Imam Syafi `i rah.

Imam Shafi`i

by Dr. G.F. Haddad

Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-`Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi`i, Abu `Abd Allah al-Shafi`i al-Hijazi al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Muttalibi (d. 204), the offspring of the House of the Prophet, the peerless one of the great mujtahid imams and jurisprudent par excellence, the scrupulously pious ascetic and Friend of Allah, he laid down the foundations of fiqh in his Risala, which he said he revised and re-read four hundred times, then said: "Only Allah’s Book is perfect and free from error."

He is the cousin of the Prophet - Allah’s blessings and peace upon him - descending from al-Muttalib who is the brother of Hashim, `Abd al-Muttalib’s father. Someone praised the Banu Hashim in front of the Prophet, whereby he interlaced the fingers of his two hands and said: "We and they are but one and the same thing." Al-Nawawi listed three peculiar merits of al-Shafi`i: his sharing the Prophet’s lineage at the level of their common ancestor `Abd Manaf; his birth in the Holy Land of Palestine and upbringing in Mecca; and his education at the hands of superlative scholars together with his own superlative intelligence and knowledge of the Arabic language. To this Ibn Hajar added two more: the hadith of the Prophet, "O Allah! Guide Quraysh, for the science of the scholar that comes from them will encompass the earth. O Allah! You have let the first of them taste bitterness, so let the latter of them taste reward." Another hadith of the Prophet says: "Truly, Allah shall send forth for this Community, at the onset of every hundred years, someone who will renew their Religion for them." The scholars agreed, among them Abu Qilaba (d. 276) and Imam Ahmad, that the first narration signified al-Shafi`i, and the second signified `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz and then al-Shafi`i.

He was born in Ghazza or `Asqalan in 150, the year of Abu Hanifa’s death, and moved to Mecca at the age of two, following his father’s death, where he grew up. He was early a skillful archer, then he took to learning language and poetry until he gave himself to fiqh, beginning with hadith. He memorized the Qur’an at age seven, then Malik’s Muwatta’ at age ten, at which time his teacher would deputize him to teach in his absence. At age thirteen he went to see Malik, who was impressed by his memory and intelligence.

Malik ibn Anas and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani were among his most prominent teachers and he took position against both of them in fiqh. Al-Shafi`i said: "From Muhammad ibn al-Hasan I wrote a camel-load." Al-Hakim narrated from `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Hakam: "Al-Shafi`i never ceased to speak according to Malik’s position and he would say: ‘We do not differ from him other than in the way of his companions,’ until some young men spoke unbecomingly at length behind his back, whereupon al-Shafi`i resolved to put his differences with Malik in writing. Otherwise, his whole life he would say, whenever asked something: ‘This is what the Teacher said’ - hâdha qawl al-ustadh - meaning Malik."

Like Abu Hanifa and al-Bukhari, he recited the entire Qur’an each day at prayer, and twice a day in the month of Ramadan.

Al-Muzani said: "I never saw one more handsome of face than al-Shafi`i. If he grasped his beard it would not exceed his fist." Ibn Rahuyah described him in Mecca as wearing bright white clothes with an intensely black beard. Al-Za`farani said that when he was in Baghdad in the year 195 he dyed his beard with henna.

Abu `Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam said: "If the intelligence of an entire nation was brought together he would have encompassed it." Similarly, al-Muzani said: "I have been looking into al-Shafi`i’s Risala for fifty years, and I do not recall a single time I looked at it without learning some new benefit."

Al-Sakhawi in the introduction to his al-Jawahir wa al-Durar and others narrate that someone criticized Ahmad ibn Hanbal for attending the fiqh sessions of al-Shafi`i and leaving the hadith sessions of Sufyan ibn `Uyayna. Ahmad replied: "Keep quiet! If you miss a hadith with a shorter chain you can find it elsewhere with a longer chain and it will not harm you. But if you do not have the reasoning of this man [al-Shafi`i], I fear you will never be able to find it elsewhere." Ahmad is also related by his students Abu Talib and Humayd ibn Zanjuyah to say: "I never saw anyone adhere more to hadith than al-Shafi`i. No-one preceded him in writing down the hadith in a book." The meaning of this is that al-Shafi`i possessed the understanding of hadith after which Ahmad sought, as evidenced by the latter’s statement: "How rare is fiqh among the scholars of hadith!" This is a reference to the hadith: "It may be one carries understanding (fiqh) without being a person of understanding (faqîh)." Sufyan himself would defer to al-Shafi`i in matters of tafsîr and fatwa. Yunus ibn Abi Ya`la said: "Whenever al-Shafi`i went into tafsîr, it was as if he had witnessed the revelation." Ahmad ibn Hanbal also said: "Not one of the scholars of hadith touched an inkwell nor a pen except he owed a huge debt to al-Shafi`i."

Al-Shafi`i was known for his peculiar strength in Arabic language, poetry, and philology. Bayhaqi narrated:

[From Ibn Hisham:] I was al-Shafi`i’s sitting-companion for a long time, and I never heard him use except a word which, carefully considered, one would not find (in its context) a better word in the entire Arabic language. . . . Al-Shafi`i’s discourse, in relation to language, is a proof in itself.

[From al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Za`farani:] A group of bedouins used to frequent al-Shafi`i’s gathering with us and sit in a corner. One day I asked their leader: "You are not interested in scholarship; why do you keep coming to sit with us?" They said: "We come to hear al-Shafi`i’s language."

Al-Shafi`i trod the path of the Salaf in avoiding any interpretation of the verses and narrations pertaining to the divine attributes. He practiced "relegation of the meaning" (tafwîd al-mi`na) to a higher source, as established in his saying: "I leave the meaning of the verses of the Attributes to Allah, and I leave the meaning of the hadiths of the attributes to Allah’s Messenger." At the same time, rare instances of interpretation are recorded from him. Thus al-Bayhaqi relates that al-Muzani reported from al-Shafi`i the following commentary on the verse: "To Allah belong the East and the West, and wheresoever you turn, there is Allah’s face (wajh)" (2:115): "It means – and Allah knows best – thither is the bearing (wajh) towards which Allah has directed you." Al-Hakkari (d. 486) related in his book `Aqida al-Shafi`i that the latter said: "We affirm those attributes, and we negate from them likeness between them and creation (al-tashbîh), just as He negated it from Himself when He said: ‘There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him’ (42:11)."

Al-Shafi`i’s hatred of dialectic theology (kalâm) was based on his extreme caution against errors which bear heavy consequences as they induce one into false beliefs. Among his sayings concerning this: "It is better for a scholar of knowledge to give a fatwa after which he is said to be wrong than to theologize and then be said to be a heretic (zindîq). I hate nothing more than theology and theologians." Dhahabi comments: "This indicates that Abu `Abd Allah’s position concerning error in the principles of the Religion (al-usûl) is that it is not the same as error in the course of scholarly exertion in the branches." The reason is that in belief and doctrine neither ijtihâd nor divergences are permitted. In this respect al-Shafi`i said: "It cannot be asked ‘Why?’ concerning the principles, nor ‘How?’" Yet al-Shafi`i did not completely close the door to the use of kalâm in defense of the Sunna, as shown below and in the notice on Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Yunus ibn Abi Ya`la narrated that al-Shafi`i defined the "principles" as: "The Qur’an, the Sunna, analogy (al-qiyâs), and consensus (al-ijmâ`)"; he defined the latter to mean: "The adherence of the Congregation (jamâ`a) of the Muslims to the conclusions of a given ruling pertaining to what is permitted and what is forbidden after the passing of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him."

Al-Shafi`i did not close the door on the right use of kalâm as is clear from Ibn Abi Hatim’s narration from al-Rabi` of his words: "If I wished, I could produce a book against each one of those who deviated, but dialectic theology is none of my business, and I would not like to be attributed any part in it." Similar to it is his advice to his student al-Muzani: "Take proofs from creation about the Creator, and do not burden yourself with the knowledge of what your mind did not reach." Ibn Abi Hatim himself spoke similarly when he was told of Ibn Khuzayma’s unsuccessful attempt at kalâm: "It is preferable not to meddle with what we did not learn." Note that al-Shafi`i also spoke of his wish not to have a single letter out of all his works attributed to him, regardless of topic.

Al-Shafi`i’s attitude towards tasawwuf was as strict as with kalâm, and he both praised it and denigrated its abuse at the hands of its corrupters. In criticism of the latter he said: "No-one becomes a Sufi in the morning except he ends up a dolt by noon" while on the other hand he declared in his Diwan: "Be at the same time a faqîh and a Sufi." In Mecca al-Shafi`i was the student of Fudayl ibn `Iyad. Imam al-Nawawi in his Bustan al-`Arifin fi al-Zuhd wa al-Tasawwuf ("The Garden of the Gnostics in Asceticism and Tasawwuf") narrated from al-Shafi`i the saying: "Only the sincere one (al-mukhlis) can recognize self-display (al-riyâ’)." Al-Nawawi comments: "This means that it is impossible to know the reality of self-display and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks (arâda) sincerity. Such a one strives for a long time, searching, meditating, examining at length within himself until he knows, or knows something of what self-display is. This does not happen for everyone. Indeed, this happens only with special ones (al-khawâss). But for a given individual to claim that he knows what self-diplay is, this is real ignorance on his part."

Al-Shafi`i deferred primacy in the foundations of fiqh to Imam Abu Hanifa with his famous statement: "People are all the children of Abu Hanifa in fiqh." Ibn Hajar al-Haytami mentioned in the thirty-fifth chapter of his book on Imam Abu Hanifa entitled al-Khayrat al-Hisan: "When Imam al-Shafi`i was in Baghdad, he would visit the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa, greet him, and then ask Allah for the fulfillment of his need through his means."

Two schools of legal thought or madhahib are actually attributed to al-Shafi`i, englobing his writings and legal opinions (fatâwa). These two schools are known in the terminology of jurists as "The Old" (al-qadîm) and "The New" (al-jadîd), corresponding respectively to his stays in Iraq and Egypt. The most prominent transmitters of the New among al-Shafi`i’s students are al-Buwayti, al-Muzani, al-Rabi` al-Muradi, and al-Bulqini, in Kitab al-Umm ("The Motherbook"). The most prominent transmitters of the Old are Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Karabisi, al-Za`farani, and Abu Thawr, in Kitab al-Hujja ("Book of the Proof"). What is presently known as the Shafi`i position refers to the New except in approximately twenty-two questions, in which Shafi`i scholars and muftis have retained the positions of the Old.

Al-Subki related that the Shafi`i scholars considered al-Rabi`s narration from al-Shafi`i sounder from the viewpoint of transmission, while they considered al-Muzani’s sounder from the viewpoint of fiqh, although both were established hadith masters. Al-Shafi`i said to al-Rabi`: "How I love you!" and another time: "O Rabi`! If I could feed you the Science I would feed it to you." Al-Qaffal al-Shashi in his Fatawa relates that al-Rabi` was slow in his understanding, and that al-Shafi`i once repeated an explanation forty times for him in a gathering, yet he did not understand it then got up and left in embarrassment. Later, al-Shafi`i called him in private and resumed explaining it to him until he understood. This shows the accuracy of Ibn Rahuyah’s statement: "I consider the best part of me the time when I fully understand al-Shafi`i’s discourse."

Al-Shafi`i took the verse "Or if you have touched women" (4:43) literally, and considered that contact between the sexes, even accidental, nullified ablution. This is also the position of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Umar, al-Sha`bi, al-Nakha`i, al-Zuhri, and al-Awza`i, which is confirmed by Ibn `Umar’s report: "Whoever kisses or touches his wife with his hand must renew his wudû’." It is authentic and related in numerous places including Malik's Muwatta’. Al-Shafi`i said: "Something similar has reached us from Ibn Mas`ud." They all read the above verse literally, without interpreting "touch" to mean "sexual intercourse" as do the Hanafis, or "touch with pleasure" as do the Malikis.

A major contribution of al-Shafi`i in the foundations of the Law was his division of innovation (al-bid`a) into good and bad on the basis of `Umar’s words about the tarâwih or congregational supererogatory night prayers in the month of Ramadan: "What a fine innovation this is!" Harmala narrated that al-Shafi`i concluded: "Therefore, whatever innovation conforms to the Sunna is approved (mahmûd), and whatever opposes it is abominable (madhmûm)." Agreement formed in the Four Schools around his division, as illustrated by the endorsement of some major later authorities in each school. Among the Hanafis: Ibn `Abidin, al-Turkumani, and al-Tahanawi; among the Malikis: al-Turtushi, Ibn al-Hajj, and al-Shatibi; consensus among the Shafi`is; and reluctant acceptance among later Hanbalis, who altered al-Shafi`i’s terminology to read "lexical innovation" (bid`a lughawiyya) and "legal innovation" (bid`a shar`iyya), respectively û although inaccurately û matching Shafi`i’s "approved" and "abominable".

Among al-Shafi`i’s other notable positions: Al-Muzani said: "I never saw any of the scholars make something obligatory on behalf of the Prophet as much as al-Shafi`i in his books, and this was due to his high remembrance of the Prophet. He said in the Old School: ‘Supplication ends with the invocation of blessings on the Prophet, and its end is but by means of it.’" Al-Karabisi said: "I heard al-Shafi`i say that he disliked for someone to say ‘the Messenger’ (al-Rasûl), but that he should say ‘Allah’s Messenger’ (Rasûl Allah) out of veneration (ta`zîm) for him."

Among al-Shafi`i’s other sayings:

"The study of hadith is better than supererogatory prayer, and the pursuit of knowledge is better than supererogatory prayer." Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Kitab al-`Ilm listed the many hadiths of the Prophet on the superior merit of knowledge. However, al-Shafi`i by this saying meant the essence and purpose of knowledge, not knowledge for its own sake which leads to Satanic pride. The latter is widely available while true knowledge is the knowledge that leads to godwariness (taqwa). This is confirmed by al-Shafi`i’s saying: "Knowledge is what benefits. Knowledge is not what one has memorized." This is a corrective for those content to define knowledge as "the knowledge of the proof" (ma`rifa al-dalîl). "He gives wisdom to whomever He will, and whoever receives wisdom receives immense good." (2:269)

"You [the scholars of hadith] are the pharmacists but we [the jurists] are the physicians." This was explained by `Ali al-Qari in his book Mu`taqad Abi Hanifa al-Imam (p. 42): "The early scholars said: The hadith scholar without knowledge of fiqh is like a seller of drugs who is no physician: he has them but he does not know what to do with them; and the fiqh scholar without knowledge of hadith is like a physician without drugs: he knows what constitutes a remedy, but does not dispose of it."

"Malik was asked about kalâm and [the Science of] Oneness (tawhîd) and he said: ‘It is inconceivable that the Prophet should teach his Community hygiene and not teach them about Oneness! And Oneness is exactly what the Prophet said: ‘I was ordered to fight people until they say ‘There is no God but Allah.’ So, whatever makes blood and property untouchable û that is the reality of Oneness (haqîqa al-tawhîd).’" This is a proof from the Salaf against those who, in later times, innovated sub-divisions for tawhîd or legislated that their own understanding of Allah’s Attributes was a precondition for the declaration of Oneness. Al-Halimi said: "In this hadith there is explicit proof that that declaration (lâ ilâha illallâh) suffices to extirpate oneself from all the different kinds of disbelief in Allah Almighty."

"Satiation weighs down the body, hardens the heart, does away with sagacity, brings on sleep, and weakens one from worship." This is similar to the definition of tasawwuf as "hunger" (al-jû`) given by some of the early masters, who acquired hunger as a permanent attribute and were called "hungerers" (jû`iyyûn). A notable example is al-Qasim ibn `Uthman al-`Abdi al-Dimashqi al-Ju`i (d. 248), whom al-Dhahabi describes as "the Imam, the exemplar, the wali, the muhaddith, the shaykh of the Sufis and the friend of Ahmad ibn al-Hawari."

"I never swore by Allah - neither truthfully nor deceptively." This is similar to the saying of the Sufi master Sahl ibn `Abd Allah al-Tustari narrated by al-Dhahabi: "Among the manners of the truthful saints (al-siddîqîn) is that they never swear by Allah, nor commit backbiting, nor does backbiting take place around them, nor do they eat to satiation, if they promise they are true to their word, and they never speak in jest."

Al-Buwayti asked: "Should I pray behind the Rafidi?" Al-Shafi`i said: "Do not pray behind the Rafidi, nor behind the Qadari, nor behind the Murji’." Al-Buwayti said: "Define them for us." He replied: "Whoever says ‘Belief consists only in speech’ is a Murji’, and whoever says ‘Abu Bakr and `Umar are not Imams’ is a Rafidi, and whoever attributes destiny to himself is a Qadari."

Abu Hatim narrated from Harmala that al-Shafi`i said: "The Caliphs (al-khulafâ’) are five: Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, `Ali, and `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz." In his Diwan he named them "leaders of their people, by whose guidance one obtains guidance," and declaimed of the Family of the Prophet:

The Family of the Prophet are my intermediary to him! (wasîlatî)

Through them I hope to be given my record with the right hand.

and:

O Family of Allah’s Messenger! To love you is an obligation

Which Allah ordained and revealed in the Qur’an.

It is enough proof of your immense glory that

Whoever invokes not blessings upon you, his prayer is invalid.

Ibn Hajar said that the first to write a biography of al-Shafi`i was Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 275). Al-Nawawi in Tahdhib al-Asma’ wa al-Lughat (1:44) mentioned that the best biography of al-Shafi`i was al-Bayhaqi’s for its sound chains of transmission. Ibn Hajar summarized it and added to it al-Shafi`i’s Musnad in his Tawali al-Ta’sis fi Ma`ali Ibn Idris.

In the introduction of his compendium of Shafi`i fiqh entitled al-Majmu` al-Nawawi mentions that al-Shafi`i used a walking stick for which he was asked: "Why do you carry a stick when you are neither old nor ailing?" He replied: "To remember I am only a traveller in this world."

Main sources: al-Shafi`i, Diwan; Abu Nu`aym, Hilya al-Awliya’ 9:71-172 #442; al-Nawawi, Tahdhib al-Asma’ wa al-Lughat 1:44-67 #2; al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ 8:377-423 #1539, 10:79, 10:649; al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra 2:133-134; Ibn Hajar, Tawali al-Ta’sis p. 3-157.

Imam Malik rah.

Part - 2 / Part - 3  / Part - 4 / Part - 5 / Part - 6

Imam Malik bin Anas bin Malik bin Abi Aamir bin ‘Amr bin al-Harith bin Ainmaan (Uthmaan) bin Khuthail. (Al-Asbahee, a royal tribe branch of Himyar in Yemen) Imam Suyooti rah. says that Imam Malik’s lineage goes to Ya’rab bin Yashjab bin Qahtaan. Imam Malik mother name was ‘Aaliyah bint Shareek bin ‘Abdur Rahman al-Azdiyah.

According to Hafiz Zhahabi, Sam’aani ibn Farhoon, and others, Imam Malik was born in the year 93 A.H. due to the report of Yahya bin Bukair one of the elder students of the Imaam. Others have said he was born in 95 A.H. and Yaf’ee reports in Tabaqaatul-Fuqaha, 94 A.H. 

A great number of scholars and muhadditheen have spoken and referred to Imam Malik rah. great knowledge and literary works. Amongst his various literary compilations ‘ kitaabul Mu’atta’ is the most eminent. Imam Shafii rah. has stated regarding ‘Kitaabul Mu’atta’: "On the face of the earth there is no kitaab more authentic than Mu’atta."

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Imam Malik

by Dr. G.F. Haddad

Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn `Amr, al-Imam, Abu `Abd Allah al-Humyari al-Asbahi al-Madani (93-179), the Shaykh of Islam, Proof of the Community, Imam of the Abode of Emigration, and Knowledgeable Scholar of Madina predicted by the Prophet. The second of the four major mujtahid imams, whose school filled North Africa, al-Andalus, much of Egypt, and some of al-Sham, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Khurasan. He is the author of al-Muwatta’ ("The Approved"), formed of the sound narrations of the Prophet from the people of the Hijaz together with the sayings of the Companions, the Followers, and those after them. It was hailed by al-Shafi`i as the soundest book on earth after the Qur’an, nearest book on earth to the Qur’an, most correct book on earth after the Qur’an, and most beneficial book on earth after the Qur’an according to four separate narrations. Malik said: "I showed my book to seventy jurists of Madina, and every single one of them approved me for it (kulluhum wâta’ani `alayh), so I named it ‘The Approved’." Imam al-Bukhari said that the soundest of all chains of transmission was "Malik, from Nafi`, from Ibn `Umar." The scholars of hadith call it the Golden Chain, and there are eighty narrations with this chain in the Muwatta’.

Among those Malik narrated from in the Muwatta’: Ayyub al-Sakhtyani, Ja`far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq), Zayd ibn Aslam, `Ata’ al-Khurasani, al-Zuhri, Ibn al-Munkadir, `Alqama, Nafi` the freedman of Ibn `Umar, and others. Among those who narrated from Malik: al-Zuhri, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Hanifa, al-Awza`i, Sufyan al-Thawri, Shu`ba, Ibn al-Mubarak, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, `Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, Waki`, Yahya al-Qattan, al-Shafi`i, Ibn Wahb, Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi, `Abd al-Razzaq, and many others.

The Prophet said: "Very soon will people beat the flanks of camels in search of knowledge, and they shall find no-one more knowledgeable than the knowledgeable scholar of Madina." Al-Tirmidhi, al-Qadi `Iyad, Dhahabi and others relate from Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, `Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn Mahdi, Ibn Ma`in, Dhu’ayb ibn `Imama, Ibn al-Madini, and others that they considered that scholar to be Malik ibn Anas. It is also related from Ibn `Uyayna that he later considered it to be `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-`Aziz al-`Umari. Al-Dhahabi said of the latter: "He possessed knowledge and good fiqh, spoke the truth fearlessly, ordered good, and remained aloof from society. He used to press Malik in private to renounce the world and seclude himself."

Abu Mus`ab said: "Malik did not pray in congregation [in the Prophet’s mosque] for twenty-five years. He was asked: ‘What is preventing you?’ He said: ‘Lest I see something reprehensible and be obligated to change it.’" Another narration from Abu Mus`ab states: "After Malik left the [Prophet’s] mosque he used to pray in his house with a congregation that followed him, and he prayed the Jum`a prayer alone in his house." Ibn Sa`d narrates from Muhammad ibn `Umar: "Malik used to come to the Mosque and pray the prayers and the Jum`a, as well as the funeral prayers. He used to visit the sick and sit in the Mosque where his companions would came and saw him. Then he quit sitting there, instead he would pray and leave, and he quit attending the funeral prayers. Then he quit everything, neither attending the prayers nor the Jum`a in the mosque. Nor would he visit anyone who was sick or other than that. The people bore with it, for they were extremely fond of him and respected him too much. This lasted until he died. If asked about it, he said: ‘Not everyone can mention his excuse.’"

Ibn `Abd al-Barr said that Malik was the first who compiled a book formed exclusively of sound narrations. Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi said: "The Muwatta’ is the first foundation and the core, while al-Bukhari’s book is the second foundation in this respect. Upon these two all the rest have built, such as Muslim and al-Tirmidhi." Shah Wali Allah said something similar and added that it is the principal authority of all four Schools of Law, which stand in relation to it like the commentary stands in relation to the main text. Malik composed it in the course of forty years, having started with ten thousand narrations until he reduced them to their present number of under 2,000.

Al-Suyuti said: "There is no mursal narration in the Muwatta’ except it has one or several strengthening proofs (`âdid aw `awâdid)." Ibn `Abd al-Barr composed a book in which he listed all the narrations of the Muwatta’ that are either mursal, or munqati`, or mu`dal, and he provided complete sound chains for all of them except four: "In truth I do not forget, but I am made to forget so that I shall start a Sunna." This is the second hadith in the book of Sahw.

"The Prophet was shown the lifespans of people before his time, or whatever Allah willed of it, and seemed alarmed that the lifespans of his Community were too brief to reach the amount of deeds reached by previous communities who lived long. Whereupon Allah gave him the Most Precious Night (layla al-qadr), which is better than a thousand months." This is the fifteenth hadith in the book of I`tikaf.

Mu`adh ibn Jabal said: "The last instruction I received from Allah’s Messenger when I put my foot in the stirrup was: ‘Beautify your manners for the people, O Mu`adh ibn Jabal!’" This is the first hadith of the book of Husn al-Khuluq.

"If clouds appear towards the sea then go northwards, that is the mark of heavyish rain." This is the fifth hadith of the book of Istisqa’.

Among the hadith masters, al-`Iraqi and his student Ibn Hajar agreed with Ibn `Abd al-Barr that the above four hadiths have no chain, but others follow a different view: Shaykh Muhammad al-Shinqiti mentioned in his Dalil al-Salik ila Muwatta’ al-Imam Malik (p. 14) that Shaykh Salih al-Fulani al-`Umari al-Madani said: "Ibn al-Salah provided complete chains for the four hadiths in question in an independent epistle which I have in my possession, written in his own hand." Shaykh Ahmad Shakir said: "But al-Shinqiti did not mention what these chains were, and so the scholars cannot judge on the question."

Al-Zurqani counted as sixty-nine the number of those who narrated the Muwatta’ directly from Malik, geographically spread as follows:

- Seventeen in Madina, among them Abu Mus`ab Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Zuhri, whose version has received a recent edition;

- Two in Mecca, among them al-Shafi`i;

- Ten in Egypt, among them `Abd Allah ibn Wahb, `Abd Allah ibn Yusuf al-Tinnisi al-Dimashqi, whose narration al-Bukhari chose, and Dhu al-Nun al-Misri;

- Twenty-seven in Iraq, among them `Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, whose narration Ahmad ibn Hanbal chose, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi al-Hanzali al-Naysaburi, whose narration Muslim chose, and Abu Hanifa’s student Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, whose version has been published but greatly differs from the others and also contains other than what is narrated from Malik, so that it became known as Muwatta’ Muhammad;

- Thirteen in al-Andalus, among them the jurist Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi "the Sage of al-Andalus" û thus nicknamed by Malik himself û whose version is the most commonly used today and is the version meant by the term "Malik’s Muwatta’." He is mainly responsible for the spread of the Maliki School in al-Andalus.

- Two from al-Qayrawan;

- Two from Tunis;

- Seven from al-Sham.

Imam Malik is the connection of the entire Islamic Community to the knowledge of the Sunna as it was preserved by the scholars of the Prophet’s city, al-Madina. This reference-point of his school of jurisprudence is observed time and again in the Muwatta’ with the phrase: "And this is what I have found (or seen) the people of knowledge practicing." He was keenly aware of his mission as both the transmitter and the elucidator of the Sunna. This is characteristic of his students’ praise of him, beginning with al-Shafi`i’s famous sayings: "No-one constitutes as great a favor to me in Allah’s Religion as Malik" and "When the scholars of knowledge are mentioned, Malik is the guiding star." `Abd Allah ibn Wahb said: "Every memorizer of hadith that does not have an Imam in fiqh is misguided (dâll), and if Allah had not rescued us with Malik and al-Layth (ibn Sa`d), I would have been misguided." Abu Mus`ab recounts the following story:

I went in to see Malik ibn Anas. He said to me: "Look under my place of prayer or prayer-mat and see what is there." I looked and found a certain writing. He said: "Read it." It contained the account of a dream which one of his brothers had seen and which concerned him. Malik recited it [from memory]: "I saw the Prophet in my sleep. He was in his mosque and the people were gathered around him, and he said: ‘I have hidden for you under my pulpit (minbar) something good – or: knowledge – and I have ordered Malik to distribute it to the people.’" Then Malik wept, so I got up and left him.

The caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur had forbidden Malik to narrate the hadith: "The divorce of the coerced does not take effect" (laysa `ala mustakrahin / li mukrahin talâq). Then a spy came to Malik and asked him about the issue, whereupon Malik narrated the hadith in front of everyone. He was seized and lashed until his shoulder was dislocated and he passed out. When he came to, he said: "He [al-Mansur] is absolved of my lashing." When asked why he had absolved him, Malik replied: "I feared to meet the Prophet after being the cause for the perdition of one of his relatives." Ibrahim ibn Hammad said he saw Malik being carried up and walking away, carrying one of his hands with the other. Then they shaved his face and he was mounted on a camel and paraded. He was ordered to deprecate himself aloud, whereupon he said: "Whoever knows me, knows me; whoever does not know me, my name is Malik ibn Anas, and I say: The divorce of the coerced is null and void!" When news of this reached Ja`far ibn Sulayman (d. 175) the governor of Madina and cousin of al-Mansur, he said: "Bring him down, let him go."

Imam Malik held the hadith of the Prophet in such reverence that he never narrated anything nor gave a fatwa unless in a state of ritual purity. Isma`il ibn Abi Uways said: "I asked my uncle û Malik û about something. He bade me sit, made ablution, sat on the couch, and said: la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. He did not give a fatwa except he said it first." Al-Haytham said: "I heard Malik being asked forty eight questions, to thirty-two of which he replied: ‘I do not know.’" Abu Mus`ab reported that Malik said: "I did not give fatwas before seventy scholars first witnessed to my competence to do it."

Malik’s ethics, together with the states of awe and emotion which were observed on him by his entourage, were no doubt partly inherited from great shaykhs of his such as Ja`far al-Sadiq, Ibn Hurmuz, and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. He visited his shaykh Ibn Hurmuz (d. 148) every day from morning to night for a period of about eight years and recounts: "I would come to Ibn Hurmuz, whereupon he would order the servant to close the door and let down the curtain, then he would start speaking of the beginning of this Umma, and tears would stream down his beard." The Maliki shaykh Ibn Qunfudh al-Qusantini (d. 810) wrote:

It was the practice of the Pious Predecessors and the Imams of the past that whenever the Prophet was mentioned in their presence they were overwhelmed by reverence, humbleness, stillness, and dignity. Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib would turn pale whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned. Imam Malik would not mention a hadith except in a state of ritual purity. `Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr al-Siddiq would turn red and stammer whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned. As for `Amir ibn `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-`Awamm al-Asadi (one of the early Sufis), he would weep until his eyes had no tears left in them. When any hadiths were mentioned in their presence they would lower their voices. Malik said: "The Prophet’s sacredness (hurma) is in death is as his sacredness was in life."

Qutayba said: "When we went to see Malik, he would come out to us adorned, wearing kuhl on his eyes, perfumed, wearing his best clothes, sit at the head of the circle, call for palm-leaf fans, and give each one of us a fan." Muhammad ibn `Umar: "Malik’s circle was a circle of dignity and courtesy. He was a man of majestic countenance and noblity. There was no part for self-display, vain talk, or loud speech in his circle. His reader would read for all, and no-one looked into his own book, nor asked questions, out of awe before Malik and out of respect for him."

When the caliph al-Mahdi sent his sons Harun and Musa to learn from Malik, the latter would not read to them but told them: "The people of Madina read before the scholar just like children read to the teacher, and if they make a mistake, he corrects them." Similarly when Harun al-Rashid with his own two sons requested Malik to read for them, he replied: "I have stopped reading for anybody a long time ago." When Harun requested the people to leave so that he could read freely before Malik, the latter also refused and said: "If the common people are forbidden to attend because of the particulars, the latter will not profit." It is known that Malik’s way in the transmission of hadith, like Ibn al-Musayyib, `Urwa, al-Qasim, Salim, Nafi`, al-Zuhri, and others, was `ard ("reading by the student") and not samâ` ("audition from the shaykh"), although the student states by convention, in both cases: "So-and-so narrated to us."

The caliph Harun al-Rashid said to Malik after hearing his answers to certain questions he put to him: "You are, by Allah! the wisest of people and the most knowledgeable of people." Malik replied: "No, by Allah! O Leader of the Believers." He said: "Yes! But you keep it hidden. By Allah! If I live, I shall put your sayings in writing like the mushafs are put down in writing, and I shall disseminate them to the ends of the world." But Malik refused.

When one of the caliphs manifested his intention to replace the Prophet’s wooden pulpit with a pulpit of silver and jewels Malik said: "I do not consider good the hindrance of the people from access to the Prophet’s relics." (lâ ara an yuhrama al-nâsu athara rasulillah.)

Among Malik’s sayings:

From Ibn Wahb: "Knowledge Allah places wherever He wills. It does not consist in narrating a lot."

From Ibn Wahb: "The saying has reached methat none renounces the world and guards himself except he will speak wisdom."

From Ibn Wahb: "Knowledge diminishes and does not increase. Knowledge has diminished incessantly after the Prophets and the Books."

From `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Hakam: "The Companions differed in the Branches (al-furû`) and split into factions (tafarraqû), and each one of them was correct in himself."

From Ja`far ibn `Abd Allah: "We were with Malik when a man came and asked him: ‘O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is He established?’ Nothing affected Malik as much as that man’s question. He looked at the ground and started prodding it with a twig he held in his hand until he was completely soaked in sweat. Then he lifted his head and said: ‘The "how" of it is inconceivable; the "establishment" part of it is not unknown; belief in it is obligatory; asking about it is an innovation; and I believe that you are a man of innovation.’ Then he gave an order and the man was led out."

From Ibn Wahb: "We were with Malik when a man asked him: ‘O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is His establishment?’ Malik lowered his head and began to sweat profusely. Then he lifted up his head and said: ‘"The Merciful is established over the Throne" just as He described Himself. One cannot ask "how." "How" does not apply to Him. And you are an evil man, a man of innovation. Take him out!’ The man was led out."

From Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi and Malik’s shaykh Rabi`a ibn Abi `Abd al-Rahman: "We were with Malik when a man came and asked him: ‘O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is He established?’ Malik lowered his head and remained thus until he was completely soaked in sweat. Then he said: ‘The establishment is not unknown; the "how" is inconceivable; belief in it is obligatory; asking about it is an innovation; and I do not think that you are anything but an innovator.’ Then he ordered that the man be led out."

From Ma`n: "Disputation (al-jidâl) in the Religion fosters self-display, does away with the light of the heart and hardens it, and bequeaths aimless wandering."

From Ma`n and others: "There are four types of narrators one does not take from: An outright scoffer, even if he is the greatest narrator; an innovator who invites people to his innovation; someone who lies about people, even if I do not charge him with mendacity in hadith; and a righteous, honorable worshipper if he does not memorize what he narrates." Malik’s last clause refers to the two conditions sine qua non of the trustworthy narrator, who must possess not only moral uprightness (`adâla) but also accuracy in transmission (dabt). The clause elucidates the paradox current among hadith scholars whereby "No-one lies more than the righteous." 

The reason for this is that the righteous do not doubt the Muslim’s attribution of a saying to his Prophet, and so they accept it without suspicion, whereas al-Shafi`i said: "If Malik had the slightest doubt about a hadith, he discarded the entire hadith." 

Dr. Nur al-Din `Itr said: "The manner of the righteous who narrate everything indiscriminately stems from purity of heart and good opinion, and the scholars have said about such narrators: ‘Lies run off their tongue without their intending it.’" There is a fundamental difference between the latter and those who deliberately forge lies or narrate forgeries passed for hadith, and who are condemned by the Prophet’s saying: "Whoever lies about me willfully, let him take now his seat in the Fire!"

From Ibn al-Qasim: "Malik used to say: ‘Belief increases.’ He would stop short of saying that it decreases."

From Ibn Abi al-Zubayr: "I saw `Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah enter the [Prophet’s] Mosque, then take hold of the pommel of the Pulpit, after which he faced the Qibla [to pray]."

In the Muwatta’: "Shaving the moustache is an innovation." It is elsewhere related that Malik himself was tall, heavyset, imposing of stature, very fair, with white hair and beard but bald, with a huge beard and blue eyes; he "detested and condemned" shaving of the moustache, and he always wore beautiful clothes, especially white.

Narrated by Ibn Abi Zayd: "The turban was worn from the beginning of Islam and it did not cease to be worn until our time. I did not see anyone among the People of Excellence except they wore the turban, such as Yahya ibn Sa`id, Rabi`a, and Ibn Hurmuz. I would see in Rabi`a’s circle more than thirty men wearing turbans and I was one of them; Rabi`a did not put it down until the Pleiades rose and he used to say: ‘I swear that I find it increases intelligence.’ Jibril was seen in the image of (the Companion) Dihya (ibn Khalifa) al-Kalbi wearing a turban with its extremity hanging between his shoulder-blades." Ashhab said: "When Malik wore the turban he passed it under his chin and let its extremity hang behind his back, and he wore musk and other scents."

Imam Ali Zainal Abidin rah.

Al Imam Assajjad Ali Zainal Abidin Ibn Husein Ibn Ali bin Abi Thalib radiyallahu anhum wa karamallahu wajhah. Ketika Al Imam Thawus datang keMasjidil Haram disepertiga malam terakhir, mahu sholat didekat Hijr Ismail, dilihat sudah ada orang sholat disitu. Siapa yang sholat tengah malam begini yang ruku, sujud, ruku, sujud tidak habis-habis?

Ternyata setelah diperhatikan, ia adalah Imam Ali Zainal Abidin Assajjad. Dikenal Assajjad kerana ia sujud setiap malamnya sebanyak 1000 kali sujud, terkenal dengan sholat malam sebanyak 500 rakaat. Oleh sebab itu dikenal dengan Assajjad (orang yang banyak bersujud). Imam Thawus lihat terus Imam Ali Zainal Abidin. Selesai dari sholat sunnah yang demikian dahsyat dan hebatnya, ia bermunajat. Imam Thawus mendengar munajat yang lirih dari doa Al Imam Ali Zainal Abidin, ia tajamkan pendengarannya. Apa sih yang diucapkan imam ini?

Imam Ali Zainal Abidin bermunajat "Abduka bi finaaik, miskiinuka bi finaaik, faqiiruka bi finaaik, saailuka bi finaaik, (hamba ini berada di hadapan Mu Wahai Allah, simiskin dihadapan Mu, sifakir berada dihadapan Mu, si pengemis berada dihadapan Mu)". Mengemis kepada Allah, miskin di hadapan Allah, Maha Membutuhkan Anugerah dari Allah.

Demikian indahnya doa Imam Ali Zainal Abidin Assajjad. Imam Thawus mendengar, ia terus mengulang-ulang doa itu. Terus diulang oleh Imam Ali Zainal Abidin. Imam Thawus berkata tidaklah aku setelah itu, mahu berdoa dengan doa apa saja kalau diawali dengan doa Imam Ali Zainal Abidin, pasti Allah kabulkan doaku. Demikian indahnya doa dari jiwa yang suci.

Putra beliau Al Imam Muhammad Al Baqir bin Ali Zainal Abidin Assajjad ketika putranya yaitu Sayyidina Imam Jafar AshShodiq semasa kecilnya mendengar ayahnya disepertiga malam terakhir melakukan sholat yang sedemikian panjang dan lama. Imam Muhammad Al Baqir berdiri bagaikan patung lamanya tidak bergerak di dalam sholatnya, terus didalam lantunan firman-firman Allah dan didalam tasbih, ruku dan sujud.

Sedemikian lamanya sampai seakan-akan patung kerana lamanya tidak bergerak dari panjangnya menikmati bacaan sholat malamnya. Selesai sholat ia pun berdoa dengan doa yang dihafal oleh anaknya ini: "Amartaniy falam atamir, wa nahaytaniy falam anzajir, haa ana abduka bayna yadayk, mudznibun mukhthiun, falaa atadzir". Alangkah indahnya doa ini. "Kau beri aku perintah wahai Allah tapi banyak yang tidak kulakukan". Siapa yang bicara? Imam Muhammad Al Baqir (putra Imam Ali Zainal Abidin, putra Sayyidina Husein, putra Sayyidatuna Fatimah Azzahra, cucunya Rasulullah Saw).

Disebut Al Baqir kerana ia orang yang sangat luas ilmunya. Imam Malik dan Imam Abu Hanifah mengambil sanad dari Imam Muhammad Al Baqir. Demikian hadirin hadirat, ia berkata; "Banyak perintah yang Kau berikan padaku wahai Allah dan aku tidak melakukannya dan aku tidak taat. Banyak hal yang sudah Kau larang tapi masih juga ada yang kulanggar larangan Mu, inilah aku sekarang di hadapan Mu Wahai Allah, banyak dosa, banyak salah, dan aku mengaku banyak dosa dosa dan aku tidak mengelak dari dosa dosaku. Memang aku seorang pendosa". Demikian hebatnya khusyu Al Imam Muhammad Al Baqir ibn Ali Zainal Abidin Ibn Husein radiyallahu anhum.

Putranya pun demikian Imam Jafar Ashshodiq alaiha rahmatullah, beliau itu kalau sudah berdoa tidak mahu putus dari munajatnya sampai nafasnya sendiri yang kehabisan nafas. Beliau pun juga memanggil "Ya Allah..Ya Allah..Ya Allah..", sampai habis nafasnya baru berhenti. Lalu diganti Nama Allah dengan yang lainnya "Ya Rahman..Ya Rahman..", demikian malam-malam mereka.

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- Imam Ali Zainal Abidin lahir diMadinah pada tahun 38H/654M yang mana mengikut sebelah salsilah ayahnya adalah Ali bin Husain bin Ali bin Abi Thalib. Beliau merupakan cicit kepada Rasulullah s.a.w iaitu cucu kepada Syaidina Ali dan Fatima r.anha, manakala disebelah salsilah bondanya adalah berketurunan Maharaja Parsi iaitu bondanya bernama Syahrbanu, puteri kepada maharaja terakhir Sasaniyah Parsi bernama Yazdigirda. Semasa Parsi dikalahkan dan tawanan-tawanan termasuk puteri Maharaja Parsi dibawa keMadinah, Syaidina Umar r.a yang merupakan Khalifah diwaktu tersebut telah menikahkan puteri maharaja Parsi Syahrbanu yang memeluk Islam dengan Syaidina Hussein. Hasil dari pernikahan ini, maka lahirlah Ali Zainal Abidin dengan diberi juga nama julukan Ibn al-Khiyaratyn, anak dari dua terbaik iaitu diantara Quraish (Arab) dan Parsi (Ajam).

Pada tahun 61H/680M, Imam Ali Zainal Abidin telah kehilangan ayah serta abang-abangnya yang dibunuh secara kejam oleh penzalim Ibnu Zayid dan tenteranya dibawah perintah Yazid bin Muawiyah dalam peristiwa pembunuhan berdarah diKarbala.

Az Zuhri dan Ibnu Uyainah menyatakan: "Kami tidak mendapati di kalangan orang Quraisy yang lebih baik daripada Ali Zainal Abidin". Az Zuhri berkata lagi: "Aku tidak melihat seorang yang lebih faqih melainkan Sayyidina Ali Zainal Abidin". Ibnu Musayyib berkata: "Aku tidak pernah melihat seorang yang lebih wara' dari Sayyidina Ali Zainal Abidin". 

 

Pada tahun 713M, Imam Ali Zainal Abidin telah menghembuskan nafasnya dan dikebumikan di Baqi'. Kewafatan beliau dipercayai akibat diracun oleh Al Walid bin Abdul Malik. 

 

Semasa hayatnya, Imam Ali Zainal Abidin memikul bungkusan roti dibelakangnya pada waktu malam untuk disedekahkan kepada fakir miskin. Ketika memandikan jenazah beliau, mereka mendapati terdapat kesan hitam di belakangnya. Mereka bertanya: "Tanda apakah ini?" Sahabat-sahabatnya menyatakan: "Ini adalah kesan beliau memikul bungkusan gandum pada waktu malam dibelakangnya beliau untuk diagihkan kepada penduduk Madinah yang miskin." Setelah kewafatannya, didapati beliau telah menyedekahkan sebanyak 100 buah rumah.

Imam Abu Hanifa rah.

Part - 3 / Part - 4 

By Shaykh Abdur Raheem Limbada (http://www.tafseer-raheemi.com/)

Better known as `Imam-e-`Adham' (The Greatest Imam), or by his kunyah `Abu Hanifah', Nu'man ibn Thabit was born in the city of Kufa (modern day Iraq) in the year 80 A.H (689 A.D). Born into a family of tradesmen, the Imam's family were of Persian origin as well as descending from the noble Prophet's (saw) companion Salman al-Farsi (ra). Imam Abu Hanifah's father, Thabit, had met in Kufa Imam `Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) who made dua for him and his progeny, and some say that Abu Hanifah was a result of this dua.

A hadith given by al-Bukhari and Muslim states that Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated Allah's Messenger (saw) as saying:"If the Religion were at the Pleiades, even then a person from Persia would have taken hold of it, or one amongst the Persian descent would surely have found it." Abu Hurairah (ra) also narrates:"We were sitting in the company of Allah's Apostle (saw) when Surat al-Jum`a was revealed to him and when he recited amongst them, (those who were sitting there) said `Allah's Messenger?' but Allah's Apostle (saw) made no reply, until he was questioned once, twice or thrice, and there was amongst us Salman the Persian. Allah's Apostle (saw) placed his hand on Salman and then said: "Even if faith were near the Pleiades, a man from amongst these would surely find it."

Imam as-Suyuti a Shafi'i alim (rh) remarked:"It has been communicated unanimously that this hadith refers to Imam Abu Hanifah."

Kufa at the time of the Imam's birth was a great center of knowledge and learning, with many of the noble Prophet's (saw) Companions (ra) having taken residence there. Due to the presence of these venerable people who had engendered so much interest in hadith and riwayat that practically every house in Kufa had become a center of these disciples and their disciplines.

At first, Imam Abu Hanifah was not a student of knowledge. However, by coincidence, while one day passing by the house of Sha'bi (an acclaimed "Great Scholar among the Successors (rh)"), Abu Hanifah was called in by the shaykh who mistook him for a student. "Where are you going young man?" asked Sha'bi. Abu Hanifah named the merchant he was going to see. "I meant to ask," asked Sha'bi, "Whose classes you attend?" "Nobody's," replied the Imam regretfully. "I see signs of intelligence in you," began Sha'bi,"you should sit in the company of learned men." 

It was after this encounter that the young Imam began his quest for knowledge. Imam Abu Hanifah acquired knowledge from over four thousand people. His teachers included many prestigious men of the time whose sanad went back to a number of Companions (ra). He himself was blessed with the meeting of the Companions: Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah ibn Afwa and Sahl ibn Sa'ad (ra), thus gaining him the rank of being a Tabi'i (Successor to the Companions).

Amongst Imam Abu Hanifah's shayukh was Hammad ibn Sulayman, he joined his circle at the age of 22, having already become a well-known debater and studied with this shaykh until the latter's death, whereupon he took over his majlis (circle) at the age of forty. Shu'ba, a leading muhaddith who knew-by-heart two thousand traditions was also a teacher of Imam Abu Hanifah. Shu'ba was greatly attached to Imam Abu Hanifah saying: "Just as I know that the sun is bright, I know that learning and Abu Hanifah are doubles of each other."

The Imam's quest for knowledge inevitably took him to the Holy Sanctuaries, at a time when Makkah was a busy center for learning. A number of acknowledged masters of hadith, who had had access to the Prophet's (saw) Companions (ra) had established their own schools there. Of these was `Ata bin Rabah's (rh) school. `Ata was a famous Tabi'i who had associated with most of the Companions (ra) and acquired from this association a status of authority. He himself claimed to have met two hundred men who had associated with the Noble Prophet (saw). The leading Companions (ra) all acknowledged his learning. Abdullah ibn `Umar (ra), son of the Caliph `Umar (ra) often used to say:"Why do people come to me when `Ata ibn Abi Rabah is there for them to go to?" Of the other Muhaddithin of Makkah whose classes the Imam attended was `Ikrimah. He was the slave and pupil of Abdullah ibn `Abbas, who educated him with great care and attention, making him so proficient that he, during his own lifetime gave Imam Abu Hanifah the authority to exercise personal judgement and rulings. "Imam Abu Hanifah was the first to analyze Islamic jurisprudence, divide it into subjects, distinguish its issues and determine the range and criteria for analytical reasoning (qiyas)."

Al-Hafiz al-Kabir Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Harizmi wrote in his book"Musnad": `Saif al-Aimma' reports that when Imam Abu Hanifah derived a matter from the Qur'an and Hadith, he would not give the answer to the inquirer unless all of them [his students] confirmed it. One thousand of Abu Hanifah's disciples attended all his classes when he taught in the Mosque of Kufa City. Forty of them were mujtahids. When he would find an answer for a matter, he would suggest to his students who would study it together, and when they reached an agreement of it being consistent with the Qur'an and Hadith, and with the words of the Sahabah (ra), he would be delighted and say, "Al-hamdu li'llah wallahu Akbar," and all those who were present would repeat his words. Then he would tell them to write it down.

Ibn `Abd al-Barr relates in"Al-Intiqa'": `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Dawraqi said:"Ibn Ma'inn was asked about Abu Hanifah as I was listening, so he said"He is trustworthy (thiqatun), I never heard that anyone had weakened him." No less than Shu'ba wrote to him [for narrations], and ordered him to narrate hadith.' 

 

Ibn Hajar said in Kharija ibn al-Salt's notice in"Tahdhib al-Tahdhib": Ibn Abi Khaythama said:"If al-Shu'bi narrates from someone and names him, that man is trustworthy (thiqa) and his narration is used as proof (yuhtajju bi hadithihi)".

Many well-known shuyukh narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah, to name but a few: al-Thawri, ibn al-Mubarak, Hammad ibn Zayd and `Abd al-Razzaq (one of Imam al-Bukhari's shaykhs.) Al-Mizzi in"Tahdhib al-Kamal" names about one hundred names of those who narrated from Imam Abu Hanifah.

Imam as-Shafi'i (rh) is recorded to have stated:"All men of fiqh are Abu Hanifah's children" and"I would not have acquired anything of knowledge had it not been for my teacher. All men of knowledge are children of the ulema of Iraq, who were the disciples of the ulema of Kufa, and they were the disciples of Abu Hanifah."

The Hanafi madhhab, entitled after the Imam, spread far-and-wide during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Today, more than half of the Muslims on the earth perform their `ibabadah according to the Hanafi madhhab. The Hanafi school has decided court cases in the majority of Islamic lands for the greater part of Islamic history, including the `Abbasid and Ottoman periods.

Not only was Imam Abu Hanifah's extraordinary mind and knowledge something to be admired, but so too was his exemplary character and piety. Al-Dhahabi writes:"Accounts of his piety and devotion have reached a degree of tawatur (i.e., an unbroken chain of uncontradicted narrations)."

He was given the title of "The `Peg'" by some, for his continuous standing in prayer, often reciting the entire Qur'an in his nightly rakahs. He performed the Fajr prayer with the ablution made for the Isha prayers for forty years (due to him praying the whole night through). It is reported that he had recited the whole Qur'an seven thousand times in the place where he died. 

He earned his living through trade (sending goods to other places), and with the earnings he made, he met the needs of his students. He gave much to charity and every Friday he would distribute twenty gold coins to the poor for his parents' souls.

In the year 146 A.H, Abu Hanifah was sent to prison by Mansur, the leader at the time, after the Imam's refusal to state that Mansur was the rightful khalifa, as well as refusing the position of presidency of the Supreme Court in recompense. While in prison, Imam Abu Hanifah was thrashed with a stick. Mansur repented and sent the Imam money, only to be refused again. By now, Imam Abu Hanifah had become well-known and thousands flocked to meet and seek his opinion wherever he went. His imprisonment far from reduced his popularity, and Mansur realized that he would have to treat the Imam carefully, thus he allowed him to teach while still in prison. (Some report say) Mansur finally decided to do away with the great Imam and had him poisoned. Abu Hanifah, feeling the effects of the poison, bent down in prayer and died in the month of Rajab. News of the Imam's death reached far-and-wide, and thousands gathered at the prison. The city Qadi washed his body, and kept repeating:"By God, you were the greatest faqih and the most pious man of our time ..."

By the time the bathing was finished, so many people had assembled that the funeral prayer was performed attended by fifty thousand people. The Great Imam died in Baghdad in 150 A.H at the age of seventy. May Allah (swt) be pleased with him.

Malik ibn Dinar rah.

Malik ibn Dinar rah. adalah kalangan para Tabien dan salah seorang auliya yang dikenali, lahir diwaktu sahaba dimana beliau sempat bertemu dengan Anas ibn Malik r.a dan mengambil ilmu darinya. Malik ibn Dinar juga hidup hampir sezaman dengan Hasan al-Basri rah. dan pernah menjadi muridnya. Kehidupan Malik ibn Dinar yang pada permulaan jauh dari mengamalkan agama Islam, namun berubah menjadi seorang yang begitu taat dan malah meraih maqam yang tinggi dikalangan para auliya adalah contoh bagaimana Allah Taala sentiasa membuka peluang untuk hamba-hamba-Nya yang ikhlas serta kuat bermujahadah untuk mendamping-Nya.

Ibnu Al-Jauzi rah. meriwayatkan dalam Kitab At-Tawwabin (orang-orang yang bertaubat), daripada Malik ibn Dinar bahawa beliau ditanya mengenai sebab taubatnya, lalu beliau menjawab: “Dahulunya aku adalah seorang polis (dizamannya) dan aku pernah membeli seorang hamba wanita yang cantik. Dia amat sesuai bagiku. Lalu, dia melahirkan seorang anak untukku dan aku pun amat kasih padanya. Ketika mana dia mula berjalan, maka bertambahlah kasih sayangku buatnya dalam hatiku. Dia bermesra denganku dan aku pun bermesra dengannya. Setelah dia berumur 2 tahun, dia meninggal dunia dan kesedihannya itu pedih buatku.”

“Pada satu malam iaitu malam pertengahan bulan Syaaban, iaitu malam Jumaat. Aku melihat dalam mimpiku seolah-olah telah berlakunya hari kiamat. Sangkakala pun telah ditiup dan para penghuni kubur pun dibangkitkan. Lalu semua makhluk pun dihimpunkan dan aku juga bersama mereka. Maka aku pun terdengar satu pergerakan, aku memalingkan pandanganku. Tiba-tiba ianya adalah seekor ular besar berwarna hitam kebiruan. Ia telah pun membuka mulutnya dan mengejarku. Aku berlari-lari di hadapannya tergesa-gesa. Dalam perjalananku, aku berjumpa dengan seorang lelaki tua yang bersih pakaiannya serta berbau wangi. Maka aku pun memberi salam kepadanya. Dia menjawab salam kepadaku. Aku pun berkata: “Wahai lelaki tua, selamatkanlah aku dari ular ini dan semoga Allah menyelamatkanmu jua.” Lelaki itu pun menangis dan berkata: “Aku ini lemah dan ianya (ular) pula lebih kuat dariku. Berlarilah dengan segera. Semoga Allah merupakan buatmu sesuatu yang menyelamatkanmu darinya.” Lalu, aku pantas berlalu terus ke hadapan. Lalu aku pun naik ke atas satu anjung daripada anajung-anjung hari kiamat itu. Lalu aku pun melalui di tepi beberapa tingkatan api neraka dan aku hampir-hampir terjatuh ke dalamnya disebabkan pergelutanku itu. Maka satu suara menjerit: “Berundurlah kamu! Kamu bukan daripada ahlinya.” Lalu aku berasa senang dengan kata-katanya itu dan aku pun berundur. Ular itu juga kembali mengejarku. Maka aku pun kembali semula kepada orang tua itu dan aku berkata: “Wahai orang tua! Aku sudah pun memintamu supaya menyelamatkanku dari ular itu, tapi kamu tidak melakukannya.” Lalu orang tua itu pun menangis dan berkata: “Aku ini lemah. Tetapi, kamu berlarilah kepada bukit itu. Di sana terdapat tinggalan orang-orang Islam. Jikalau kamu ada tinggalan di sana, ianya dapat membantumu.” Aku pun melihat ke arah sebuah bukit yang dikelilingi oleh perak. Padanya terdapat lubang dindingnya yang menembusi di belakangnya, terdapat dua daun pintu diperbuat dari emas merah, diselangi dengan batu delima dan diliputi oleh permata. Pada setiap daun pintu terdapat tirai dari sutera. Setelah mana aku melihat ke arah bukit itu, aku pun berlari-lari ke arahnya dan ular itu masih di belakangku.

Sehinggalah aku mendekatinya, terdengar beberapa malaikat menjerit: “Angkatlah tirai, bukalah daun pintu dan perhatikanlah!, Moga-moga terdapat simpanan buat orang putus-asa ini dalam kalanganmu semua yang dapat menyelamatkannya dari musuhnya itu.” Setelah mana dibuka daun-daun pintu itu dan mereka memerhatikanku, aku dapati ramai kanak-kanak seumpama bulan-bulan. Ular itu pun mendekatiku dan aku tercengang. Beberapa orang dari kanak-kanak itu menjerit: “Dengarlah kamu semua! Kesemua kamu perhatikannya! Musuhnya telah pun menghampirinya.” Mereka itu pun datang memerhatikan sekumpulan demi sekumpulan. Tiba-tiba anak perempuanku memerhatikan aku, menangis dan berkata: “Demi Allah ini adalah ayahku!” Lalu dia pun melompat kepadaku dalam satu bekas diperbuat dari cahaya jalan seperti anak panah sehinggalah dia berada di sisiku. Dia pun menghulurkan tangan kirinya ke arah tangan kiriku. Maka aku pun berpaut kepadanya. Dia juga menghulurkan tangan kanannya ke arah ular itu sehinggalah ia melarikan diri. Kemudiannya, anakku itu meletakkan aku dan dia duduk dalam pangkuanku. Dia meletakkan tangan kanannya ke atas janggutku sambil berkata: Wahai ayahku!

“Belum sampaikah lagi masanya bagi orang-orang yang beriman, untuk khusyuk hati mereka mematuhi peringatan dan pengajaran Allah?”(Surah Al-Hadid: 16).

Lalu aku pun menangis dan berkata: “Wahai anakku! Kamu semua tahu tentang Al-Quran?” Maka dia pun berkata: “Wahai ayahku! Kami semua lebih mengetahui tentangnya berbanding kamu semua.” Aku berkata: “Beritahulah kepadaku tentang siular yang hendak membinasakanku itu.” Sianak itu menjawab: “Itulah amalan burukmu yang telah engkau menguatkannya. Ianya hendak menghumbankanmu kedalam neraka Jahannam.” Aku bertanya: “Lelaki tua yang aku berjumpa dengannya itu?” Dia menjawab: “Itulah amalan solehmu yang engkau telah melemahkannya sehingga ianya tidak lagi mampu mengalahkan amalanmu yang buruk itu.” Maka aku pun berkata: “Wahai anakku, apakah yang kamu semua lakukan dibukit ini?” Dia menjawab: “Kanak-kanak orang Islam telah tinggal didalamnya sehinggalah ke hari kiamat. Kami pula menantikan kamu semua datang kepada kami, maka kami dapat membantu kamu semua.” Malik ibn Dinar pun berkata: “Maka aku pun terjaga dalam keadaan takut dan gementar. Maka aku pun memecahkan kesemua alat-alat yang digunakan dalam menentang Allah. Aku juga telah meninggalkan kesemua itu. Aku jua telah mengikatkan taubatku dengan Allah Taala, iaitu Taubat Nasuha. Maka Allah pun menerima taubatku itu.”

Dari itu, Malik ibn Dinar telah menukar kehidupannya seratus-peratus daru kehidupan dunia kepada kehidupan yang menuju keakhirat semata-mata. Suatu hari, Harits ibn Nabhan menghadiahkannya sebuah bejana yang dibuat dari kulit. Bejana tersebut disimpan oleh Malik ibn Dinar untuk beberapa ketika, namun kemudian dipulangkannya sambil berkata: Wahai Harits, ambillah kembali bejanamu ini, ianya telah membuat hatiku sibuk. Setiap kali aku memasuki masjid, syaitan datang dan membisikkan padaku bahawa bejana ini telah dicuri. Syaitan telah membuat hatiku sibuk memikirkannya.

Malik ibn Dinar, kehidupannya amat zuhud hatta didalam rumahnya hanya terdapat kitab-kitab dan pakaiannya, tanpa perabot dan lain-lain. Suatu hari, rumahnya dimasuki pencuri dan bila Malik ibn Dinar melihatnya, bertanya: "Apakah engkau menemukan sesuatu yang dihajati?" "Tidak": jawap pencuri yang terkejut melihat Malik Ibn Dinar. Lalu Malik Ibn Dinar berkata: "Berwuduklah dan sholat 2 rakaat". Sipencuri tersebut pun melakukannya. Kemudian Malik ibn Dinar membawanya kemasjid untuk bersholat jemaah. Ketika Malik ibn Dinar ditanya siapa lelaki yang bersamanya, beliau menjawab: "Dia datang untuk mencuri tetapi dia yang kena curi (hatinya dicuri dari dunia untuk beralih kepada akhirat)".

Malik Ibn Dinar rah. meninggal pada tahun 131H / 748 M diBasrah. Semoga Allah merahmati beliau.