Lives Of The Four Imams Of Sunni Law

Lives Of The Four Imams Of Sunni Law

Dr. Maulana F R. Ansari. (R.A.)

Part I

IMAM ABU HANIFA

 

Imam Abu Hanifa, the greatest authority on Muslim cannon law, was born in Kufa in 80 A.H. (699 A.D.) during the reign of Abdul Malik bin Merwan. He saw reign of ten Umayyad Caliphs, including Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz who ruled when the lmam was eighteen years of age, as also the reign of two Abbaside Caliphs, Saffah and Mansoor.

 

EDUCATION

 

The Imam acquired education quite late in life, yet he rose to be one of the greatest figures of Muslim history. In the early days of Islam, literature, fiqh and Hadith were the only subjects taught. But by the time of the Imam philosophy had entered the sphere of religious doctrines and had created the science of  “Kalam” (dialectics). Imam Abu Hanifa, who by nature, was gifted with a keen sense of reasoning and exceptional intelligence, acquired great fame in the critical exposition and Interpretation of doctrines. As a student, the Imam had the opportunity of studying under Hammad, who was highly reputed for his learnings. Madina and Makkah being the greatest centres of Hadith in those days. The Imam visited them also to complete his studies.  Here he sat at the feet of Ata bin Abi Rabah, Akramah, Imam Moosa Kazim and Imam Jafer Sadiq.

 

CHARACTER

 

The principle occupation of Imam Abu Hanifa was commerce and he carried on a flourishing trade in textile goods. His exceptional success in trade was largely due to his absolute honesty. He was so much trusted by all that even non-Muslims deposited their wealth with him.

There are numerous stories of his extreme honesty recorded in history. For instance, once he sent cotton goods to his partner in trade called Hafs bin Abdur Rahman with the word that certain pieces had defects to the customers and disposed of all pieces of cloth. Imam Abu Hanifa felt extremely sorry when he came to know of the matter and gave the entire sum amounting to thirty thousand dirhams in charity

Contrary to the general tendency, of the wealthy class, Imam Abu Hanifa possessed a benevolent heart. It has been stated by the celebrated mystic-saint, Hazrat Shaqiq Balkhi, that once he accompanied Imam Abu Hanifa. They sighted a person who suddenly turned to another lane on seeing them. Thereupon Imam Abu Hanifa called him out and enquired, the man halted and reaching him, the Imam found him to be greatly perplexed.  The person said that he could not face the Imam as he owed him ten thousand dirhams. The Imam was very much touched with the affair and told the debtor that he need not bother for paying it back to him. The Imam was not content with that and apologised to the borrower for unwittingly putting him to mental inconvenience.

The Imam was very popular among the masses who extremely loved and respected him. This popularity of the Imam was a head-ache to the Omayyad rulers who hired goondas in order to tease and defame him. Once such a hired rascal came in the social gathering of the Imam and began to criticise and abuse him. His pupils wanted to oust him forcibly but the Imam prevented them from harming him. When the Imam started for his house, the hired goonda followed him and went on abusing till he arrived at the door of Imam's house. The Imam halted at the gate and addressed him, "Brother, I am entering my house where you will not be able to go. Please abuse me to your hearts' content here.

The Imam possessed all those human virtues and qualities which make an exemplary character. The powerful rulers of the Omayyad and Abbasi dynasties tried to win his favour, but he always declined active association with corrupt and tyrannical administrators. Mansoor, the Abbaside Caliph, once offered a large amount of money to the Imam, which he declined to accept saying that it was repugnant to him to accept the money of Bait-ul-Mal (public treasury) which is public property and should go to needy persons.

On another occasion when the Abbaside Caliph, Mansoor, offered him the high post of grand Qazi of his vast Empire, he bluntly replied, "Supposing a complaint is lodged against you in my court and you want that the case should be decided in your favour or else I should be thrown into a river, then rest assured that I would prefer to be drowned in the river rather that to decide against justice.” This outspoken reply of the Imam silenced the Caliph

The Imam was very punctual in keeping up his time. Often he passed the whole night in prayers and became so absorbed therein that he would forget everything else. At times he wept bitterly reading the Qur’an and that state lasted for hours.

The Imam used to explain the perplexing religious doctrines in such a simple manner that even the ordinary listeners could understand them and the most dogmatic person was convinced of his arguments.

 

TRIAL AND TEMPTATIONS

 

The time in which the Imam lived was very stormy. The tyrannies let loose by the last Omayyad rulers over the pious, virtuous and learned people of the world of Islam at last hastened their doom. In order to keep alive the freedom of speech and the right to uphold the truth in those autocratic times, people revolted under the leadership of the members of the House of the Prophet (ﷺ) and were very cruelly suppressed. In the beginning the Imam's attitude was that of simple-non-cooperation with the ruling class, but, due to his high position in the world of Islam, he was compelled later on to openly support those who wanted the dethronement of the autocratic clique. In that, no amount of trials and temptations could deter him from the right path. They rather hardened his determination all the more.

Yazid bin Umar bin Hubira was appointed Governor of Kufa during the caliphate of Mervan II. He invited the Imam to accept a respectable job in the Government which the latter refused. The Governor swore that he would have to accept the job, but the Imam stuck to his words. There upon the Imam was put behind the bars, and by the orders of the Governor, was flogged daily The device, however, failed and the Imam was released after some days. After the release, he migrated to Hejaz and stayed there for two and a half years until the Omayyad caliphate was replaced by the Abbasside caliphate.

The Imam had entertained better expectations from the Abbasside Caliphate and on the accession of Saffah , the first  Abbasside Caliph, he returned to his native town Kufa from Hejaz. But soon he was disillusioned and the Abbasside Caliphate too did not prove peaceful for him. Instead, his trials reached their climax during the reign of Mansoor, the second Abbasside Caliph, who summoned the Imam when he transferred his capital from Hashimiyah to Baghdad and offered him the post of grand Qazi (Judge). The Imam flatly refused the high job saying that he was not fit for that. The Caliph shouted out, "You are a liar". The Imam retorted: "You have verified my contention. A liar is unfit for the post of a Qazi. The Caliph became non-plussed and swore that he would have to accept the post of the grand Qazi. The Imam too swore that he would not.

 

THE END

 

Thereupon the Imam was thrown in a dark prison. It was the year 146 A.H. In the prison, he was poisoned. The moment the Imam became aware of poisoning, he prostrated in prayer before God and died while praying. The news of his death soon spread throughout Baghdad, the whole city came out to pay the last homage to their greatest Imam, More than fifty thousand people participated in his last funeral prayer. But the love of the people was not satisfied with that and, according to the historian Khatib, the funeral prayers of the Imam were offered for twenty days after his burial.

 

ACHIEVEMENTS

Imam Abu Hanifa has the distinction of being the greatest legist of Islam. Being the highest authority on Islamic cannon law, his disciples and followers came from the largest block in the Islamic world.

The Imam, in the beginning of his life, was much interested in Kalam, or exposition and logical interpretations of religious doctrines, but later on he devoted himself to the study and propagation of Hadith Qur'an and Fiqh. He founded an academy of intellectuals of which he was the President to counsel on the codification of Islamic doctrines. According to Khwarizmi, "the number of sections of Islamic law framed by him is more than 83 thousand of which 38 thousands are related to devotional matters and 45 thousand deal affairs'"

Though the Imam has not left behind any collection of Hadith, he occupied a high place as a Muhaddith. In those days, the exponents of Hadith were divided in two groups, viz. (1) those who collected the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) from various sources, and (2) those who critically examined the authenticity of those sources and interpreted them according to their knowledge. Those of the second group were called Mujtahids and Imam Abu Hanifa belonged to their ranks. As such, he became the greatest legist of Islam giving a sounder basis to Fiqh. Upto his time, too much reliance on commonsense for distinguishing between authentic and unauthentic Hadiths was resented. But the Imam followed that principle to a great extent and afterwards it was widely accepted.

AS A LEGIST

 

The greatest contribution of Imam Abu Hanifa lies in the field of Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence. He is the most outstanding legist of Islam, whose Fiqh is followed by largest section of the Muslim population of the world. The jurisprudence formulated by him and arranged by his worthy pupils is prevalent in Turkey, China. Egypt, Turkistan, Afghanistan and the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. He founded his thought primarily on the Qur'an and by analogical deduction endeavoured to make the simple Qur’anic utterances applicable to every variety of circumstances

Till the time of Imam Abu Hanifa, Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) was not arranged on a systematic basis. The Imam systematized it. He was fortunate to possess a galaxy of talented pupils, who greatly helped him in this gigantic task. Of them, Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, Yahya bin Abdul Zayeda, Hafs bin Ghiyas, Dawood al-Tai Haban and Kasim bin Mian were of outstanding ability who shared the greatness of their renowned teacher. The principle followed was that the committee of experts presided over by the Imam used to discuss each and every problem. If they arrived at an agreed decision, so far so good, otherwise the note of dissent was also recorded alongside the decision of the majority. The original collection formulated during the lifetime of the Imam is rarely found. After his death, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad enlarged and explained the Fiqh left behind him.

 

IMAM MALIK LIFE

 

Imam Malik bin Anas belonged to a respectable Arab family of Yamen which had settled in Madina. His date of birth is a disputed point, but it is generally believed that he was born in 93 A.H.

He received his education in Madina which was the highest seat of learning in the Islamic Empire in those days. The scholars from whom he acquired knowledge were Muhammad bin Shahid, Imam Jafar Sadiq and Yahya bin Said. The Imam died in 179 A.H. at the ripe age of 86.

 

AS A TEACHER

The high reputation of Imam Malik as a scholar and a teacher attracted people from four corners of the Islamic Empire. Perhaps no other teacher produced such talented scholars as he did and they all ascended the pinnacle of glory in different walks of life. Among them were Caliphs like Mansoor Mehdi, Hadi and Haroon, Imams like Abu Hanifa and Shafai and scholars like Ibn Shahab and Yahya bin Said. According to reliable historical record, the number of his students who acquired fame in life was more than thirteen hundred. The Imam left behind him more than a dozen works including his world-famous "Moatta" which is a great work on Hadith. According to Shah Waliullah, It is a collection of the most authentic traditions of the Prophet, selected after a thorough investigation of the sources. The reliability of the reports and the reporters were his chief consideration and he took pains that no incorrect report found any place in his book.

 

AS A TRADITIONIST

He occupies a unique place among the galaxy of talented scholars like Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim who are great figures in the same line. He is said to have never sat in the company of a person who was not highly learned. According to Imam Hambal, he was the only known person who was fortunate to have such a distinction. Never did he report a tradition from a person unless he had fully satisfied himself. He was held in such high esteem by later scholars that once someone enquired from Imam Hambal about a certain reporter, he replied that he must be reliable because Imam Malik had reported from him. He had to undergo great hardships in quest of knowledge. He used to say that one does not attain the heights of intellectual glory unless he is faced with poverty. Poverty is the real test of a man which awakens the hidden energies in him and enables him to surmount all difficulties.

His contemporaries and the later traditionists and other religious scholars have formed a very high opinion about his intellectual attainments. According to Abdul Rahman bin Mehdi there is no book of traditions in the world greater than of Imam Malik. Both Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal and Imam Shafa'i speak very highly of him. Besides being a great traditionist the learned Imam was a great legalist and gave Fatwas in Medina for more than 60 years.

 

CHARACTER

Imam Malik was known for his great integrity and piety. He always lived up to his convictions and no considerations of fear or favour could ever detract him from the right path. He was one of those members of the glorious society of early Islam who could not be purchased and whose undaunted courage was always the guiding star for the figures of freedom.

When the Imam attained the age of 25, the caliphate passed into the hands of the Abbasides among whom the Caliph Mansoor was the colleague of the Imam and he highly respected him for his learning. But the Imam did not side with him. People told him that they had taken an oath of loyalty for the Caliphate of Mansoor. Thereupon the Imam replied that Mansoor had forced the people to take an oath of allegiance for him, and hence it was not binding. He quoted the traditions of the Holy Prophet that a divorce by force was not legal. When Jafar, a cousin of Caliph Mansoor was posted as Governor of Medina, he compelled the inhabitants of the holy city to renew their oath of allegiance for Caliph Mansoor. He sent word to Imam Malik that he should refrain from broadcasting the Fatwa of forced divorce. But the Imam refused to oblige him in the matter and continued his work. This infuriated the Governor who ordered the award of 70 stripes  to the Imam. Thus 70 stripes were struck on his back which caused the blood to gush out. He was placed on a camel and with his blood­stained clothes on his body, he was paraded through the streets of Medina. This cruel treatment of the Governor failed lo break the spirit of the pious Imam. Caliph Mansoor, when apprised of the matter punished his Governor and apologised to the Imam.

The Imam was known for his self-control and great patience throughout the world of Islam. Once a band of Kharijis armed with swords forced their way into the mosque of Kufa where Imam Malik was offering prayers. All persons left the mosque in panic, but the Imam did not move from his place. The Imam was also well-known for maintaining the dignity of learning against wealth and political power. It was customary for the Durbar of Caliph that everyone who visited it had to kiss the hands of the Caliph, but the Imam never tolerated this humiliation. On the other hand he paid the highest respect to the learned people. Thus the greatness of Imam Malik does not lie only in his being the founder of Malik School of Law but also in being one of the greatest intellectuals of early Islam known for his piety, integrity and high learning.