Did Sayyiduna Imam Abu Hanifa write any books?

Demolishing the forts of the Ghayr Muqallideen by praising Imam e A’zam

In the auspicious time of Imam e A’zam, many Sahaba and countless Tabi’een were alive. From the many Sahaba, we know of four in particular whom Imam A’zam met: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik in Basra, Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Awfa in Kufa, Sayyiduna Suhayl ibn Sa’d Sa’idi in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and Sayyiduna Abu Tufail ibn Waasila in Makkah al-Mukarramah. He was the student of Imam Hammad and had exclusive lessons by Imam Ja’far Sadiq.

The number of non-immediate students of Imam e A’zam number approximately 100,000, all of which are erudite scholars and the majority are Mujtahids. The direct students are the likes of Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad and Imam ibn Mubarak, these names are considered by all to be some of the greatest jurists to have walked upon this earth. Imam Muhammad, one of the direct and closest students of Imam e A’zam compiled and wrote around 490 religious books himself.

The Ghayr Muqallids, who consider it incorrect to follow one of the four major Imams, degrade and insult Imam e A’zam Abu Hanifa. They occasionally bring rulings from Hanafi Fiqh and bicker that such and such a ruling is not in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah, unable to understand with the limited knowledge they possess. They speak as though they are the greatest jurists to have ever lived. They speak as though their weak intellect is greater than that of Imam e A’zam and the eminent Hanafi jurists. Their knowledge of the Qur’an, Hadith, principles of Hadith, Fiqh and principles of Fiqh are merely a drop, if that, in comparison to the vast, boundless oceans of knowledge of Imam al-A’zam. One objection they bring up again and again is that Imam e A’zam did not write any books, only his students did, which they somehow interpret as Imam Abu Hanifa having a lack of knowledge.

In the time of Imam e A’zam, it was not customary to write books on religious issues, as either they would rely upon their memory, like the companions of the Messenger of Allah did, or they would consult the Sahaba and Tabi’een who were alive in their time. The tradition of writing books to preserve the knowledge of Islam came about in the second century, doing so was not very common before then.

Imam e A’zam decided in 121 H. (29 years before his demise) that the rules of Fiqh must be written, so he gathered forty of his students who had expertise in different fields and initiated a gathering of discussing Fiqh. Imam e A’zam and his selected students would sit and discuss rulings for long periods of time, sometimes for many months on one single issue, trying to come to an agreed conclusion. When they reached an agreement, the students would write down the rulings. The books compiled within these gatherings were attributed to the students as they complied them, however they are actually the narration and rulings of Imam e A’zam discussed in the Fiqhi gatherings, so they are in fact the books of Imam e A’zam as well. These became known as ‘Kutub e Fiqh e Hanafi’. Imam e A’zam established approximately 83,000 rulings.

Some of the books of Imam e A’zam directly written by him are:

1. Al-Fiqh al-Akbar
2. Kitab al-Radd ‘ala al-Qadariyyah
3. Al-Aalim wa al-Muta’allim
4. Al-Fiqh al-Absat
5. Kitab Ikhtilaf al-Sahaba
6. Kitab al-Jami’
7. Al-Kitab al-Awsat
8. Kitab al-Sayr
9. Risalah Abu Hanifa ila ‘Uthman al-Bayti
10. Wasiyyah al-Imam Abu Hanifa fi al-Tawheed

Imam Khawarzami compiled the Masaneed (sing. Musnad, compilations of Hadith organised according to narrators) of Imam e A’zam into one book entitled, ‘Jami’ al-Masaneed’. In the introduction of this compilation, he writes that the reason for compiling these Masaneed was because some ignoramus individuals from Syria held that Imam e A’zam did not have a grasp of Hadith, and that this is the reason why he has no works in the field of Hadith. The compiler was surprised by this so he compiled all the Masaneed that the scholars had compiled of the Ahadith narrated by Imam e A’zam. There are 13 Masaneed in this compilation, which were compiled by great scholars who gathered Ahadith that the Imam narrated from companions and Ahadith narrated by numerous great Muhadditheen from the Imam. Allamah Kawthari Misri states there were 21 Masaneed of Imam e A’zam [Taneeb al-Khateeb].

Besides these compilations and writings, some of the books of Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf also are included within the works of Imam e A’zam, as they were dictated or the teachings of Imam e A’zam, such as Kitaab al-Aathaar narrated by Imaam Muhammad al-Shaybani and Kitab al-Aathaar narrated by Imaam Abu Yusuf.

“I have not seen anyone more distinguished than Imam Abu Hanifa in knowledge, jurisprudence and piety.” – Allamah Yusuf Abdul Hadi Hanbali

[Refer to the biographies written on the life and works of Imam e A’zam: Khayrat al-Hisan fi Tarjamati Abi Hanifa by Allamah ibn Hajr Makki, Intisar al-Imam by Allamah ibn Jawzi, Tabyeed al-Saheefah fil al-Manaqib Abi Hanifa by Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti and Tanweer al-Saheefah fi Tarjamati Abi Hanifa by Allamah Yusuf ibn Abdul Hadi Hanbali. Also refer to Tarikh e Baghdad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi.]

By Muhammad Kalim (Preston, UK)