What is your opinion on the biography of Abu Hanifah in *Siyar A'lam al-Nubala* and Shaykh Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut's commentary on it?
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The questioner : As for Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in *Siyar A'lam al-Nubala*, in the biography of Abu Hanifah, it is well known that al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi stated that Abu Hanifah's (may Allah have mercy on him) hadith does not reach the level of authenticity, but rather perhaps the level of goodness, because he is weak and has poor memory, as they say. And al-Hafiz described him as a famous jurist in *al-Taqrib*.The Shaykh : Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut brought quotations in the footnote, and this is how it is. So how can a beginner like me trust what is quoted? This is what confused me.
The Shaykh : This is a man from our town. They classified him among those who are not hadith scholars, and although many years passed and he worked in hadith, unfortunately he was not influenced by hadith. The greatest proof of that is his blind fanaticism for his imam. Perhaps you remember that in the second volume of *al-Da'if*, I mentioned about twenty statements from hadith scholars regarding Abu Hanifah.
Al-Halabi : The first volume, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The first volume. May Allah reward you with good. Among them are the early imams like Ibn al-Mubarak, Imam Ahmad, and Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim, who describe him as having disordered hadith, let alone the later ones like 'Abd al-Haqq al-Isbili and others. All these statements are rejected by these fanatics, rejected like spitting out a seed. Why? Because of a narration reported from Ibn Ma'in that he said, "There is no harm in him," even though in some other narrations he explicitly stated that he is weak. So the phrase "there is no harm in him," in the face of those legends and those conclusive proofs from the majority of hadith scholars, is rejected by this single phrase that does not even serve to strengthen him, even if it were issued by Imam al-Bukhari or if it were issued by Imam Ahmad. Why? Because they establish in the science of terminology that criticism (jarh) takes precedence over vindication (ta'dil). So suppose this statement is established from an imam whose words are cited as evidence; why do they not look at the statements of those who criticized him, and their criticism is explained here? The hadith whose chain was weakened is: "Your love for a thing blinds and deafens." Therefore, no regard is given to all these narrations that contain what resembles vindication, for two reasons: First, because most of them are not authentic from those imams. Second, because even if they were authentic, they are not free from contradiction. Third and finally, even if they were free from contradiction, I do not say the majority, I say the majority of those who weakened him explained the reason for the weakening. So their criticism of him, if the critic were one person and his error in criticism were not established, it takes precedence over the vindicators, even if they were the majority, as long as he says that he has disordered hadith. Then there are practical examples, when some scholars come, for example a hadithSunan ad-Daraqutni 3:309 The hadith is narrated by Sufyan al-Thawri from Ibn al-Had from Jabir. Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) comes and contradicts Sufyan al-Thawri and narrates it from Ibn al-Had from Jabir as connected. As for the first chain, it is mursal, meaning Sufyan reports it as mursal, and Abu Hanifah connects it. So Imam al-Daraqutni explicitly stated in his book *al-Sunan* that this is an error by Abu Hanifah, and he explicitly stated on this occasion that Abu Hanifah is weak in hadith. So this is a loathsome fanaticism.
Another questioner : Can I add a benefit?
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
Another questioner : Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in *al-Tamhid* (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned what I stated regarding this specific hadith, and that it is sometimes narrated as mursal and sometimes with Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in it, and that he is weak, has poor memory, and is not cited as evidence.
The questioner : As for your biography, my Shaykh, and may Allah reward you with good, the question is personal, but I am frankly hesitant to ask it, yet I would like to hear the answer. Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni, may Allah reward him with good, presented you with a valuable biography that I benefited from in the tapes. And when you mentioned your private life at the beginning of seeking knowledge and so on, your words focused onThe Shaykh : your father (may Allah have mercy on him). But I would like to know, and I do not know if it is permissible for me to ask this question or not, and you have the choice in answering: Did your mother have a role in encouraging you to seek knowledge?
The Shaykh : My mother? No, my mother passed away when I was young.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is a man from our town. They classified him among those who are not hadith scholars, and although many years passed and he worked in hadith, unfortunately he was not influenced by hadith. The greatest proof of that is his blind fanaticism for his imam. Perhaps you remember that in the second volume of *al-Da'if*, I mentioned about twenty statements from hadith scholars regarding Abu Hanifah.
Al-Halabi : The first volume, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The first volume. May Allah reward you with good. Among them are the early imams like Ibn al-Mubarak, Imam Ahmad, and Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim, who describe him as having disordered hadith, let alone the later ones like 'Abd al-Haqq al-Isbili and others. All these statements are rejected by these fanatics, rejected like spitting out a seed. Why? Because of a narration reported from Ibn Ma'in that he said, "There is no harm in him," even though in some other narrations he explicitly stated that he is weak. So the phrase "there is no harm in him," in the face of those legends and those conclusive proofs from the majority of hadith scholars, is rejected by this single phrase that does not even serve to strengthen him, even if it were issued by Imam al-Bukhari or if it were issued by Imam Ahmad. Why? Because they establish in the science of terminology that criticism (jarh) takes precedence over vindication (ta'dil). So suppose this statement is established from an imam whose words are cited as evidence; why do they not look at the statements of those who criticized him, and their criticism is explained here? The hadith whose chain was weakened is: "Your love for a thing blinds and deafens." Therefore, no regard is given to all these narrations that contain what resembles vindication, for two reasons: First, because most of them are not authentic from those imams. Second, because even if they were authentic, they are not free from contradiction. Third and finally, even if they were free from contradiction, I do not say the majority, I say the majority of those who weakened him explained the reason for the weakening. So their criticism of him, if the critic were one person and his error in criticism were not established, it takes precedence over the vindicators, even if they were the majority, as long as he says that he has disordered hadith. Then there are practical examples, when some scholars come, for example a hadith
Whoever has an imam, the recitation of the imam is his recitation
من كان له إمام فقراءة الإمام له قراءةAnother questioner : Can I add a benefit?
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
Another questioner : Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in *al-Tamhid* (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned what I stated regarding this specific hadith, and that it is sometimes narrated as mursal and sometimes with Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) in it, and that he is weak, has poor memory, and is not cited as evidence.
The questioner : As for your biography, my Shaykh, and may Allah reward you with good, the question is personal, but I am frankly hesitant to ask it, yet I would like to hear the answer. Abu Ishaq al-Huwayni, may Allah reward him with good, presented you with a valuable biography that I benefited from in the tapes. And when you mentioned your private life at the beginning of seeking knowledge and so on, your words focused onThe Shaykh : your father (may Allah have mercy on him). But I would like to know, and I do not know if it is permissible for me to ask this question or not, and you have the choice in answering: Did your mother have a role in encouraging you to seek knowledge?
The Shaykh : My mother? No, my mother passed away when I was young.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.