The Jahmī Abū Jīfah (and his companions)
The Jahmī Abū Jīfah (and his companions)
His weakness in Hadith
Imām Muslim said in al-Kunā wa al-Asmā’ (vol. 1, p. 276): “Abu Ḥanīfah al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit, the proponent of Ra’y, is inconsistent in Ḥadīth, he does not have a major authentic Ḥadīth.”
Al-Nasāʾī said in Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matṛūkīn (p. 100): “Nuʿmān ibn Thābit, Abu Ḥanīfah, is not strong in Ḥadīth, Kūfan.”
Ibn ʿAdī said in al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl (vol. 8, p. 246): “Abu Ḥanīfah has some acceptable Ḥadīths, but the majority of what he narrates is filled with errors, distortions, and additions in both their Isnād and Matn, as well as distortions in the names of narrators. The majority of what he narrates is like this, and nothing authentic has been established from all his narrations except a dozen or so Ḥadīths.”
Ibn Saʿd said in al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā (vol. 7, p. 233): “Abu Ḥanīfah, whose name was al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit, was a Mawlā of Banī Taym Allāh ibn Thaʿlaba. He was weak in Ḥadīth. And he was a proponent of Ra’y.”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (vol. 8, p. 450): “ʿAbd al-Raḥmān narrated to us, saying: Ḥajjāj ibn Ḥamzah narrated to us, saying: ʿAbdān ibn ʿUthmān narrated to us, saying: I heard Ibn al-Mubārak say, ‘Abu Ḥanīfah was a Miskīn in Ḥadīth.’”
Ibn Ḥibbān said in al-Majrūḥīn (vol. 3, p. 63): “He was an argumentative man, outwardly pious, but Ḥadīth was not his craft. He narrated one hundred and thirty Ḥadīths, and he had no other Ḥadīths beyond these. He erred in one hundred and twenty of them, either by changing their Isnāds or altering their Matn without realizing it. Once his errors outweighed his correct (narrations), he deserved to be abandoned.”
Al-Dāraquṭnī said in his Sunan (vol. 2, p. 108):
“No one narrated this from Mūsā ibn Abī ʿĀʾishah except Abu Ḥānīfah and al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAmārah, and both are weak.”
ʿAbdullāh said in al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl (vol. 3, p. 164):
“Surayj ibn Yūnus narrated to us, saying: Abū Qaṭan narrated to us, saying: Abu Ḥānīfah narrated to us, and he was crippled in Ḥadīth.”
His Irjāʾ
Imām al-Bukhārī said in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (vol. 8, p. 81):
“Nuʾmān ibn Thābit Abu Ḥānīfah al-Kūfī, Mawlā of Banū Taym Allāh ibn Thaʿlabah… He was a Murjiʿī, they remained silent about him, his opinions, and his Ḥadīth. Abū Nuʿaym said: ‘Abu Ḥānīfah died in the year 150 AH.’”
Ibn Kathīr said:
“Whenever al-Bukhārī says about a man, ‘sakatū ʿanhu’ (they remained silent about him) or ‘fīhi nazar’, then that means he is among the lowest and most discredited individuals in his view. However, al-Bukhārī was gentle in his expressions of criticism, so let this be known.”
Imām Muslim said in al-Tamyīz (p. 199):
“As for the narration of Abū Sinān from ʿAlqamah in the text of this ḥadīth, where he said: ‘Indeed, Jibrīl (ʿAlayh al-Salām) said: “I have come to ask you about the rites of Islām,” this is a different addition that has no connection to the original wording. Rather, this wording was inserted into the narration of this ḥadīth by a small group who added to the text, such as al-Nuʾmān ibn Thābit, Saʿīd ibn Sinān, and those who follow Irjāʾ like them.
They intended by this to validate their statement regarding īmān and to deepen the doctrine of Irjāʾ. However, their statement only increased weakness and distance from the truth, as they added to the narrations of reports what was sufficient for the people of knowledge.
The evidence for what we have said about their insertion of this addition into this report is that ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʿib and Sufyān narrated it from ʿAlqamah, and they said: ‘He said: “O Messenger of Allāh, what is Islām?”’ Similarly, the narrations of the people after them, such as Sulaymān, Maṭar, Kahmas, Muḥārib, ʿUthmān,
Husayn ibn Hasan, and others among the huffāz, all report in their narrations that Jibril (‘Alayh al-Salām) said: ‘O Muḥammad, what is Islām?’ and he did not say: ‘What are the rites of Islām,’ as the Murjiʿah narrated.”
Ibn Hibbān said in al-Majrūḥīn (vol. 2, p. 407):
“From another perspective, he cannot be used as proof in Ḥadīth because he was a caller to Irjāʾ. And the caller to Bidʿah cannot be taken as evidence according to all of our imāms—I do not know of any disagreement among them on this. The imāms of Islām and the pious scholars throughout the Muslim lands and across the various regions have criticized him severely except one after another. We have already documented the reports regarding him in the book al-Tanbīḥ ʿalā al-Tamwīh.”
Ibn Qutaybah said in al-Maʿārif (vol. 1, p. 625):
The Murjiʿah:
“Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, ʿAmr ibn Murrah, Darr al-Hamdānī, Ṭalq ibn Ḥabīb, Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān, Abu Ḥanīfah, the proponent of Raʿy, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Dāwūd and his son ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, Khārijah ibn Muṣʿab, ʿAmr ibn Qays al-Māṣir, Abū Muʿāwiyah al-Ḍarīr, Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾidah, Abu Yūsuf the proponent of Raʿy, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Muḥammad ibn al-Sāʿib, and Masʿar ibn Kidām.”
Ibn ʿAdī said in al-Kāmil (vol. 2, p. 239):
“ʿAbd al-Malik narrated to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbdak narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Muqriʿ say, ‘Abu Ḥanīfah was a Murjiʿī, and he would raise his voice when saying it.’ Someone asked al-Muqriʿ: ‘Why do you narrate from him even though he was a Murjiʿī?’ He replied, ‘I sell meat along with the bones.’”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 283):
“ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Sahl ibn ʿAskar narrated to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Farrāʾ narrated to us, saying: I heard Abū Ishāq al-Fazārī say, ‘Abu Ḥanīfah was a Murjiʿī who saw the sword (against Muslim rulers).’”
Al-Fasawi said in al-Ma’rifah wa al-Tarikh (vol. 2, p. 788):
“Abū Bakr narrated to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Farrā’ narrated to me from al-Fazārī, saying: Abu Ḥānīfah said ‘The Imān of Adam and Iblīs are the same.’
‘Abdullah ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 190):
“My father narrated to me, saying: Aswad ibn ‘Āmir narrated to us, saying: I heard Abū Bakr ibn ‘Ayyāsh mention Abu Ḥānīfah and his followers, those who argue. He said: ‘Mughīrah used to say: By Allāh, besides Whom there is no deity worthy of worship, I fear more for the religion because of them than I do from the Fussāq.’ Al-A’mash also swore by Allāh, saying: ‘I do not know anyone worse than them.’ Someone asked Abū Bakr, ‘Do you mean the Murji’ah?’ He replied: ‘Yes, the Murji’ah and other than them.”
‘Abdullah ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 202):
“Abū Ma’mar narrated to me from Isḥāq ibn ‘Īsā al-Ṭabbā’, saying: ‘I asked Ḥammād ibn Zayd about Abu Ḥānīfah, and he replied: ‘He is only known for arguing about Irjā’.”
‘Abdullah ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 207):
“Ibrāhīm narrated to me, saying: Abū Tawbah narrated to us from Abū Isḥāq, saying: ‘Abu Ḥānīfah was a Murji’ī who saw the sword.’”
‘Abdullah ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 218):
“Ibrāhīm ibn Sa’id narrated to me, saying: Abū Tawbah narrated to us from Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī, saying: ‘Abu Ḥānīfah used to say: The Imān of Iblīs and the Imān of Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq are the same.’ Abū Bakr said: ‘Ya Rabb,’ and Iblīs also said: ‘Ya Rabb.’”
‘Abdullah ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 223):
“Abū al-Faḍl narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Shammās narrated to us, saying: Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Muqri’ said: ‘Wallāhi Abu Ḥānīfah was a Murji’ī and he invited me to Irjā’ and I refused him.”
And this was also narrated with different Isnāds by ‘Abdullah (vol. 1, p. 228), Ibn
Hibbān in al-Majrūḥīn (vol. 2, p. 412), Ibn ʿAdī in al-Kāmil (vol. 8, p. 239) and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr from al-Sājī in al-Intiqāʾ (p. 151).
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 226):
“Abū al-Faḍl narrated to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn narrated to me, saying: ‘Abu Ḥanīfah was a Murjiʿī and one of the callers (to Irjāʾ) and he was nothing in terms of Ḥadīth. But his companion Abu Yūsuf is fine (in Ḥadīth).’”
Even Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, who praised Abu Ḥanīfah and attempted to defend him admitted in al-Intiqāʾ (p. 149):
“Many from Ahl al-Ḥadīth found it permissible to attack Abu Ḥanīfah because… Additionally, he used to say that acts of obedience, such as prayer and other deeds are not from Imān, and all the scholars from Ahl al-Sunnah who believed that Imān consists of both speech and actions opposed his statement and made Tabdīʿ on him because of it.”
His Tajahhum
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 2, p. 546):
“My father (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal) said: ‘They asked him to repent, I think, regarding this verse (interpretation of the meaning): {Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honor, far above what they ascribe to Him} [Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt: 180]. Abu Ḥanīfah said: “This is created.””
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 3, p. 239):
“Ibn Khallād wrote to me, saying: I heard Yaḥyā (ibn Saʿīd) say: Sufyān (al-Thawrī) narrated to us, saying: The companions of Abu Ḥanīfah asked him to repent two or three times.
(And he said): Sufyān was severe against Irjāʾ and refuting them (the callers to Irjāʾ).”
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 3, p. 236):
“Abū Maʿmar narrated to me, saying: Someone asked Sharīk: ‘From what did you ask Abu Ḥanīfah to repent?’
He replied: ‘From kufr.’
‘Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 192):
“My father narrated to me, saying: Shuʿayb ibn Ḥarb narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say: “I don’t like agreeing with them even upon the truth.”
‘Abdullāh said: “I asked my father: ‘Meaning Abu Ḥanīfah?’
He (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal) said: ‘Yes, a man who was asked to repent twice in Islām.’
“Was Abu Ḥanīfah the one asked to repent?”
He (Aḥmad) said: “Yes.”
‘Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 215):
“My father narrated to me, saying: I heard Ibn ʿUyaynah say: “Abu Ḥanīfah was asked to repent twice.”
My father also narrated to me, saying: I heard Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah say: “I know that they called him to repent multiple times.”
My father said: Ibn Zayd (meaning Ḥammād) said: Sufyān was asked “from what”?
He replied: “He spoke some words, and they said: ‘This is kufr.’ So his companions saw it fit to ask him to repent, and he said: ‘I repent.’”
‘Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 210):
“Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān narrated to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us, saying: I heard Sharīk and Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ say: ‘We witnessed Abu Ḥanīfah being asked to repent from zandaqah twice.’”
‘Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 192):
“Abu Bakr ibn Khallād al-Bāhilī narrated to us, saying: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd say: Sufyān narrated to us, saying: “The companions of Abu Ḥanīfah asked him to repent twice.”
‘Abdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 194):
“Abū Bakr ibn Abī ʿAwn narrated to me, saying: Muʿādh narrated to us, saying: Sufyān narrated to us regarding Abu Ḥānīfah, saying: “His companions asked him to repent from kufr multiple times.”
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 204):
“Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Ṭabarī narrated to us, saying: I heard Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh say: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say: ‘Abu Ḥānīfah was called to repent from kufr twice.’”
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 193):
“Abū al-Faḍl al-Khurāsānī narrated to me, saying: Salamah ibn Shabīb narrated to us, saying:
Al-Firyābī narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say: ‘Abu Ḥānīfah was called to repent from the speech of the Zanādiqa multiple times.’”
Abū Zurʿah said in his Tārīkh (vol. 1, p. 506):
“Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd narrated to me, saying: I heard Abū Masher say:
Salamah ibn ʿAmr stood on the pulpit and declared: “May Allāh not have mercy on Abu Ḥānīfah, for he was the first to claim that the Qurʾān is created.”
Ibn Ḥibbān said in al-Majrūḥīn (vol. 2, p. 406):
“Among the reports we have: Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Sājī in Basra narrated to us, saying: Bundār and Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Muqaddamī narrated to us, saying: Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh al-ʿAnbarī narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say: “Abu Ḥānīfah was called to repent from kufr twice.”
Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Zuhayr narrated to us from Tustar, saying: Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Baghawī narrated to us, saying: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik narrated from Abu Yūsuf, who said: “The first person to say that the Qurʾān is created was Abu Ḥānīfah – meaning in Kūfa”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said (p. 519):
“Al-ʿUtayqī narrated to us, saying: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṭāhirī narrated to us, saying:
Abū al-Qāsim al-Baghawī narrated to us, saying: Ziyād ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, saying: Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik narrated to us, and he was among the righteous worshippers of Allāh: I said to Abū Yūsuf: “What did Abū Ḥānīfah say about the Qurʾān?”
He replied: “He used to say: The Qurʾān is created.”
I then asked: “And what about you, Abū Yūsuf?”
He said: “No.”
Abū al-Qāsim then said: “I narrated this to al-Bartī, and he replied: “And what kind of Ḥasan was he? And what kind of Ḥasan was he?”
So I said to al-Bartī: “Was this the position of Abu Ḥānīfah?”
Al-Bartī replied: “Yes, the accursed one.”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said (vol. 13, p. 421):
“Al-ʿUtayqī narrated to us, saying: Tamām ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Adnī narrated to us in Damascus, saying: Abū al-Maymūn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Bajlī narrated to us, saying: Muḍar ibn Muḥammad al-Baghdādī narrated to us, saying: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say: “Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan was a liar and a Jahmī, and Abu Ḥānīfah was a Jahmī but not a liar.”
What various scholars said about him
Al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 786):
“Sulaimān ibn Ḥarb narrated to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, saying: Ibn ʿAwn said: ‘I have been informed that among you are those who avert from the path of Allāh.’
Sulaimān ibn Ḥarb said: ‘And Abu Ḥānīfah and his companions were among those who avert from the path of Allāh.’
Abū Zurʿah said in his Tārīkh (p. 208):
“Aḥmad ibn Shabwayh narrated to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Shaqīq narrated to us, saying: It was said to Ibn al-Mubārak: “Who are the Jamāʿah?”
He replied: “Muḥammad ibn Thābit, al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, and Abū Ḥamzah al-Sukkārī.”
Aḥmad ibn Shabwayh said to us: “None of them had anything to do with Irjā’ or the views of Abu Ḥānīfah.”
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said in al-Intiqā’ (p. 150):
“Ibn al-Jārūd stated in his book al-Ḍuʿafā’ wal-Matrūkīn:
‘Nuʿmān ibn Thābit Abu Ḥānīfah – most of his Ḥadīths are erroneous, and they differed regarding his Islam.’”
Al-Jawzjānī said in Aḥwāl al-Rijāl (p. 117-120):
“95 - Abu Ḥānīfah isn’t convincing with his Ḥadīth nor with his opinion.
96 - Asad ibn ʿAmr.
97 - And Abu Yūsuf.
98 - And Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.
99 - And al-Luʾluʾī – Allāh has already gotten rid of them.”
Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī said in his book al-Ḍuʿafā’ (p. 154):
“Nuʿmān ibn Thābit Abu Ḥānīfah passed away in Baghdad in the year 150 AH. He believed the Qurʾān is created and was asked to repent for his disgusting statements multiple times. He committed many errors and mistakes.”
Ibn Qutaybah said in Taʾwīl Mukhtalif al-Ḥadīth (p. 104) after mentioning a few views attributed to Abu Ḥānīfah:
“I have never seen anyone more strict with criticizing the proponents of Ra’y, exposing their flawed arguments, and highlighting their reprehensible statements than Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ḥanzālī (Ibn Rāhwayh).
He used to say: ‘They have abandoned the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ and (instead) adhered to qiyās.’”
Ibn ʿAdī said in al-Ḍuʿafā’ (vol. 3, p. 40):
“Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: Shaykh Ibn ʿAmīrah narrated to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Bahlūl narrated to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn al-Ṭabbā’ said to me: Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah said:
“Someone who knows Allāh and has knowledge, someone who knows Allāh but doesn’t have knowledge, and someone who has knowledge but doesn’t know Allāh.”
I asked Ishāq: “Can you explain this to me?”
He replied: “Someone who knows Allāh and has knowledge is Ḥammād ibn Salamah.
Someone who knows Allāh but doesn’t have knowledge is like Abū al-Ḥajjāj the worshiper.
Someone who has knowledge but doesn’t know Allāh is Abu Yūsuf and his teacher.”
I also heard Ḥammād ibn Salamah say: “No one has been born in Islām more harmful to Islām than Abu Jīfah (meaning Abu Ḥanīfah).”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 432):
“Ibn Rizq narrated to us, saying: ‘Uthmān ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: Hanbal ibn Ishāq narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥumaydī refer to Abu Ḥanīfah as Abu Jīfah, and do so openly in the Masjid during his lessons with people around him’”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 406):
“Ibn Rizq narrated to us, saying: Ibn Sallam narrated to us, saying: al-Abār narrated to us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, saying: ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān said: Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ was asked about Abu Ḥanīfah, and he replied: ‘He was among the most ignorant people regarding what happened, and the most knowledgeable about what never happened.’”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 14, p. 259):
“Yaʿqūb al-Qummī narrated to us, saying: Al-Barqānī informed me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Adamī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Iyādī narrated to us, saying: Zakariyyā al-Sājī narrated to us, saying: ‘Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm Abu Yūsuf, the companion of Abu Ḥanīfah, was blameworthy and a Murji’.
(And al-Sājī said) Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath narrated to us, saying: ʿAbdah ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Khurasānī narrated to us, saying: A man asked Ibn al-Mubārak: “Which one is more truthful, Abu Yūsuf or Muḥammad?” Ibn al-Mubārak replied: “Do not ask which of them is more truthful. Instead, ask: which of them is more of a liar.” It was then asked: “Which one?” He replied: “Abu Yūsuf.”
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 2, p. 176): “Āḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Āḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Adamī narrated to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Iyādī narrated to me, saying: Zakariyyā al-Sājī narrated to us, saying: ‘Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan used to say the sayings of Jahm and was a Murji.’”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 281): “ʿAbdullāh ibn Āḥmad said: Abū Bakr al-Aʿyan narrated to us, saying: Manṣūr ibn Salamah Abū Salamah al-Khuzāʾī narrated to us, saying: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salamah and Shuʿbah curse Abu Ḥānīfah.”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 282): “Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā narrated to us, saying: Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī narrated to us, saying: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd say: “Abu Ḥānīfah once passed by me while I was in the market of Kūfah,” And he said to me: “This Abu Ḥānīfah is Tays al-Qiyās, and I never asked him about anything.” Yaḥyā then said: “He was my neighbor in Kūfah, but I never went near him, nor did I ever ask him about anything.” He was then asked: “How was his Ḥadīth?” He replied: “He was not a person of Ḥadīth.” And Ibn ʿAdī narrated a similar story in al-Kāmil (vol. 8, p. 237)
Abū Zurʿah al-Dimashqī said in his Tārīkh (p. 507):
“Muḥammad ibn Tawbah narrated to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn ʿĀmir narrated to us, saying: Salām ibn Abī Muṭī narrated to us, saying: We were with Ayyūb (al-Sakhtiyānī) in Makkah, when Abu Ḥānīfah approached.
Ayyūb then said: Get up and leave—do not let him infect us with his scabies.”
Al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 785):
“Abu Bakr ibn Khallād narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī narrated to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, saying: I heard Ayyūb recite while mentioning Abu Ḥānīfah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘They want to extinguish the light of Allāh with their mouths, but Allāh refuses except to complete His light (9:32).’”
Al-Marrūdhī said in Akhbār al-Shuyūkh (p. 160):
“Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥārith arrived to us, so we asked him about it, and he said: I heard Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh say:
‘I used to be a proponent of Raʾy. When I intended to go for Ḥajj, I turned to the books of ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak and extracted from them the aḥādīth that aligned with the opinion of Abu Ḥānīfah. I gathered around three hundred aḥādīth and thought to myself: “I will ask about these from the mashayikh of ʿAbdullāh, those residing in Ḥijāz and ʿIrāq.” And I assumed that no one would dare contradict Abu Ḥānīfah.
When I arrived in Baṣrah, I sat with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, and he asked me:
“Where are you from?”
I replied: “From Marw.”
So he made Taraḥum on Ibn al-Mubārak, and he had great love for him, and then he asked me:
“Do you have with you an elegy that was recited in mourning for ʿAbdullāh?”
I replied: “Yes,” and I recited for him the poetry of Abū Tamīlah Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Anṣārī:
‘The two heralds came and awakened me…
With news of a grievous calamity that struck.
I asked them: Who is it that you mourn?
They said: The father of a slave of our Lord, al-Raḥmān.
The news that came stirred my grief…
And the heart of the afflicted is always filled with sorrow.
Then my eyes overflowed with tears…
Weeping with sadness, like the heavy rainfall.
And I continued reciting the elegy until I reached the verse:
“And in the opinion of al-Nu’mān, you were insightful…”
At that moment, Ibn Mahdī interrupted me and said: “Stop, you have ruined the poem.”
I responded: “But there are still many beautiful lines after this.”
He said: “Leave them. Do you recall Ibn al-Mubārak’s narration from Abu Ḥanīfah in his praise? We know of no greater mistake from him in all of ‘Irāq except for his narration from Abu Ḥanīfah, and I wish he had never narrated from him—indeed, I would have ransomed that away with most of my wealth.”
I then asked him: “O Abū Sa’īd, why do you hold such animosity toward Abu Ḥanīfah? Was it because he engaged in Ra’y? But Mālik ibn Anas, Sufyān (al-Thawrī), and al-Awzā’ī also engaged in Ra’y”
Ibn Mahdī replied: “Do you dare compare Abu Ḥanīfah to them? The likes of Abu Ḥanīfah among the people of knowledge are nothing but a stray, lone camel grazing in a barren valley while the rest of the herd is in a fertile one!”
Isḥāq then said: “And I later looked into this and realized that the people’s stance regarding Abu Ḥanīfah was entirely different from what we were upon in Khurāsān.”
‘Abdullāh said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 190):
Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr al-Kawsāj narrated to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Fīryābī narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say: “It was said to Sawwār: ‘Why don’t you consider some of Abu Ḥanīfah’s opinions and rulings?’ He replied: ‘How can I accept from a man who was not given leniency in his religion?!’”
‘Abdullāh also said (vol. 1, p. 191):
Abū Ma’mār narrated to me, saying: Ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, saying: “We were with Raqabah when his son arrived, so we asked him: ‘Where have you been?’
He replied: ‘I was with Abu Hanifah.’
So Raqabah said: ‘Words that you did not chew, and you will return to your family without reliability.’
‘Abdullah also said (vol. 1, p. 205):
Ibrāhīm narrated to me, saying: I heard ‘Umar ibn Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth narrating from his father, saying: “I used to sit with Abu Ḥanīfah, and I would hear him give five different Fatwas to the same Mas’alah in a single day. When I saw this, I left him and turned to ḥadīth.”
‘Abdullah also said (vol. 1, p. 211):
Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rizmah narrated to me, saying: I heard my father say: “We were with Ḥammād ibn Salamah, and they mentioned a Mas’alah.
Someone said: ‘Abu Ḥanīfah says this about it.’
Ḥammād said: ‘Wallāhi, this is the statement of that māriq (heretic)’
‘Abdullah also said (vol. 1, p. 211):
Hārūn ibn Sufyān narrated to me, saying: Al-Walīd ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salamah say—whenever Abu Ḥanīfah was mentioned: “That is Abū Jīfah…”
Abū Maʿmar narrated to me from Isḥāq ibn ‘Īsā, saying: I asked Ḥammād ibn Salamah about Abu Ḥanīfah, and he replied: “That is Abū Jīfah! That is Abū Jīfah! May Allāh seal the earth with him!”
‘Abdullah also said (vol. 1, p. 224):
Abū al-Faḍl narrated to me, saying: Aswad ibn Sālim narrated to us, saying: “Whenever an athar came to us, we would throw Abu Ḥanīfah’s opinion and the opinions of his followers into the trash.
Then Aswad told me: ‘Hold upon the athar and implement it, I met the scholars and they hate Abu Ḥanīfah’s opinions and criticize him.’
‘Abdullah also said (vol. 1, p. 227):
Abū al-Faḍl al-Khurasānī narrated to me, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān narrated to us, saying: A man once asked Hushaym about a legal issue, and Hushaym narrated a ḥadīth on the matter.
The man responded: “But Abu Ḥanīfah, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, and their companions say otherwise!”
So Hushaym replied: “O ʿAbdullāh, knowledge is not taken from the bottom.”
Ibn ʿAdī said in al-Kāmil (vol. 8, p. 241):
“I heard Ibn Abī Dāwūd say: Attacking Abu Ḥanīfah (has been done by) a Jamāʿah of scholars: The Imām of Baṣrah, Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, spoke against him. The Imām of Kūfah, Sufyān al-Thawrī, spoke against him. The Imām of Ḥijāz, Mālik, spoke against him. The Imām of Egypt, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, spoke against him. The Imām of al-Shām, al-Awzāʾī, spoke against him. And the Imām of Khurāsān, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, spoke against him.
So, attacking him is an Ijmāʾ from the scholars across all the regions.”
Imām Aḥmad Rahimahullāh
Al-Khaṭīb (vol. 13, p. 437) narrated:
Al-Barqānī informed us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās Abū ʿAmr al-Khazzāz narrated to me, saying: Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣandālī narrated to us and said: Al-Marrūdhī said: “I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal) about Abū Ḥanīfah and ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd. He said: ‘Abū Ḥanīfah is more harmful to the Muslims than ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd, because he has companions.’”
Al-Khaṭīb (vol. 13, p. 438) narrated:
Bishrā ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Rūmī informed us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Ḥamdān narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Rāshidī narrated to us, saying: Abū Bakr al-Athram narrated to us, saying: “I saw Abū ʿAbdillāh many times criticizing Abū Ḥanīfah and his madhhab, recounting some of his statements in disapproval and astonishment.”
Al-Khaṭīb (vol. 13, p. 438) narrated:
Ibn Rizq narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Faqīh, known as al-Najjād, narrated to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated to us, saying: Muhannā ibn Yaḥyā said: I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say: “The opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah and dung are the same to me.”
Al-Khaṭīb (vol. 13, p. 438) narrated:
Al-Barqānī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ādamī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Īyādī narrated to us, saying: Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Sājī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Rūḥ said: “I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say: If a man were appointed as a judge and then ruled based on the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah, and I was asked about him, I would see it fit to reject his rulings.”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 285):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: I heard my father say: “The ḥadīth of Abū Ḥanīfah is weak, and his opinion is weak.”
ʿAbdullāh said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 180):
I asked my father—may Allāh have mercy on him—about a man who wants to ask regarding a religious matter, such as oaths in divorce and other issues, in the presence of a group of the proponents of Raʾy and the people of Ḥadīth, but they do not know how to differentiate between a weak ḥadīth and a strong one. So whom should he ask—the people of Raʾy or the people of ḥadīth, despite their lack of knowledge?
He said: “He should ask the people of ḥadīth and not the people of weak opinion. The ḥadīth is better than the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah.”
ʿAbdullāh said (vol. 1, p. 181):
Muhannā ibn Yaḥyā al-Shāmī narrated to me, saying: I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—may Allāh be pleased with him—say: “The opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah and dung are, to me, the same.”
Al-Kawsaj said in his Masāʾil of Aḥmad (no. 3441):
I said: “Is a man rewarded for hating the companions of Abū Ḥanīfah?”
He said: “Yes, by Allāh.”
And he said (no. 3516):
Imām Aḥmad—may Allāh be pleased with him—said: “The people of Khurāsān were afflicted with Abū Ḥanīfah.”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (vol. 2, p. 338):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad wrote to us, saying: I asked my father about Asad ibn ʿAmr. He said: “He was Ṣadūq (truthful), but he was among the companions of Abū Ḥanīfah, it is not appropriate to narrate anything from him.”
And he said (vol. 9, p. 201):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal wrote to us, saying: I asked my father about Abū Yūsuf. He said: “He was Ṣadūq, but he was among the companions of Abū Ḥanīfah, it is not appropriate to narrate anything from him.”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 1, p. 23):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: I asked my father: “Is Asad ibn ʿAmr Ṣadūq?”
He said: “It is not appropriate to narrate anything from the companions of Abū Ḥanīfah.”
ʿAbdullāh said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 3, p. 300):
I asked my father about Asad ibn ʿAmr. He said: “He was Ṣadūq, and Abū Yūsuf was Ṣadūq, but it is not appropriate to narrate anything from the companions of Abū Ḥanīfah.”
ʿAbd Allāh said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 2, p. 477):
“I asked him about Shuʿayb ibn Isḥāq. He said: ‘I see no harm in him, but he sat with the people of Raʾy, he used to sit with Abū Ḥanīfah.’”
Muḥammad ibn Naṣr al-Marwazī said in Mukhtāṣar Qiyām al-Layl wa-Qiyām Ramaḍān wa-Kitāb al-Witr (p. 296):
“‘Ali ibn Sa’id al-Nasawi narrated to me, saying: I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say about these companions of Abū Ḥānīfah: “They have no insight into anything from ḥadīth, it is nothing but audacity.”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (vol. 8, p. 450):
Muḥammad ibn Ḥamwayh ibn al-Ḥasan narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḥasan al-Marwazī say: “Abū Ḥānīfah was mentioned in the presence of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and he said: ‘His opinion is blameworthy, and his ḥadīth is not (to be) mentioned.’”
And al-ʿUqaylī narrated a similar athar in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 285)
Imam Mālik Rahimahullah
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 199):
Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim narrated to me, saying: I heard Mālik ibn Anas mention Abū Ḥānīfah, and he spoke about him in harsh terms and said: “He conspired against the religion. And whoever conspires against the religion is not from the religion.”
Manṣūr narrated to me again, saying: I heard Mālik say regarding Abū Ḥānīfah a statement that would expel him from the religion, and he said: “Abū Ḥānīfah conspired against nothing except the religion.”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 281):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated to us, saying: Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim narrated to us, saying: Mālik ibn Anas said: “Indeed, Abū Ḥānīfah conspired against the religion. He conspired against the religion.”
Abū Nuʿaym said in Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ (vol. 6, p. 325):
Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated to me, saying: Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim narrated to me, saying: I heard Mālik ibn Anas—when Abū Ḥānīfah was mentioned—say: “He conspired against the religion, and whoever conspires against the religion is not from its people.”
Al-ʿUqaylī said in al-Duʿafāʾ (vol. 4, p. 281):
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm narrated to us, saying: Abū Maʿmar narrated to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Muslim narrated to us, saying: Mālik ibn Anas said to me: “Is Abū Ḥanīfah mentioned in your land?”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Your land should not be inhabited.”
ʿAbdullāh said (vol. 1, p. 223):
I was informed that Muṭarrif al-Yasārī al-Aṣāmm narrated from Mālik ibn Anas that he said: “The chronic disease is destruction in religion. Abū Ḥanīfah is the chronic disease.”
A similar athar was narrated by Ibn ʿAdī (vol. 8, p. 237), al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 400) and (vol. 13, p. 401), ʿAbdullāh (vol. 1, p. 199), and ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb in al-Muntaqā Sharḥ al-Muwaṭṭaʿ (vol. 7, p. 300).
ʿAbdullāh said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 1, p. 486):
My father narrated to me, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Idrīs narrated to us, saying: I said to Mālik ibn Anas: “We had ʿAlqamah and al-Aswad with us.” He replied: “You had those who turned matters upside down like this,”
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said: “And my father turned his palm over onto its back, referring to Abū Ḥanīfah”
Abū ʿUmar Yūsuf ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said in Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa-Faḍlihī (vol. 2, p. 1079):
ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Sufyān narrated to us, saying: Qāsim ibn Aṣbagh and Wahb ibn Masarra both said: Ibn Waḍḍāḥ narrated to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Saʿīd ibn al-Haytham al-Ayīl narrated to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Maslamah al-Qurashī narrated to us, saying: I heard Mālik say:
“This affair remained balanced until Abū Ḥanīfah emerged and introduced qiyās among them, and he neither succeeded nor prospered.”
Ibn Waḍḍāḥ also said: I heard Abū Jaʿfar al-Ayīl say: I heard Khālid ibn Nizār say: I heard Mālik say:
“If Abū Ḥānīfah had taken up the sword against this ummah, it would have been easier upon them than what he introduced among them from qiyās and Ra’y.”
Al-Khaṭīb said (vol. 13, p. 421):
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-ʿUtayqī, al-Ḥusayn ibn Jaʿfar al-Salmāsī, and al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī al-Jawharī narrated to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Bardhaʾī narrated to us, saying: Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim al-Rāzī narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to us, saying: Ibn Abī Surayj narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: “I heard Mālik ibn Anas—when he was asked: ‘Do you know Abū Ḥānīfah?’—he replied: ‘Yes! What do you think of a man who, if he were to say: This pillar is made of gold, he would stand by it until he turns it into gold, even though it is wood or stone?’”
Abū Muḥammad (Ibn Abī Ḥātim) commented: “This means that he would persist in error, defend it, and not return to the truth even if it became clear to him.”
Imām al-Shāfiʿī Raḥimahullāh
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim, may Allāh have mercy on him, said in Ādāb al-Shāfiʿī wa-Manāqibuh (p. 154):
My father narrated to us: Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʾlā narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say:
“I was talking to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, mentioning Mālik and Abū Ḥānīfah, and he said:
‘Our companion (Abū Ḥānīfah) should not have remained silent, and your companion (Mālik) should not have issued fatwas.’
I said: ‘I ask you by Allāh, do you know that our companion (Mālik) was knowledgeable about the Book of Allāh?’
He said: ‘Yes, by Allāh.’
I said: ‘I ask you by Allāh, do you know that our companion was knowledgeable about the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ?’
He said: ‘Yes, by Allāh.’
I said: ‘And was he knowledgeable about the differences among the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ?’
He said: ‘Yes, by Allāh.’
I said: ‘Was he intelligent?’
He replied: ‘No.’
I said: ‘I ask you by Allah, do you know that your companion (Abū Ḥānīfah) was ignorant of the Book of Allah?’
He said: ‘Yes.’
I said: ‘And was he ignorant of the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah and ignorant of the differences among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah
He said: ‘Yes.’
I said: ‘Was he a man of sound intellect?’
He said: ‘Yes.’
I said: ‘So, our companion has three qualities that are necessary for issuing fatwas, and he lacks one of them. Your companion got three qualities wrong and only one quality right. And you say: It was not right for our companion to remain silent, nor for your companion to speak!?’”
And he also said (p. 129):
Al-Rabī ibn Sulaymān al-Murādī narrated to us, saying: Al-Shāfiī Raḥimahullāh said: “Abū Ḥānīfah places the first matter upon an erroneous (understanding), then he builds the whole book upon (that mistake).”
Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥakam narrated to us, saying: Al-Shāfiī Raḥimahullāh said: “I looked into the books of the companions of Abū Ḥānīfah. There were in it 130 pages. 80 pages of that opposed the Book and the Sunnah.”
Abū Muḥammad (Ibn Abī Ḥātim) commented: “That is because the foundation was built upon mistakes and thus the secondary matters were full of mistakes as well.”
My father said: Ḥārūn ibn Saʿīd al-Ayli narrated to us, saying: Al-Shāfiī Raḥimahullāh said: “I do not know of anyone who composed a book which is more indicative of his crooked beliefs than Abū Ḥānīfah.”
Aḥmad ibn Sinān narrated to us, who said: I heard Al-Shāfiʿī say: “The opinion of Abū Ḥānīfah is like a magician’s thread: you stretch it one way and it comes out yellow, and you stretch it another way and it comes out green.”
Aḥmad ibn Sinān narrated to us again, who said: I heard Al-Shāfiʿī say: “The people of Raʾy are like a magician’s thread: you stretch it one way and it comes out yellow, and you stretch it another way and it comes out green.”
Al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān narrated to me, who said: I heard Al-Shāfiʿī say: “When Abū Ḥānīfah made a mistake in an issue, his companions would say to him: ‘Jarmazt.’”
(The commentator said: “It means he withdrew from the answer, fled from it, and refrained from engaging with it, as mentioned in Lisān al-ʿArab.”)
Imām Ḥarb al-Kirmānī Rahimahullāh
Ḥarb al-Kirmānī said in Ijmāʿ al-Salaf fī al-ʿItiqād (p. 76):
“This is from the most wicked sayings of the Mubtadiʿah, and the closest to misguidance and ruin—rather, it is sheer misguidance. He claims that he does not accept taqlīd, yet he has made taqlīd of Abū Ḥānīfah and Bishr al-Marīsī, and his companions. So, who is a greater enemy to the religion of Allāh than the one who seeks to extinguish the Sunnahs, nullify the Āthār and narrations, while claiming that he does not accept taqlīd—yet he has made taqlīd of those whom I have named for you, and they are the imāms of misguidance, the heads of Bidʿah, and the leaders of the opposition. So upon the one who utters such a statement is the wrath of Allāh.”
And he also said (p. 94):
“And the proponents of Raʾy: they are misguided Mubtadiʿah, enemies of the Sunnah and Āthār. They view the religion through Raʾy, qiyās, and istihsān, and they oppose the Āthār, and nullify the Ḥadīths, and reject the Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). And they take Abū Ḥānīfah and those who say as he says as their Imāms, they follow their religion and speak by their opinions. So, what could be a greater misguidance than the one who says this, or holds to
something similar? He abandons the statement of the Messenger and his Companions, yet follows the opinion of Abū Ḥānīfah and his companions? This itself is sufficient deviation, transgression, and rejection.”
Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī Rahimahullah
Al-Bardhaʿī said in al-Suʿālāt (p. 282):
“I heard Abū Zurʿah say: ‘Abū Ḥānīfah was a Jahmī, and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan was a Jahmī, and Abū Yūsuf was a Jahmī who displayed Jahmism.’”
And he also said (p. 425):
“Abū Ḥānīfah connects the aḥādīth,” or a phrase to this effect was said by Abū Zurʿah.
Then Abū Zurʿah said to me: “He narrated from Mūsā ibn Abī ʿĀʾishah, from ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaddād, from Jābir, from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and he added in the narration: ‘From Jābir,’ referring to the ḥādīth: ‘Recitation behind the Imām.’”
And he says that the Qurʾān is created, and he rejects the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and he mocks the āthār, and he calls to Bidʿah and misguidance—yet people still concern themselves with his ḥādīth? No one does this except an idiot jāhil, or something similar to this was said.
Then he started criticizing Ibrāhīm and began mentioning ḥādīths narrated by Abū Ḥānīfah that have no basis.
Among them, he mentioned the ḥādīth of ʿAlqamah ibn Murthad, from Ibn Buraydah, from his father: “The one who directs towards good is like the one who does it.”
And he rejected another ḥādīth that he narrated from ʿAlqamah ibn Murthad, from Ibn Buraydah, the ḥādīth of ʿUmar: “Jibrīl came to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and said: ‘What is Īmān?’”
Abū Zurʿah then said: “So he and Abū Sinān made ‘Īmān’ into ‘the rites of Īmān’.”
And he mentioned ḥādīths in which Abū Ḥānīfah erred and were rejected from his narrations.
Then he said to me: “Whoever says, ‘The Qur’ān is created,’ is a kāfir, so why should we concern ourselves with the narrations of kuffār? What kind of people are these?”
And he also said (p. 470):
“Abū Zurʿah said: Ahl al-Raʾy had fallen into Fitnah through Abū Ḥanīfah, and we were young, running along with them. I once asked Abū Nuʿaym about this while I believed I was doing something good, and al-Ḥumaydī used to read “Kitāb al-Radd” and mention Abū Ḥanīfah, and I was on the verge of attacking him—until Allāh blessed us and made us recognize the misguidance of these people.”
Imām Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʾī Rahimahullāh
ʿAbdullāh said (vol. 1, p. 185):
ʿAbdah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm from Marw narrated to us, saying: We entered upon ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rizmah to visit him while he was ill—I was with Aḥmad ibn Shabwayh and ʿAlī ibn Yūnus. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said to me: “O Abū Saʿīd, I have a secret that I have kept hidden from you, but now I will tell you.” Then he lifted his hand off his bed and said: “I heard Ibn al-Mubārak say: ‘I heard al-Awzāʾī say: “We tolerated from Abū Ḥanīfah such-and-such,” and he folded one finger, “and we tolerated from him such-and-such,” and he folded his second finger, “and we tolerated from him such-and-such,” and he folded his third finger—of faults—until he came with the sword upon the Ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ. When he came with the sword upon the Ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ, we could no longer tolerate it.”
ʿAbdullāh said (vol. 1, p. 208):
Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd narrated to me, saying: Abū Tawbah narrated to us from Salamah ibn Kulthūm from al-Awzāʾī, that when Abū Ḥanīfah died, he said: “All praise is due to Allāh who caused him to die, for he used to dismantle the knots of Islām one by one.”
Ibrāhīm narrated to me, saying: Abū Tawbah narrated to us from Abū Ishāq al-Fazārī, who said: Al-Awzāʾī said: “We do not denounce Abū Ḥanīfah for
merely holding opinions—we all have opinions. Rather, we denounce him because a hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would be presented to him, and he would issue a fatwa contradicting it.”
And Ibn Qutaybah mentioned a similar story in Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith (p. 103)
‘Abdullah said (vol. 1, p. 187):
Abū Bakr ibn Zanjwayh narrated to me, saying: Abū Ja’far al-Harrānī narrated to us, saying: I heard ‘Īsā ibn Yūnus say: “Al-Awzā’ came out to me, al-Muʿāfī ibn ‘Imrān, and Mūsā ibn A’yan while we were with him in Beirut, carrying the Kitāb al-Siyar and what he had refuted of Abū Ḥānīfah’s views. Then he said: ‘If this error had spread among the Ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ, it would have encompassed it.’ Then he said: ‘No one has been born in Islām more evil for them than Abū Ḥānīfah.’”
‘Abdullah said (vol. 1, p. 204):
Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd narrated to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Muṣʿab narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Awzāʾī say: “No one has been born in Islām more evil for them than Abū Ḥānīfah.”
‘Abdullah said (vol. 1, p. 205):
Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd narrated to me, saying: Abū Tawbah narrated to us from Abū Ishāq, from Sufyān al-Thawrī and al-Awzāʾī, similar to what Muḥammad ibn Muṣʿab said.
Al-Khaṭīb mentioned a similar athar in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 399).
‘Abdullah said in al-Ilal (vol. 3, p. 195):
My father narrated to me, saying: Maskīn narrated to us, saying: Al-Awzāʾī narrated to us, who said: “Abū Ḥānīfah was asked…” My father said: “Al-Awzāʾī did not hear anything from Abū Ḥānīfah but that he criticized him for it.”
Abū Zurʿah al-Dimashqī said in his Tārīkh (vol. 1, p. 506):
Aḥmad ibn Shabwayh narrated to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rizmah narrated to me from ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, who said: “I was with al-Awzāʾī, and I praised Abū Ḥānīfah, but he remained silent. When it was time for departure, I said to him: ‘Advise me.’ He said: ‘Indeed, I wanted to do so, even if
you had not asked. I heard you praising a man who saw the sword against the Ummah. I said to him: “Why did you not inform me?” He replied: “I would never leave that.”
Al-Khaṭīb said (vol. 13, p. 396):
Ṭalḥāh ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ṣāqr al-Kattānī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Shāfiʿī narrated to us, saying: Abū Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī narrated to us, saying: Al-Athram narrated to us.
Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Baramakī narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Khalaf al-Daqqāq narrated to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad al-Jawharī narrated to us, saying: Abū Bakr al-Athram narrated to us, saying: “I heard Abū ʿAbdullāh say: Ibn al-Mubārak said: ‘I once mentioned Abū Ḥānīfah in front of al-Awzāʾī, and he turned away from me. I rebuked him for it, and he said: “You come to a man who sees the sword against the Ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ, and you mention him in our presence?”’
Imām al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 788):
Ṣafwān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: ʿUmar narrated to us, saying: “I heard al-Awzāʾī say: ‘Shuʿayb ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Abī Mālik, Ibn ʿAlāq, and Ibn Nāṣiḥ came to me and said: “We have taken something from Abū Ḥānīfah, look into it for us.” He did not leave my side nor theirs until I showed them that what they had taken from him was that he had made Khurūj against the rulers ḥalāl for them.”
Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī Rahimahullāh
Al-Khaṭīb said in Tārīkh Baghdad (vol. 13, p. 453):
Abū Saʿīd Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ṣayrafī narrated to us, saying: Abū al-ʿAbbās Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Aṣāmm narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Warrāq narrated to us, saying: Musaddad narrated to us, saying: I heard Abū ʿĀṣim say: “The death of Abū Ḥānīfah was mentioned in the presence of Sufyān, and I did not hear him say: ‘Rāḥimahullāh’ or anything else. Instead, he said: ‘Praise be to Allāh, who has saved us from what He afflicted him with.’”
Al-Khaṭīb said in Tārīkh Baghdad (vol. 13, p. 429):
Ibn Rizq narrated to us, saying: Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Naṣīr al-Khādi narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sulaymān al-Ḥaḍramī narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Tirmidhī narrated to us, saying: I heard al-Firyābī say: “I heard al-Thawrī forbidding (people) from sitting with Abū Ḥānīfah and Ahl al-Ra’y.”
Al-Khaṭīb said in Tārīkh Baghdad (vol. 13, p. 431):
Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Zajjājī al-Ṭabarī narrated to us, saying: Abū Yaʿlā ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muslim al-Dabbās narrated to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us, saying: “Sufyān ibn Saʿīd, Sharīk ibn ‘Abd Allāh, and al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ said: ‘We met Abū Ḥānīfah, and he was not known for anything in fiqh, we only know him for (getting into) disputes.’”
‘Abd Allāh ibn Aḥmad Raḥimahullāh said (vol. 1, p. 210):
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us, saying: Sufyān, Sharīk, and al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ said: “We met Abū Ḥānīfah, and he was not known for anything in fiqh, we only knew him for disputes.”
Al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 783):
Aḥmad ibn Yūnus narrated to us, saying: I heard Nuʿaym say: Sufyān said: “No one has introduced as much evil into Islām as Abū Ḥānīfah, except for so-and-so,” referring to a man who was crucified.
‘Abd Allāh said (vol. 1, p. 195):
Muḥammad ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abbās al-Bāhilī narrated to me, saying: al-Aṣmaʿī narrated to us, saying: “Sufyān al-Thawrī said: ‘No child was ever born in Kūfah—or in this ummah—who was more harmful to them than Abū Ḥānīfah.’ And he claimed that Abū Ḥānīfah was asked to repent twice.”
And he also said (vol. 1, p. 199):
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qatṭān narrated to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us, saying: “We were sitting with Sufyān in al-Masjid
al-Ḥarām, and Abū Ḥānīfah approached, intending to come to him. When Sufyān saw him, he said: ‘Let us get up so that this man does not infect us with his scabies.’ So we got up, and Sufyān got up as well.
On another occasion, we were sitting with Sufyān in al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, and Abū Ḥānīfah came and sat down without us noticing him. When Sufyān saw him, he turned his back away from him.”
Imām ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak Rahimahullāh
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (vol. 8, p. 449):
“Al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit Abū Ḥānīfah… Among those who narrated from him were Hushaym, ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām, Ibn al-Mubārak, Wakīʿ, ʿAbd al-Razzāq, and Abū Nuʿaym. Then Ibn al-Mubārak abandoned him eventually—I heard my father say this.”
Al-Khaṭīb said in Tārīkh Baghdad (vol. 13, p. 442):
“Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Ṭālib narrated to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Muṭayrī narrated to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṭayālisī narrated to us, saying: Al-Ḥumaydī said: ‘I heard Ibn al-Mubārak say: “I prayed behind Abū Ḥānīfah once, and I felt uneasy about it.”
He also said: “I wrote down four hundred aḥādīth from Abū Ḥānīfah, but when I return to Iraq, Inn Shaa Allāh, I will erase them all.”
He also said (vol. 13, p. 438):
“Al-Khalīāl narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī al-Fāmī narrated to us, saying: Abū Sālim Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath al-Sijistānī said: ‘Ibn al-Mubārak said: “I never saw a gathering where the Prophet ﷺ was mentioned, yet no ṣalāh was sent upon him—except for the gathering of Abū Ḥānīfah. And we would only go to him in secret out of fear of Sufyān al-Thawrī.”
He also said (vol. 13, p. 415):
“Ibn Rizq narrated to us, saying: Ibn Sallam narrated to us, saying: Al-Abār narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Muhallab al-Sarakhsī narrated to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Jarīr narrated to us, saying:
‘I was in Kūfah, then I traveled to Baṣrah, where Ibn al-Mubārak was.
He asked me: “How did you leave the people?”
I said: “I left in Kūfah people who claim that Abū Ḥānīfah is more knowledgeable than the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ.”
He said: “That is kufr.”
I said: “They have taken you as their Imam in kufr.”
Upon hearing this, he wept until his beard became soaked – meaning from the fact that he narrated from him.
ʿAbd Allāh said (vol. 1, p. 212):
“ʿAbdah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, a righteous Shaykh from Marw, narrated to me, saying: Salamah ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, saying: Ḥamzah al-Bazzār entered upon Ibn al-Mubārak and said: ‘O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, I have heard about the insight Abū Ḥānīfah had in ḥadīth and his diligence in worship to the point that I do not know who could match him.’
Ibn al-Mubārak replied: “As for what you said about his insight into ḥadīth, he is not fit for that. I used to go to him in secret out of fear of Sufyān, and my companions would rebuke me for going to him, saying: ‘He has simply obtained the books of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar and narrates from them.’
And as for what you said about his diligence in worship, he was not fit for that either. He would wake up energetic and spend his whole day engaging in debates and issues, even missing his afternoon nap because of it, and by nightfall, he was still full of energy.
But a true worshiper, one who spends his night in prayer, wakes up exhausted in the morning.”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 213):
“Abū al-Faḍl al-Khurāsānī narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Shammās al-Samarqandī narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak was at the Thaghr when someone mentioned Abū Ḥānīfah.
A man known as Abū Khidāsh stood up and said: ‘O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, do not narrate to us from Abū Ḥānīfah, for he was a Murji!’ And Ibn al-Mubārak did not object to this.
From then on, whenever a narration from Abū Ḥānīfah appeared in his works, Ibn al-Mubārak would strike it out.
This continued until the last lesson he delivered at the Thaghr before returning home, where he eventually passed away.
I was with him on the ship when he was returning, and he was narrating to us. He came across something from Abū Ḥānīfah and said: “Strike out everything from Abū Ḥānīfah, for I have renounced his narrations and his opinions.” Then, he passed away on that return journey.”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 214):
“Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAtāb al-Aʿyan narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Shammās narrated to us, saying: ‘I accompanied Ibn al-Mubārak on a ship, and he said: “Strike out the Ḥadīth of Abū Ḥānīfah.” This was just a few days before his death.’”
And he also said (vol. 1, p. 215):
“Abū al-Ḥasan ibn al-ʿAṭṭār Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad narrated to me, saying: I heard Aḥmad ibn Shabwayh say: Abū Ṣāliḥ Sulaymān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: ‘Ibn al-Mubārak was asked: “Do you narrate from Abū Ḥānīfah?” He replied: “I was afflicted with him.”’”
Imām Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah Rahimahullāh
Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 3, p. 20):
“Abū Bakr al-Ḥumaydī narrated to us, saying: Sufyān narrated to us from Hishām ibn ʿUrwah—who mentioned a chain that I did not memorize—which said: The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The affairs of Banī Isrāʾīl remained balanced and upright until the children of the captives of other nations emerged among them. They then began to speak based on Raʾy, so they went astray and led others astray.’
Sufyān said: ‘We examined this matter and found that the first person to speak based on Ra’y in Madīnah was Rabī’ah, in Kūfah it was Abū Ḥānīfah, and in Baṣrah it was al-Battī.
And we found them all to be from the children of the captives of other nations.’
He also said (vol. 2, p. 783):
“Muḥammad ibn Abī ‘Umar narrated to me, saying: Sufyān said: ‘No one was ever born in Islām who was more harmful to the people of Islām than Abū Ḥānīfah.’
And this was also narrated in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 419) and al-Ḍuʿafā’ (vol. 4, p. 281), from al-Ḥumaydī
‘Abd Allāh said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 2, p. 329):
“My father narrated to me, saying: Ishāq ibn ʿĪsā al-Ṭabbā narrated to us from Ibn ‘Uyaynah, who said: ‘I said to Sufyān al-Thawrī: “Perhaps what drives you to issue fatwas is that you see people who are not qualified for fatwas issuing them, so you feel compelled to do so?”’
My father (Aḥmad) said: ‘He means Abū Ḥānīfah.’
‘Abd Allāh also said (vol. 1, p. 215):
“Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Warrāq narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Bashār narrated to us, saying:
Sufyān said: ‘I have never seen anyone more daring against Allāh than Abū Ḥānīfah.’
A man from Khurāsān came to him and said: ‘I have come to you with one hundred thousand questions that I want to ask you about.’
So Abū Ḥānīfah replied: ‘Go ahead, ask them.’
Sufyān then said: ‘Have you ever seen anyone more daring against Allāh than this?!’
He also said (vol. 1, p. 216):
“Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān say: ‘I once walked past Abū Ḥānīfah while he was sitting with his students in the masjid, and their voices had become loud.
I said: “O Abū Ḥānīfah, this is a masjid, and voices should not be raised here.” He replied: “Leave them be! They will not understand except in this way.”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 216): “Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Bashār narrated to us, saying: I heard Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah say: ‘Abū Ḥānīfah would make analogies with the ḥadīths of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and then reject them.’ He once heard that I was narrating the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ: ‘The two parties of a sale have the choice (to finalize or cancel the sale) as long as they do not separate.’ So Abū Ḥānīfah said: ‘Tell me, what if they are on a ship? How can they “separate”?’ Sufyān then said: ‘Have you ever heard anything more evil than this?!’”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 216): “Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to me, saying: Sufyān narrated to us, saying: ‘I was once sitting with Abū Ḥānīfah when a man came and asked him about an issue related to ṣarf. Abū Ḥānīfah answered him incorrectly. I said to him: “O Abū Ḥānīfah, that is incorrect!” He became angry and said to the one he gave the fatwā to: “Go and act upon it! And whatever sin comes from it, it is upon my neck!”” And a similar athar was mentioned in Tārīkh Baghdād (vol. 13, p. 389) from Al-Ḥumaydī
Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī Rahimahullāh
Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī said in Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ (vol. 9, p. 10): “Āḥmad ibn Isḥāq narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar narrated to us, saying: I asked ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī: ‘Should we take from Abū Ḥānīfah what he backs up with an athar and what agrees with the truth?’ He replied: ‘No! And may there be no honor for him! He came to Islām only to dismantle it knot by knot. Nothing should be accepted from him.’”
He also said (vol. 9, p. 11):
“Ahmad ibn Ishāq narrated to us, saying: ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Sulaym narrated to us, saying: ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Umar narrated to us, saying: I heard ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī being asked by a man: ‘O Abū Saʿīd, I have heard that you said: “Mālik is more knowledgeable than Abū Ḥanīfah.”’
He replied: ‘I did not say this. Rather, I say: Mālik was more knowledgeable than the teacher of Abū Ḥanīfah’—meaning Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān.
He also said: ‘I heard ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī mention Abū Ḥanīfah and then recite the verse (interpretation of the meaning): {That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection, and some of the burdens of those whom they mislead without knowledge. Evil indeed is that which they bear.’ (Sūrat al-Naḥl: 25)
He then remarked: ‘Abū Ḥanīfah did not know what knowledge is.’
Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī said in Akhbar al-Shuyūkh (p. 162):
“I heard Bundār say: ‘I heard ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī say: “No Fitnah has ever descended from the sky to the earth more harmful than Abū Ḥanīfah.”’
Al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 784):
“Muḥammad ibn Bashār narrated to us, saying: I heard ‘Abd al-Raḥmān say: ‘There is a barrier between Abū Ḥanīfah and the truth.’
Imām Sharīk ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Nakhaʿī Rahimahullāh
‘Abd Allāh said in al-ʿIlal (vol. 2, p. 547):
“Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim narrated to us, saying: I heard Sharīk say: ‘It is better for every quarter of Kūfah to have a wine-seller than for it to have someone who follows the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah.’
Al-Fasawī said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 789):
“Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Ḥakīm narrated to us, saying: I heard Abū Nuʿaym say: I heard Sharīk say: ‘It is better for a tribe to have a wine-seller than for it to have a man who follows the views of Abū Ḥanīfah.’”
He also said in al-Ma’rifah wa al-Tārīkh (vol. 2, p. 789):
“Al-Faḍl ibn Sahl narrated to me, saying: Al-Aswad ibn ʿĀmir narrated to us, from Sharīk: ‘Abū Ḥānīfah is a disease.’”
ʿAbd Allāh said in al-Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 203):
“Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr al-Bāhili narrated to us, saying: Al-Aṣmaʿī narrated to us, from Sharīk, who said: ‘The followers of Abū Ḥānīfah are more harmful to the Muslims than a band of thieves from Tājir Qumī.’”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 204):
“Abū al-Faḍl al-Khurāsānī narrated to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us: ‘Sharīk had a very bad opinion of Abū Ḥānīfah and his followers, and he used to say: “Their madhhab is to reject the Āthār from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ.”’”
He also said (vol. 1, p. 209):
“Abū Muʿammar narrated to us, from Isḥāq al-Ṭabbāʾ, who said: I asked Sharīk about Abū Ḥānīfah, and he replied: ‘Would my lips even meet to mention Abū Ḥānīfah?’”
“Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAtāb al-Aʿyan narrated to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us, saying: I heard Sharīk say: ‘I can only compare the followers of Abū Ḥānīfah to drummers. If a man were to expose his backside in the masjid, they wouldn’t care who saw him among them.’”
Al-Khallāl said in al-Sunnah (vol. 3, p. 585):
“Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath narrated to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh narrated to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us: ‘Abū Yūsuf once testified before Sharīk, and Sharīk said to him: “Stand up!” and refused to accept his testimony. He was asked: ‘Do you reject his testimony?’
He replied: ‘Should I accept the testimony of a man who says Ṣalāh is not part of Īmān?’