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Hanafi
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The Hanafi (Arabic ??????) school is the oldest of the four schools of law (Madhhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after its founder, Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thabit (Arabic: ??????? ?? ?????) (699 - 767CE /89 - 157AH), and his legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. The latter's works, known collectively as zahir al-riwaya, remained authoritative for later Hanafis.
g the four established Sunni schools of legal thought in Islam, the Hanafi school is the oldest, Abu Hanifa was the first to systematically arrange and compile Islamic law.
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Encyclopedia
The Hanafi (Arabic ??????) school is the oldest of the four schools of law (Madhhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after its founder, Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thabit (Arabic: ??????? ?? ?????) (699 - 767CE /89 - 157AH), and his legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. The latter's works, known collectively as zahir al-riwaya, remained authoritative for later Hanafis.
Overview
Among the four established Sunni schools of legal thought in Islam, the Hanafi school is the oldest, Abu Hanifa was the first to systematically arrange and compile Islamic law. A unique feature of the school is the method in which the law was codified: Abu Hanifa would convene and preside over a board of jurists (consisting of about 40-50 of his own students) and each would give his own opinion on a particular legal issue, Abu Hanifa would then decide which is the opinion that is to be selected by corroborating it or sometimes would offer his own unique opinion. The Hanafi school also has the most followers among the four major Sunni schools. (Both the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire were Hanafi so the Hanafi school is still widespread in their former lands). The other three schools of thought are Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali. Today, the Hanafi school is predominant among the Sunnis of Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China as well as in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia in the Balkans and the Caucasus. It is also found in large numbers in other parts of Muslim world. Hanafi school was also one of the widespread schools beside Shaf'i school in Iran, especially in Khorasan, before 1500.
Sources and Methodology
The sources from which the law is derived, in order of importance and preference are: the Qur'an, the authentic narrations of the Prophet (Hadith), Consensus (ijma) and analogical reasoning (qiyas), qiyas only being applied if direct material cannot be found in the Qur'an or Hadith. As the forth Caliph, 'Ali, had transferred the Islamic capital to Kufa and the fact that many of the companions of the Prophet had settled there, the Hanafi School had based many of its rulings on Prophetic narrations (Hadith) transmitted by companions residing in Iraq, thus it came to be known as the Kufan or Iraqi school in earlier times. Hence 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud formed much of the base of the school, as well as other personalities from the household of the Prophet with whom Abu Hanifa had studied such as Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far al-Sadiq, and Zayd ibn 'Ali. Many jurists and Hadith transmitters had lived in Kufa including one of Abu Hanifa's main teachers, Hammad ibn Sulayman.
According to Abdalhaqq Bewley:
"Hanafi methodology involved the logical process of examining the Book and all available knowledge of the Sunna and then finding an example in them analogous to the particular case under review so that Allah's deen could be properly applied in the new situation. It thus entails the use of reason in the examination of the Book and Sunna so as to extrapolate the judgments necessary for the implementation of Islam in a new environment. It represents in essence, therefore, within the strict compass of rigorous legal and inductive precepts, the adaptation of the living and powerful deen to a new situation in order to enable it take root and flourish in fresh soil. This made it an ideal legal tool for the central governance of widely varied populations which is why we find it in Turkey as the legacy of the Uthmaniyya Khilafa and in the sub-continent where it is inherited from the Moghul empire."
Some distinctive opinions of Abu Hanifa and the Hanafi School
- It is prohibited or disliked to eat some forms of non-fish seafood based on the hadith of the prophet Muhammad: "Two types of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for your consumption [without being slaughtered]: fish and locust, liver and spleen". (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Majah,).
- Except for at Hajj, every salah (5-times daily prayer) needs to be made in its regular time. (Some non-Hanafi scholars allow a person who is travelling to adjust certain prayer times for convenience).
- The beginning of the time for asr prayer (and the end of the time for zhur prayer) is later than in the other schools (roughly when shadows are twice the length of their objects.
- A 6th daily prayer called witr is wajib/required (But not at the same level of obligation as the 5-daily prayers).
- Abu Hanifa held that "wine" (the fermented juice of dates or grapes) was absolutely prohibited. But he thought it was permissible to drink small non-intoxicating amounts of other alcoholic beverages (e.g. made from honey or grains). Later Hanafi scholars tend to rule that all alcoholic beverages are prohibited regardless of source.
- Abu Hanifa held that "the Qur'an" consists of the meaning of the text and so in the daily prayers it was permissible to recite "the Qur'an" in any language unconditionally. Later Hanafis only held that this meant it was only permissible if the person praying was unable to recite the Qur'an in Arabic, but the original opinion is still upheld as a difference.
- Bleeding can break one's wudu
- Abu Hanifa and the Maturidis say that "Faith neither increases nor decreases" and that "Actions are not a part of faith". (i.e. roughly, a sinful Muslim is still a Muslim as long as they don't assert that their bad behavior is permitted in Islam)
All four schools are respected and in fact the differences between the schools are considered a blessing. There are cross-pollination of ideas and debates between the four schools in respect to each school's understanding of Islam. All four schools are respected as valid legal schools of Sunni Islam that have arrived through their analysis of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Notable Hanafis
Hanafi Groups and Movements
External links
- (Hanafi) Audio Fatawa in many languages (free online)
- Over 2,000 Collection of Islamic Information
- Urdu Translation of Hanafi Fiqh and Hadith Books
- Hanafi books in English (free online)
- Books on Hanafi Fiqh and Hadith
- Books and Audio on Hanafi Fiqh
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