The Distinction of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his jurisprudence, understanding, and derivation of legal rulings
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The questioner : Have you come across any authentic chain of narration from Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in the book... authentic chain... and many other things...?
The Shaykh : This is a vague, absolute statement that does not specify the type of disbelief for which he was asked to repent. It may have been disbelief by the consensus of the Muslim community, which is impossible for Abu Hanifah, or it may have been disbelief according to some scholars but not others. Therefore, with such an absolute text, it is not permissible to accuse Abu Hanifah of disbelief that equates to apostasy. We know, for example, that it was narrated in some reports that he used to say that the Qur'an is created. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. The creation of the Qur'an is indeed misguidance; it is the doctrine of the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij. However, this does not mean that he is declared a disbeliever or expelled from the religion. If a sound chain is established from an imam with something that a famous scholar affirms and criticizes, we do not attack Imam Ahmad or demolish him, as the fanatical Hanafis say. This is a matter of a contemporary attacking his contemporary. Rather, we say that we do not know the nature of this disbelief, as I mentioned earlier. Then, regarding Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him)... regarding the critique, there is no room for anyone to be free from sectarian bias to reject all the statements of those who criticize him on the grounds that Abu Hanifah is an imam among the imams of the Muslims, and one of the four followed imams. There is no doubt that he is one of the imams, but it is not necessary that every imam possesses all the distinguishing qualities that set him apart from others. Abu Hanifah is distinguished in a way that no one disputes in his jurisprudence, understanding, and derivation of legal rulings, even if he relied on opinion in some of that, which is also one of the points taken against him. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. But that does not mean that we rule on his disbelief, which...
The questioner : ... O Shaykh, the intended translation of this imam's biography sees that the majority of the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) were... and with... authentic narrations regarding many things, such as that... what is established from Imam Sufyan al-Thawri is that he was... in the Sacred Precinct, so Abu Hanifah came to him and turned his back to him, and when he spoke to him, he said: "I seek refuge in Allah from falsehoods..." and so on. And from Abdullah al-Mubarak, it was narrated from him and many others. I mean, this question is that the position of the people of the Sunnah regarding Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his jurisprudence and methodology is not to declare him a disbeliever and...?
The Shaykh : I have already answered you.
The Shaykh : This is a vague, absolute statement that does not specify the type of disbelief for which he was asked to repent. It may have been disbelief by the consensus of the Muslim community, which is impossible for Abu Hanifah, or it may have been disbelief according to some scholars but not others. Therefore, with such an absolute text, it is not permissible to accuse Abu Hanifah of disbelief that equates to apostasy. We know, for example, that it was narrated in some reports that he used to say that the Qur'an is created. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. The creation of the Qur'an is indeed misguidance; it is the doctrine of the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij. However, this does not mean that he is declared a disbeliever or expelled from the religion. If a sound chain is established from an imam with something that a famous scholar affirms and criticizes, we do not attack Imam Ahmad or demolish him, as the fanatical Hanafis say. This is a matter of a contemporary attacking his contemporary. Rather, we say that we do not know the nature of this disbelief, as I mentioned earlier. Then, regarding Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him)... regarding the critique, there is no room for anyone to be free from sectarian bias to reject all the statements of those who criticize him on the grounds that Abu Hanifah is an imam among the imams of the Muslims, and one of the four followed imams. There is no doubt that he is one of the imams, but it is not necessary that every imam possesses all the distinguishing qualities that set him apart from others. Abu Hanifah is distinguished in a way that no one disputes in his jurisprudence, understanding, and derivation of legal rulings, even if he relied on opinion in some of that, which is also one of the points taken against him. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. But that does not mean that we rule on his disbelief, which...
The questioner : ... O Shaykh, the intended translation of this imam's biography sees that the majority of the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) were... and with... authentic narrations regarding many things, such as that... what is established from Imam Sufyan al-Thawri is that he was... in the Sacred Precinct, so Abu Hanifah came to him and turned his back to him, and when he spoke to him, he said: "I seek refuge in Allah from falsehoods..." and so on. And from Abdullah al-Mubarak, it was narrated from him and many others. I mean, this question is that the position of the people of the Sunnah regarding Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his jurisprudence and methodology is not to declare him a disbeliever and...?
The Shaykh : I have already answered you.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.