّذِينَ تَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ، أَكْثَرُ مَا عَابُوا عَلَيْهِ الْإِغْرَاقَ فِي الرَّأْيِ وَالْقِيَاسِ وَالْإِرْجَاءَ وَكَانَ يُقَالُ: يُسْتَدَلُّ عَلَى نَبَاهَةِ الرَّجُلِ مِنَ الْمَاضِينَ بِتَبَايُنِ النَّاسِ فِيهِ قَالُوا: أَلَا تَرَى إِلَى عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، أَنَّهُ قَدْ هَلَكَ فِيهِ فَتَيَانِ مُحِبٌّ مُفْرِطٌ وَمُبْغِضٌ مُفَرِّطٌ
2114 – Yaḥyā said: “I have heard from Abū Yūsuf al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, [p. 1084] al-Azdī mentioned it. Muḥammad ibn Ḥarb narrated to us: ‘I heard ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī,’ and he mentioned it from beginning to end, word for word.”
Abū ʿUmar, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Those who narrated from Abū Ḥanīfa and deemed him trustworthy [waththaqūhu] and praised him are more numerous than those who spoke against him. Those who spoke against him from among the people of hadith – most of what they criticized him for was excessive use of juridical opinion [raʾy] and analogy [qiyās] and theological postponement [irjāʾ]. It used to be said: ‘The excellence of a man from the past is indicated by people’s disagreement about him.’ They said: ‘Do you not see ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him – that two groups have perished regarding him: an excessive lover and an excessive hater.'”
Also, you mentioned Kitab al-Sunna that is attributed to Abdullah. Keep an eye on the Telegram channel or subscribe to our website for a new work in excess of 400 pages showing the problems with this so called Kitab al-Sunna and its unreliability.
Hayyakumullah.