Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله

Full Name	Nu‘mān ibn Thābit
Born	80AH – Kūfā
Demise	150AH – Baghdad

His Appearance

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله was of average height, very handsome, well dressed and well perfumed. He could be recognised by his fragrance before he would arrive at a place, and also after he had passed. He had a sweet voice, could express himself clearly, and spoke with great clarity and insight. He spoke little, and refrained from futile talk.

He was a Tābi‘ī; he met Anas ibn Mālik, ‘Abdullāh ibn Al-Ḥārith ibn Jaz’, Abdullāh ibn Abī Awfā and a few other Saḥābah رضي الله عنهم.

The Imām spent his early youth in trade, and was inclined to seek ‘ilm through the influence of Imām Ash-Sha‘bī رحمه الله

His Teachers:

1. Imām Ash-Sha‘bī
2. ‘Aṭā ibn Abī Rabāḥ
3. Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān
4. ‘Ikrimah
5. Nāfi‘ رحمهم الله.

His Students:

• ‘Abdullāh ibn Mubārak
• Sufyān Ath-Thawrī
• Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zā’idah
• Abū Yūsuf
• Muḥammad ibn Al-Ḥasan Ash-Shaybānī رحمهم الله

His Worship

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله would be nicknamed ‘Al-Watad’ (The Tent Peg) due to his standing in ṣalāh all night.

Mis‘ar رحمه الله narrates, “Once I entered the masjid and someone’s recitation of the Qur’ān caught my attention. He recited a seventh, when I thought, ‘He’ll go into rukū‘ now’, but he continued until he recited a third, then a half, until he had finished the whole Qur’ān in one rak‘ah. This was Imām Abū Ḥanīfah.

Al-Khaṭīb رحمه الله writes:

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله read the Fajr ṣalāh with the wuḍū of ‘Ishā for forty years; the majority of nights he would spend reciting the Qur’ān in just one rak‘ah, and his weeping could be heard so much that his neighbours would pity him. It has been recorded about him that he had completed the Qur’ān upon the spot he passed away, 7000 times.

His Fear of Allāh

Yazīd رحمه الله narrates:

A young child once opened a roll of silk in front of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and it was of different colours. The child exclaimed, “We ask Allāh for Jannah!” Imām Abū Ḥanīfah started to weep. Sobbing uncontrollably, he ordered his [own] shop to be shut, leaving hastily with his head bowed. When I sat with him the next day, he said, “O my brother! How courageous are we that we say, ‘We ask Allāh for Jannah!?’ Only that person asks Allāh for Jannah who has toiled for it. The likes of us can only desire to ask for Allāh for his pardon.”

He was also very wise and patient, as can be judged by the incident when he was told to become a judge by Ibn Hubayrah.

His Insight In Fiqh:

• Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله would say, ‘People are dependent upon Abū Ḥanīfah in matters of Fiqh.’
• ‘Abdullāh ibn Al-Mubārak رحمه الله said, ‘Abū Ḥanīfah was a sign [from the signs of Allāh].’
• Imām Mālik رحمه الله was asked, ‘Have you met Abū Ḥanīfah?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I met a man who, if he was to prove to you that this pillar was gold, he would succeed in doing so.’

These few posts about the four Imāms in no way do justice to the great personalities they were, and the lives they led. May Allāh bless us with just some of the qualities that these great Imāms possessed, and may He reward them for their efforts and sacrifices for the Dīn. Āmīn

Sources:

1. Ṣifat-Aṣ-Ṣafwah of Ibn Al-Jawzī رحمه الله
2. Siyar-A‘lām-An-Nubalā, Imām Adh-Dhahabī رحمه الله

Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Full Name	Muḥammad ibn Idrīs Ash-Shāfi‘ī
Born	Gaza, 150AH
Demise	204AH
Appellation	Abū ‘Abdillāh
Teachers Include	Imām MālikMuḥammad ibn Ḥasan Ash-Shaybānī Muslim ibn Khaliq Az-Zanjī Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah رحمهم الله
Students Include	Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and other prominent ‘Ulamā رحمهم الله

 

Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله started off learning the Arabic language until someone reprimanded him and advised him to study aḥādīth and Fiqh. He was very poor in his childhood, and when he was still very young, his father passed away. He could not afford to buy paper to write on, and would therefore resort to writing on bones.

He himself says, ‘I memorised the Qur’ān when I was 7 years old’. He memorised the ḥadīth collection of Imām Mālik رحمه الله – Al-Muwaṭṭā – when he was just 10 years old. He was very god-fearing and pious.

A pious person by the name of Abū Bayān رحمه الله said, “I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream and he told me that he requested Allāh not to take account of Imām ibn Idrīs Ash-Shāfi‘ī. So I asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘For what reason?’ He replied, ‘He would send a salutation upon me that no-one else would’. I then asked, ‘And what was that salutation O Messenger of Allāh?’ He replied, ‘He would say:

اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ كُلَّمَا ذَكَرَهُ الذَّاكِرُوْنَ وَصَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ كُلَّمَا غَفَلَ عَنْهُ الْغَافِلُوْنَ

Trans: ‘O Allāh! Send salutations upon Muḥammad each time people remember him, and send salutations upon him each time the neglectful ones neglect his remembrance.

His Stature in Knowledge

When he had not yet reached twenty years of age, his teacher, Muslim ibn Khālid Az-Zanjīy رحمه الله instructed him to start issuing fatāwā to people, saying, ‘By Allāh! The time has come for you to start issuing fatāwā.’

His Piety

Ar-Rabī‘ ibn Sulaymān رحمه الله states that Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله would split the night up into three parts: the first third he would spend in writing, the second in ṣalāh and in the third part he would sleep.

He also relates that Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله would complete the Qur’ān sixty times outside ṣalāh during the month of Ramaḍān, and he would complete thirty completions every other month.

Imām Al-Ḥumaydī رحمه الله mentioned that Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله once came from Yemen, and he had with him twenty thousand dinars (gold coins). He pitched his tent outside Makkah and did not get up until he had distributed the whole lot [in charity].

It has been narrated from Imām Al-Muzanī رحمه الله that he visited Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله during the illness in which he passed away. He asked him regarding his health, to which he replied, “I have entered the morning travelling from this world; parting from my brothers; drinking from the glass of death; meeting my bad deeds, and standing before Allāh. I do not know whether to congratulate my soul because it is to go into Jannah, or to pay it my condolences because it is destined for Jahannam.” He then wept.

His Demise

The Imām passed away on Thursday night, after the ‘Ishā ṣalāh, and was buried on the day of Jumu‘ah, on the final day of Rajab, 204AH, at the age of 54.

May Allāh shower his grave with His Mercy and elevate his ranks on the Day of Judgement, and grant us all the likes of his pious company in the Hereafter.

Ar-Rabī‘ ibn Sulaymān states that I once saw Imām Ash-Shāfi‘ī رحمه الله after his demise in a dream, so I asked him what Allāh had done with him. He replied, “He sat me on a golden chair and showered me with fresh pearls.”

Sources:

1. Ṣifat-Aṣ-Ṣafwah of Ibn Al-Jawzī رحمه الله
2. Siyar-A‘lām-An-Nubalā, Imām Adh-Dhahabī رحمه الله