Whoever says that Imam Abu Hanifa didn’t follow authentic hadith is either misinformed, ignorant, or unable to comprehend his evidence.
Contents.
1. The Authentic Hadith is His Madhhab
2. He Revised His Opinions with Authentic Evidence
3. His Reliance on the Statements of the Companions
4. Unquestioning Acceptance of Sound Prophetic Hadith
5. “Upon Our Heads and Eyes”: A Pledge of Accepting Ahadith.
6. Retracting a Fatwa Upon Hearing a Hadith
7. His Eagerness to Collect Authentic Narrations
8. Ibn Taymiyyah’s Defense Against Misconceptions
9. Conclusion: Adherence to Authentic Sunnah
1. If the hadith is authentic, then that is the madhhab of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Hafidh Al-‘Iraqi said :
صح عن أبي حنيفة أنه قال: إذا صح الحديث فهو مذهبي
“It has been authentically reported from Abu Hanifa that he said: If the hadith is authentic, then that is my madhhab.”
(al-Mustakhraj ‘ala al-Mustadrak (p.15), same is said by Ibn ‘Abidin said in his Hashiyah ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (1/67), Al-Fullani Maaliki mentioned same from al-Shihnah mentioned in Nihayat al-Nihayah in Iqaz Himam Uli al-Absar (p.62) mentioned.)
2. Imam Abu Hanifa was not stubborn, he would change his opinions after finding the evidences.
قال الدوري: قَالَ أَبُو نعيم: وَسمعت زفر يَقُول : كُنَّا نَخْتَلِف إِلَى أبي حنيفَة ، ومعنا أَبُو يُوسُف وَمُحَمّد بن الْحسن ، فَكُنَّا نكتب عَنهُ ، قَالَ زفر فَقَالَ يَوْمًا أَبُو حنيفَة لأبي يُوسُف : وَيحك يَا يَعْقُوب ؛ لَا تكْتب كل مَا تسمع مني ، فَإِنِّي قد أرى الرَّأْي الْيَوْم وأتركه غَدا ، وَأرى الرَّأْي غَدا وأتركه بعد غَد “.
Al-Duri said: Abu Na‘im said: I heard Zufar say: We used to attend Abu Hanifa’s gatherings with Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, and we would write down what he said. One day Abu Hanifa said to Abu Yusuf: “Woe to you, Ya‘qub! Do not write down everything you hear from me, for I might hold an opinion today and leave it tomorrow, and I might hold an opinion tomorrow and leave it the day after.”
Narrated by al-Duri in Tarikh Ibn Ma‘in (2461), and from him al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad (15/544), Its chain is authenticated by Sh Saalih al Munajjid in Islam qa.
3. If it is not in the Book of Allah nor in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I look into the statements of his Companions.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr narrated that he said:
إذا لم يكن في كتاب الله ولا في سنة رسول الله ، نظرت في أقاويل أصحابه ، ولا أخرج عن قولهم إلى قول غيرهم ، فإذا انتهى الأمر ، أو جاء الأمر إلى ابراهيم والشعبى وابن سيرين والحسن وعطاء وسعيد بن جبير وعدد رجالا ؛ فقوم اجتهدوا ، فأجتهد كما اجتهدوا ”
If it is not in the Book of Allah nor in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I look into the statements of his Companions, and I do not go beyond their statements to the statement of others. If the matter comes to Ibrahim, al-Sha‘bi, Ibn Sirin, al-Hasan, ‘Ata’, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, and a number of men they were people who exercised ijtihad, so I exert ijtihad as they exerted ijtihad.”
al-Intiqa’ (p.143) Its chain is authentic up to Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) as per Shaykh Saalih al Munajjid in islamqa
4. If an authentic hadith with a sound chain comes from the Prophet ﷺ, we take it and do not go beyond it.
Ibn Nasr and Ibn Abd al. Barr narrated from Imam that he said:
: يقول إذا جاء الحديث ، الصحيح الإسناد ، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : أخذنا به ، ولم نَعْدُه . وإذا جاء عن الصحابة: تخيرنا ، وإن جاء عن التابعين ، زاحمناهم ، ولم نخرج عن أقوالهم “.
If an authentic hadith with a sound chain comes from the Prophet ﷺ, we take it and do not go beyond it. If it comes from the Companions, we choose from their statements. If it comes from the Tabi‘in, we contend with them, but we do not go beyond their statements.”
Ibn Nasr narrated in his Fawa’id (no. 76) and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-Intiqa’ (p.144), Its chain is authentic as per Shaykh Saalih al Munajjid
5. All the great scholars narrated that Abu Hanifa said, If it comes from the Prophet ﷺ, it is upon our heads and eyes.
Al-Bayhaqi narrated:
، من طريق مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الطَّبَرِيَّ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ نُعَيْمَ بْنَ حَمَّادٍ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا حَنِيفَةَ يَقُولُ: “إِذَا جَاءَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَعَلَى الرَّأْسِ وَالْعَيْنِ ، وَإِذَا جَاءَ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، نَخْتَارُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِمْ ، وَإِذَا جَاءَ عَنِ التَّابِعِينَ ، زَاحَمْنَاهُمْ ” انتهى.
Through Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah, who said: I heard Abu Bakr al-Tabari say: I heard Nu‘aym ibn Hammad say: I heard Ibn al-Mubarak say: I heard Abu Hanifa say:
If it comes from the Prophet ﷺ, it is upon our heads and eyes (i.e., we accept it wholeheartedly). If it comes from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, we choose from their statements. If it comes from the Tabi‘in, we contend with them.”
al-Madkhal ila al-Sunan al-Kubra (p.40)
6. When Imam Abu Hanifa left his Fatwa because of an Authentic hadith.
It is narrated by Imam Abu Awana Wazah bin Abdullah that he was in the company of Imam Abu Hanifa when a letter arrived from a judge (Qadhi). The letter contained questions regarding the circumstances under which a thief’s hand should be cut off.
Abu Hanifa said, “Write: ‘Cut off the hand. Cut off the hand.'” He even said regarding the theft of a palm tree and dates, “Write: ‘Cut off the hand.'”
I (Abu Awana) said, “Wait! The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘لا قطع في ثمر ولا كثر (There is no cutting [of the hand] for fruit or what is plucked).’ The hand should not be cut for the theft of fruit.”
Upon hearing this, Abu Hanifa said, “Cut this (my fatwa) out and write: ‘The hand should not be cut off.'”
[Source: Al-Tayuriyyat, Vol. 3, Page 971, Hadith 903. The verifiers of the book Al-Tayuriyyat state: “In this chain, Abu Al-Hasan Ad-Deebaji, Ad-Daraqutni said he is a righteous Shaykh (Shaykh Saleh) and the other narrators are trustworthy.” The verifiers further stated that this narration is evidence that the Hadith has priority over a fatwa.]7. Another true story of Imam Abu Hanifa and his love for authentic Ahadith:
It is narrated in al Jarh wa Tadil.
إبراهيم بن طهمان يقول أتيت المدينة فكتبت بها ثم قدمت الكوفة فأتيت أبا حنيفة في بيته فسلمت عليه فقال لي عمن كتبت هناك فسميت له فقال هل كتبت عن مالك بن أنس شيئا فقلت نعم فقال جئني بما كتبت عنه فأتيته به فدعا بقرطاس ودواة فجعلت أملي عليه وهو يكتب
Ibrahim bin Tahman said: “I went to Al-Madinah and collected Ahadith there. Afterwards, I came to Kufa and went to Abu Hanifa’s house. I greeted him with Salam, and he asked me, ‘From whom did you collect Ahadith there?’ I mentioned the names of my teachers to him.
He then asked, ‘Did you collect anything from Malik bin Anas?’ I replied,’Yes.’ He said,’Bring me what you have collected from him.’ So I brought it to him.He then called for paper and ink, and I began to dictate to him while he wrote [the Ahadith] down.”
[Source: Al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil 1/3 – This narration is authentic]8. Ibn Taymiyah defended him and said:
ومن ظن بأبي حنيفة أو غيره من أئمة المسلمين أنهم يتعمدون مخالفة الحديث الصحيح لقياس أو غيره فقد أخطأ عليهم وتكلم إما بظن وإما بهوى فهذا أبو حنيفة يعمل بحديث التوضي بالنبيذ في السفر مخالفة للقياس وبحديث القهقهة في الصلاة مع مخالفته للقياس لاعتقاده صحتهما وإن كان أئمة الحديث لم يصححوهما وقد بينا هذا في رسالة ” رفع الملام عن الأئمة الأعلام ” وبينا أن أحدا من أئمة الإسلام لا يخالف حديثا صحيحا بغير عذر بل لهم نحو من عشرين عذرا
“Whoever suspects that Abu Hanifah, or any other Imam of the Muslims, would intentionally contradict an authentic Hadith based on qiyas (analogical reasoning) or any other principle has wronged them and spoken either out of conjecture or personal desire.
Consider Abu Hanifah himself: he acted upon the Hadith concerning performing wudu (ablution) with nabidh [a light fermented drink] during travel, despite it contradicting qiyas. He also acted upon the Hadith about audible laughter during prayer, again contrary to qiyas, because he was convinced of their authenticity even though the leading Hadith scholars of his time did not authenticate them.
We have elaborated on this in our treatise, Raf’ al-Malam ‘an al-A’immat al-A’lam (Lifting Blame from the Eminent Imams), where we clarified that not a single Imam of Islam contradicts a sound Hadith without a valid excuse. In fact, they may have up to twenty different valid reasons for doing so. [al-Majmu` al-Fatawa, 20:304-305]
9. Conclusion.
From all the above, it becomes clear that Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) adhered strictly to the authentic Sunnah narrated by reliable transmitters, and he would not go beyond it. If there was no text in the Sunnah regarding a matter, he would choose from the statements of the Companions; and if he did not find any trace from the Companions on the matter, he would exert his own ijtihad just as the great scholars did (may Allah have mercy on them all).