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Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān^[4] (Persian:نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان), better known as Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, (699 — 767 CE / 80 — 148 AH) was the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

Abū Ḥanīfah is regarded by some as one of the Tabi‘un, the generation after the Sahaba, who were the companions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. This is based on reports that he saw the Sahabi Anas ibn Malik, with some even reporting that he transmitted Hadith from him and other companions of Muhammad.^[5] Others take the view that Abū Ḥanīfah only saw around half a dozen companions, possibly at a young age, and did not directly narrate hadith from them.^[5] Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that he learnt hadith from tabi'een including Ibrahim al Nakha'i.^[6]

Name, birth and ancestry[link]

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was born in the city of Kufa in Iraq, during the reign of the powerful Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Acclaimed as Al-Imām al-A'zam, or Al-A'dham (the Great Imam), Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Mah was better known by his Kunya Abū Ḥanīfah. None of his sons or daughters is reported as having the name "Hanifah," so it was a type of Kuniya like Abu Hurairah or Abu Turaab etc., i.e., an epithetical name meaning "pure in monotheistic belief."

His father, Thabit bin Zuta, a trader from Kabul, Afghanistan, was 40 years old at the time of Abū Ḥanīfah's birth. Some called Abū Ḥanīfah "al-Taymi." The origin of this name may be that Abū Ḥanīfah's grandfather Zuta was a slave and a member of the tribe of Taym and purchased his freedom; but this is only weakly supported, as some people mix the Arabic word Maula, which was used to denote a slave master and also the person on whose hands a person accepted Islam. So it is mostly accepted that his grandfather accepted Islam on his hands, the same as Imaam Bukahri, whose name contains "Jafa'e," which is the name of a tribe of the Sahabi, on whose hands ancestors of Imaam Bukhari accepted Islam and hence are called their Maula.

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-Arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian, Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, records a statement from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah's grandson, Ismail bin Hammad, who gave Abū Ḥanīfah's lineage as Thabit bin Numan bin Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin. The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abū Ḥanīfah's grandfather and great-grandfather are thought to be due to Zuta's adoption of the Arabic name (Numan) upon his acceptance of Islam and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia, with the later meaning a margrave refers to the noble ancestry of Abū Ḥanīfah's family as the Sasanian margraves of Kabul. Those stories maintain for his ancestors having been slaves purchased by some Arab benefactor are, therefore, untenable and seemingly fabricated. There is a discussion on being of Turkic or Persian origin. But the widely accepted opinion, however, is that most probably he was of Persian ancestry.^[2][3]

Status as a Tabi‘i[link]

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was born 67 years after the death of Muhammad, but during the time of the Sahaba of Muhammad, some of whom lived on until Abū Ḥanīfah's youth. Anas bin Malik, Muhammad's personal attendant, died in 93 AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah, died in 100 AH, when Abū Ḥanīfah was 20 years old.

However the author of al-Khairat al-Hisan collected information from books of biographies and cited the names of the Sahaba whom it is reported that the Imam has transmitted hadith from. He counted them as sixteen of the Sahaba. They are: Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah ibn Anis al-Juhani, Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Juz’ al-Zabidi, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, Wa’ila ibn al-Asqa`, Ma`qal ibn Yasar, Abu Tufail `Amir ibn Wa’ila, `A’isha bint Hajrad, Sahl ibn Sa`d, al-Tha’ib ibn Khallad ibn Suwaid, al-Tha’ib ibn Yazid ibn Sa`id, Abdullah ibn Samra, Mahmud ibn al-Rabi`, Abdullah ibn Ja`far, and Abu Umama. Hadith Reported by Abū Ḥanīfah upon the authority of Anas ibn Malik "Seeking of knowledge is an obligation on each and every Muslim."^[7]

It is perceived this is due to the strict age requirements for learning the discipline of hadith that existed at the time in Kufa where no one below the age of 20 was admitted to a hadith school. The scholars of the time felt anyone below this age would not have attained the maturity required to be able to understand the meaning of the narrations.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and education[link]

Abū Ḥanīfah grew up in a period of oppression during the caliphates of Abdul Malik bin Marwan and his son Al-Walid I (Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik). The governorship of Iraq was under the control of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, a loyal follower of Abdul Malik. During his governorship leaders in religion and learning were especially targeted by Hajjaj as they were proving to be an obstacle to Abdul Malik's establishment of his rule across Arabia and Iraq. Consequently, Abū Ḥanīfah had no interest nor the opportunity to acquire any education in his early childhood. He was simply content with following in the footsteps of his father as a silk merchant.

He set up a silk weaving business where he showed scrupulous honesty and fairness. Once his agent in another country, sold some silk cloth on his behalf but forgot to point out a slight defect to the purchasers. When Abu Hanifa learned this, he was greatly distressed as he had no means of refunding their money. He immediately ordered the entire proceeds of the sale of the consignment of silk to be distributed to the poor.

Following the deaths of Hajjaj in 95 AH and Walid in 96 AH, justice and good administration began to make a comeback with the caliphates of Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik and thereafter Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Umar encouraged education to such an extent that every home became a madrasa. Abū Ḥanīfah also began to take an interest in education which was heightened further by the unexpected advice of as-Sha'bi (d. 722), one of Kufa's most well-known scholars.

While running an errand for his mother, he happened to pass the home of as-Sha'bi. Sha'bi, mistaking him for a student, asked him whose classes he attended. When Abū Ḥanīfah responded that he did not attend any classes, Sha'bi said, "I see signs of intelligence in you. You should sit in the company of learned men." Taking Sha'bi's advice, Abū Ḥanīfah embarked on a prolific quest for knowledge that would in due course have a profound impact on the history of Islam. His early education was achieved through madāris and it is here that he learned the Qur'an and Hadith, doing exceptionally well in his studies. He spent a great deal of time in the tutelage of Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, a great jurist of Kufah.

The Imam went to Medina in 102 A.H. in pursuit of Knowledge and attended the lessons of seven top theologians. The celebrated Imam Musa Kazim and his illustrious father Imam Jafar Sadiq the descendants of Muhammad, were the greatest authorities in Islamic learning of their times and Imām Abū Ḥanīfah took full advantage of their society in Medina. He was highly impressed with the erudition of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq whom he acknowledged as the most learned man in the world of Islam. Imām Abū Ḥanīfah also attended the classes of Imam Malik who was thirteen years younger than he. It was his good fortune that Umar bin Abdul Aziz had organised the study and recording of Hadiths on a sounder footing. Before the Caliphate of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, the record of Hadiths was confined to the memory of the people. In a letter addressed to the learned men of Medina in 101 A.H., he requested them to preserve in writing the record of Hadiths. Imam Zuhri furnished the first collection of Hadiths. The teaching of Hadiths, too, had undergone a revolutionary change. From his pulpit, the learned teacher discoursed on the subject and the pupils assembled round him with pen and paper and carefully took down the notes. Imām Abū Ḥanīfah had learnt Hadiths from more than four thousand persons.

It redounds to the credit of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah that he left behind the greatest number of pupils in the world of Islam, including Qadi Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani, Abdur Razzaq, Abdullal Bin Al Mubarak, Abu Naeem Faza, and Abu Asim who acquired great fame in their days. Qadi Abu Yusuf rose to be the Grand Qadi of the Abbasid Caliphate during the time of Harun al-Rashid.

Adulthood and death[link]

Abu Hanifa Mosque

In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid monarch offered Abu Hanifa the post of Chief Judge of the State, but he declined to accept the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was appointed Qadi Al-Qadat (Chief Judge of the State) of al-Mansur regime instead of himself.

In his reply to al-Mansur, Abū Ḥanīfah recused himself by saying that he did not regard himself fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abū Ḥanīfah of lying.

"If I am lying," Abū Ḥanīfah said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?"

Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abū Ḥanīfah arrested, locked in prison and tortured. He was never fed nor cared for.^[8] Even there, the indomitable jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him.

In 767, Abū Ḥanīfah died in prison. The reason of his death is not clear, as some say that Abū Ḥanīfah issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against Al-mansoor, and the latter had him poisoned to death.^[9] It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. Later, after many years, a mosque, the Abū Ḥanīfah Mosque was built in the Adhamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad.

The tomb of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and other Sunni sites including tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani were destroyed by Shah Ismail of Safavi empire in 1508.^[10] In 1533, Ottomans reconquered Iraq and rebuilt the tomb of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and other Sunni sites.^[11]

Works[link]

• Kitaab-ul-Aathaar narrated by Imaam Muhammad al-Shaybani – compiled from a total of 70,000 hadith
• Kitabul Aathaar narrated by Imaam Abu Yusuf
• Aalim wa'l-muta‘allim
• Fiqh al-Akbar
• Musnad Imaam ul A'zam
• Kitaabul Rad alal Qaadiriyah

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Abū Ḥanīfa

• Nu'mani, Shibli (1998). Imām Abū Ḥanīfah — Life and Works. Translated by M. Hadi Hussain. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi. ISBN 81-85738-59-9. 

External links[link]

• [2]
• Al-Wasiyyah of Imam Abu Hanifah Translated into English by Shaykh Imam Tahir Mahmood al-Kiani
• Book on Imam e Azam Abu Hanifa
• Biographical summary of Abu Hanifa
• Abu Hanifa on Muslim heritage
• Imām Abū Ḥanīfah By Shiekh G. F. Haddad
• Tajik president’s articles about Imam Azam attract interest in Muslim countries
• 2009 announced Year of Imam Azam in Tajikistan

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (April 2012)

Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq (born 1971) is an Islamic scholar based in the United Kingdom. He is internationally recognized as a prominent scholar of Islam in the Western world and considered an authority on various Islamic fields including hadith. Over 400 of ul Huq's lectures are in circulation with the earliest recordings from 1994. The Al Kawthar Academy was founded under the guidance of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq.

Preaching and teaching[link]

After his graduation, he became the Imam of Birmingham Central Mosque and then began teaching hadith at Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah. Until 2003, ul Haq served as the honorary headmaster of Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah in Kidderminster, where he was previously sadr mudarris (head teacher/dean of the faculty). Since graduation he has devoted himself to the work of deen and remained actively involved in da'wah and teaching. He has taught and commented on numerous classical Islamic works and has lectured extensively on a range of topics including Quranic tafseer, hadith, aqeedah and fiqh. He has also travelled widely, teaching and lecturing in various countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. Many of his sermons and lectures are recorded and are widely available. He has also authored two books, 'The Salah of a Believer in the Quran and Sunnah'^[1] and 'The Causes of Disunity'.^[2] A poem written by ul Haq called 'Whispers of the Night' has been published on many websites and blogs.^[3][4][5][6]

Sahih-al-Bukhari[link]

Since 2001, Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq has been teaching an abridged version of Sahih-al-Bukhari to the general public. The collection of hadith in Bukhari are considered the most authentic collection in Islam. This is the first time ever that these hadith have been taught in English in a systemic, detailed and thorough manner. All rulings derived from the hadith are explained according to the understanding of the main schools of fiqh. Ul Haq teaches these hadith through an unbroken and authentic chain of narration or sanad.^{[citation needed]} He narrated his complete sanad in Lesson 3 of the Bukhari series before teaching the first hadith.^{[citation needed]} The lessons are currently held at Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester and number over 240 that have been delivered to date,.^[7][8] Many video excerpts from the Bukhari lessons are on Al Kawthar Academy's Youtube channel.^[9]

Lecture series[link]

The earliest spiritual discourses by Riyadh ul Haq which are available online date to around 1994.^[10] Prior to commencing the weekly Bukhari classes, he taught lessons of Tafseer, Fiqh and Aqeedah.^[11] He has given many general talks often on topical subjects relevant to Muslims in the West. These lectures have been given across the UK and in many other countries often at conferences and seminars where ul Haq is an invited and keynote speaker. In early 2009, ul Haq addressed the credit crunch issue from an Islamic perspective.^[12][13]

Since 2008, ul Haq has been delivering a series of talks on 'The Mothers of The Believers'^{[citation needed]} and also a series of talks on 'The Lives and Learning of the Companions'.^[14][15]

Intensive study courses[link]

In November 2008, ul Haq delivered an intensive study course entitled 'The Etiquettes of Seeking Sacred Knowledge'.^[16] The course held over two consecutive weekends and was organised by Al Kawthar Academy. The location of the course was Azhar Academy, Forest Gate, London. This was the first intensive study course taught by ul Haq. Al Kawthar Academy organised a second intensive study course entitled 'Fundamentals of Understanding the Glorious Qur'an'.^[17] This course was held at Azhar Academy, London on 27 and 28 June 2009. Ul Haq delivered a third intensive course at Azhar Academy entitled 'Ramadhan Dawn till Dawn' on the 8th and 9 August 2009.

Further, he has devised a syllabus for a part-time Alim course which is based on a classical curriculum and is designed to help beginners progress from an elementary stage to a very advanced level in Arabic and Islamic Studies. The course covers an in-depth study of Arabic language and literature as well as Islamic theology, Qur'an, hadith and fiqh. Ul Haq teaches this course in Leicester, UK.^[18]

Influence and international recognition[link]

Ul Haq is listed in the 2010 Third Edition of 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims' published by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre^[19] This publication is the third of an annual series that provides a window into the movers and shakers of the Muslim world. It highlights people who are influential as Muslims, that is, people whose influence is derived from their practice of Islam or from the fact that they are Muslim. It gives valuable insight into the different ways that Muslims impact the world, and also shows the diversity of how people are living as Muslims today. Ul Haq appears in a section of the publication where '450 leaders are categorized by their diverse fields of work and appear unranked'. In the publication, it is stated "Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is a very influential speaker and leading Deobandi scholar in the UK. He has been markedly influential through his work with the Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester. Al Kawthar is a leading Islamic educational institution at the forefront of knowledge proliferation through diverse media forms." ^[20]

Allegations of extremism[link]

In September 2007, The Times carried a news item by Andrew Norfolk accusing Riyadh ul Haq of being the "homegrown cleric who loathes the British"^[21] and a commentary article from the same author claiming there was a "hardline takeover of British mosques" led by ul Haq. In an opinion piece by the same author on the same date there was a claim that ul Haq was in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain, despite allegedly having extreme views.^[22] However, the hundreds of hours of recordings of ul Haq's lectures in the public domain may suggest otherwise.^{[citation needed]} Simultaneously, Andrew Norfolk published a further "comment" piece in the Times calling the Deobandis historically anti-British,^[23] but also aired the opposing views of Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain’s interfaith relations committee. Mr Mogra graduated from the same Deobandi seminary in Bury, Greater Manchester, that Mr ul Haq attended. Mr Mogra has a vision of a pluralistic, tolerant Islam "starkly at odds with mainstream Deobandi thinking", believing that for British Muslims "our loyalty to Britain must be unquestionable".^[24]

The next day Andrew Norfolk published two more opinion pieces, also in The Times, the first describing two British Muslims in a "sinister" Karachi madrassa of mutually opposing view points, the student there being "desperate" to come home to Yorkshire.^[25] The second opinion piece named another world respected Deobandi scholar (Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani), this time from Pakistan calling for followers to live peacefully in countries such as Britain only until they gain enough power to engage in jihad or battle.^[26]

Amongst the immediate responses, The Guardian carried a "Comment is Free" opinion article by Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, calling Norfolk's work a "toxic mix of fact and nonsense".^[27] The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) claimed on their own web-site that the Berelvis were coming out in defence of Riyadh al Haq.^[28] Two days later, MPACUK called the attacks on ul Haq a "decapitation strategy".^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Al Kawthar Academy - Lectures of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq, February 18, 2009

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Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf is an Islamic scholar who was born in England. He began his early Islamic and secular studies in Clapton in East London and went on to complete secondary school and further his knowledge of Islam at Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah where he completed the memorisation of the Qur'an by the age of fifteen.^{[citation needed]} Upon the completion of hifz by Hafiz Ali, he went on to study the rigorous, six-year aalim class.^{[citation needed]}

After graduation from Darul Uloom Al Arabiyyah Al Islamiyyah he undertook further studies in South Africa, where he completed ifta at Madrasah Zakariya and a B.A. with honors in Islamic studies at Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, under Professor Abdur-Rahman Doi.^{[citation needed]}

He also travelled to numerous other places to gain knowledge, including Syria, where he gained ijazah from Shaikh Abdul Razzaq al-Halabi and Saharanpur, India, where he received formal accredition to issue fatwas.^{[citation needed]}

He is a signatory of the Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation Between Sunni Muslim Scholars, Organizations, and Students of Sacred Knowledge.^[1]

Work[link]

Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf has authored, commented upon and translated many works including:

Reflections of Pearls (1995)
Fiqh al Imam - Key Proofs In Hanafi Fiqh (1996)
Provisions for the Seekers (1996)
Prayers for Forgiveness (2004)
The translation of Imaam Abu Hanifah's Al Fiqh Al Akbar^[2]

He presently serves as Imam at Masjid E Quba North London Stamford Hill UK.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf audio and video lectures from Halal Tube
• White Thread Press Publishing company founded by him
• Masjid e Quba Mosque where Shaykh is currently Imaam

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Ahmad Ali (1910 in New Delhi – 14 January 1994 in Karachi)(Urdu: احمد علی ) was an Indian (later Pakistani) novelist, poet, critic, translator, diplomat and scholar, who was responsible for writing Twilight in Delhi. Born in Delhi, India, he was involved in progressive literary movements as a young man. Professor Ahmed Ali was educated at Aligarh and Lucknow universities, standing first-class and first in the order of merit in both B.A. (Honours), 1930 and M.A. English, 1931.^{[citation needed]} He taught at leading Indian universities including Lucknow and Allahabad from 1932–46 and joined the Bengal Senior Educational Service as professor and head of the English Department at Presidency College, Calcutta (1944–47). Ali was the BBC's Representative and Director in India during 1942–44. During partition, he was the British Council Visiting Professor to the University of China in Nanking as appointed by the British government of India. When he tried to return to India after partition in 1948, K.P.S Menon (then India's Ambassador to China) did not let him and he was forced to move to Pakistan. ^[1]

Therefore he moved to Karachi in 1948, a city that he was never fond of. ^[2] Later, he was appointed Director of Foreign Publicity, Government of Pakistan. At the behest of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, he joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1950. The first file he received was marked 'China' and when he opened it; it was blank.^{[citation needed]} He went to China as Pakistan's first envoy and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic in 1951.

Literary career[link]

Ali started his literary career at a young age and became cofounder of the All-India Progressive Writers' Movement and Association with the publication of Angare in 1932, a collection of short stories by four young friends, which was later banned by the British Government of India in March 1933.^{[citation needed]} Shortly afterward Ali and Mahmud-uz-Zaffar announced the formation of a "League of Progressive Authors", which was later to expand and become the All-India Progressive Writers' Association.^[3] Ali presented his paper "Art ka Taraqqi-Pasand Nazariya" (A Progressive View of Art) in its inaugural Conference in 1936. A pioneer of the modem Urdu short story, Ali's works include collections of short stories: "Angare" (Flames), 1934; Hamari Gali (Our Lane), 1940; Qaid Khana (The Prison-house), 1942; and Maut Se Pehle (Before Death), 1945.

Ali achieved international fame with his novel Twilight in Delhi, which was first published by The Hogarth Press in London in 1940.^[4]

Additional and personal information[link]

Ali was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Humanities at Michigan State University in 1975, Fulbright Visiting Professor of History at Western Kentucky University and Fulbright Visiting Professor of English at Southern Illinois University in 1978–79.

He was made an Honorary Citizen by the State of Nebraska in 1979.^{[citation needed]} He was Visiting Professor at the University of Karachi during 1977–79, which later conferred on him an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature in 1993.

During the 1950s Ahmed Ali worked for the Pakistan Foreign Service, establishing embassies in Morocco and China.^[5]

External links[link]

• Online Quran includes the Qur'an translation by Ahmed Ali.

References[link]