Abū Ḥanīfa

Imam Abu Hanifa (Arabic: أبو حنيفة, DMG Imam Abu Hanifa, whose full name Abu Hanifah an- Nu ʿ mān ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ibn Marzuban al - Kufi, * 699 in Kufa, † 767 ) was an Islamic theologian and legal scholar, and in Kufa Baghdad had and after the school of law ( madhhab ) is named the Hanafi. The Islamic doxography expects him to the direction of theological teaching of Murdschi ʾ ites. From his followers Imam Abu Hanifa as the "the greatest Imam " (al- Imam al -A ʿ zam ) is worshiped.

Origin

Imam Abu Hanifa was of Persian origin. Most sources report that his ancestors came from Kabul. His grandfather Zuta to have been brought as a slave from Kabul ( Afghanistan) to Kufa in Iraq today and released there. According to other sources is Anbar, a former Mesopotamian city on the left bank of the Euphrates, the home of his great-grandfather, who had served there as the Sassanian military governor.

Life

He was born in Kufa, one of the former centers of Islamic learning, was born and spent most of his life. Of his life little is known. He was a wealthy man and lived on the profits of its trade with clothing materials. He owned a large building with workers and artisans, in which he could be prepared Khazz, a kind of silk. His life circumstances allowed him independence, so that he could force his focus on the science. In his lifetime, the change of power between the Umayyads and Abbasids fell. In later biographies is reported that both the governors of the Umayyads in Kufa and nearly two decades later, the Caliph al - Mansur Abu Hanifa tried to force through beatings to assume a judgeship. Abu Hanifa visited while traveling the Hejaz and pilgrimage to Mecca. The last years of the Umayyad reign he spent as a political refugee there as well. After the change of Abu Hanifa returned to Kufa. Many years later he was taken to Baghdad and imprisoned there. Abu Hanifa died in prison. Some sources report that the Caliph had poisoned him there.

At the beginning of his work to Imam Abu Hanifa devoted to theology. In this field, he soon gained notoriety and reputation in Kufa and gathered their own circle of students around. He was known for his special doctrine of the faith. How Abū l -Hasan al - Ash ʿ arī handed, he claimed that faith is knowledge (ma ʿ rifa ) of and commitment ( Iqrar ) to God as well as knowledge of the prophets and commitment to what has come from God (ie, the Revelation) - summarily, without explanation in detail.

Later he devoted himself with Islamic law. His mentor was Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, after Abu Hanifa named his eldest son. He should have heard lectures from Ata ibn Abi Rabah in Mecca. In addition, he used the acquaintance of the 5th and 6th Imam of Twelver Shi'ism, Muhammad al- Baqir and Ja'far as- Sadiq, who also founded the dschafaritischen law school.

Among his most important students count Abu Yusuf, Asch - Schaybani and after these Zufar ibn Al- Hudhayl ​​. His thinking is considered theoretically stringent and partly brave in his innovations, but sometimes something practical too little.

Works

Abu Hanifa himself wrote no legal works, his teaching in this area has survived only through the writings of his students, such as Abu Yusuf in Ichtilaf Abi Hanifa wa -bn Abi Layla and al - Radd ala Siyar al - Awza'i and Asch - Schaybani in his book al - Hujaj.

The only authentic document of Abu Hanifa is a letter of theological content, which he sent to Basra to the cloth merchant ʿ Uthmān al - Batti (d. 760). In it, he defended himself against the accusation that he was a Murdschi ʾ it, and reiterated his alleged the doctrine that a Muslim who commits a sin, still as a believer (mu ʾ min) was to be considered. Imam Abu Hanifa said that the pejorative designation Murdschi ʾ a 'm used wrongly for a group of people who in reality honorable and orthodox people are. With regard to the sinner he took the view that he is a mu ʾ min Dall was " a believer who has gone astray ," but in no case a Kafir. The Ahl al- Qibla, ie the Muslims, he said, are all to be regarded as a believer.

Another well-known font ( fiqh al - Absat ) contains answers to his student Abu Hanifa Abu Muti 'al- Balchi theological questions.

Finally, there are two texts with lists of beliefs, under the title of al - Fiqh al - Akbar ("The greatest insight" ) circulate and Imam Abu Hanifa attributed. The term al - Fiqh al - Akbar was in Hanafi circles generally to refer to theology ( ʿ Ilm al - Kalam ) is used in the sense of knowledge of beliefs. Conversely, it was believed, that what is usually called fiqh, only the " minor insight ( al - fiqh al - Asgar ) is. 's Research Fiqh Akbar II and Fiqh akbar III is between Fiqh Akbar I, distinguished. Fiqh Akbar I is been filtered out by Arent Jan Wensinck of a comment that is dated by Josef van Ess to the second half of the 10th century, and consists of a list of ten precepts. fiqh akbar II is a much longer script, which according to Wensincks count 29 articles of Faith fiqh is enclosed and also dated by William Montgomery Watt in the late 10th century. akbar III finally has nothing to do with Imam Abu Hanifa, but ash- Shafi ʿ ī is attributed, however, is textually dependent on fiqh akbar III.

Mausoleum

Sharaf al -Mulk, the Hanafi Finance ( mustawfī ) Alp Arslan, built in 1066 over the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa in Baghdad district of al- Rusafa a Kuppelmausoleum along with a madrassa. He wanted to give the Hanafi Madhhab a cultural center and a central college. The district of Imam Abu Hanifa mausoleum is today still referred to by his nickname of al - Imam al -A ʿ zam as al -A ʿ zamīya. The Abu- Hanifa mosque in Baghdad is named after him.