The intent behind responding is to address the issue with evidence from Qur'an , Sunnah and the 'Ulema ul Haqq.  The nay sayers will continue to reject and will follow up this article with their arguments.  Those who are sincere seekers will benefit Insha' Allahu ta 'ala. The author will not be pulled into an on going debate on this topic. If Brother Shiraz wishes to continue the discussion , he may do so under the condition that it not be a public debate. We are not looking for recognition or attention.  We produce the original message heading below.
 
 

From: Shiraz Mohamedali <shiraz@slt.lk>
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 11:02:24 -0800
Subject: Re: [MOMIN] Unity and Dawah Message for Allah Fearing Muslims
 

MADwatch@aol.com wrote: In a message dated Thu, 18 Mar 1999 12:50:53 EST
 
 

> For forty years Al-Imam Abu Hanifah  Rahmatullah 'alaih performed the Fajr salat with the ablution (wudhu) he had made for the night salat (that is, he did not  sleep after the night salat).

Shiraz:
This is a serious allegation against this great Imaam who was very strong in his adherence to the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet(s), how could Imaam Abu Hanifah) Rahmatullah 'alaih ignore the following authentic narration; The narration is quite long, I am quoting the relevant part of the narration "...........One of the companions said 'I shall offer the prayer throughout the night forever' (and will not sleep)........ when this reached the Prophet(s) he said 'By Allah, I fear Allah more than any of you, yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I marry women, so he who does not follow my Sunnah is not from me" [Saheeh ul-Bukhaaree, Vol-7, Page-1, Hadeeth # 1, English Translation]

Your reasoning is faulty because  in the hadith we see a Sahabi Radhi Allahu anh making a Nadhr (vow) not to sleep  nights forever.  Sayyidinaa Rasuli Akram Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim admonishes him and instructs him not to do so.  We have no evidence of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih having made a vow against sleeping at night forever.  The fact that he spent the night in 'Ibaadah for 40 years in no way  amounts to a contradiction of the Sunnah of Sayyidinaa Rasuli Akram Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.  Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih is not forsaking the sunnah by spending the night in 'Ibaadah.  None would dare imply that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih has deviated except those with perverted thoughts. Nawaafil 'Ibaadah does  not contradict the Sunnah and are encouraged.  Vowing not to marry, fasting  forever and not sleeping  nights forever is the issue here, not what you imply.

Shiraz:
In the above hadith the Prophet(s) said I DO SLEEP, now either Br Muhammad Abdullah Muntaqim should claim that Imaam Abu Hanifa Rahmatullah 'alaih was unaware of this hadeeth OR he was aware but choose to ignore it and follow his own method (in worshipping Allah)?
 

This the same  faulty logic used to refute 20 Rakaats  of Tarawih Salaah, instituted by Khalifa 'Umar  ibn Al Khattab Radthi Allahu anh, dhikr, recitation of  Salawaat outside of Salaah.  The 'Ulema ul haqq do say that to abandon the sunnah is fisq. The denial of the legitimacy of a sunnah is kufr. If one were so bold as to say that wearing a tarbush (kufi/topi) is not sunnah, this is a denial of  a practice of Sayyidinaa Rasuli Akram Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim.  To neglect a sunnah is fisq (intentional wrong doing) , to deny a sunnah is apostasy.
 

> At that moment a voice was heard, O Abu Hanifah! You have acknowledged Me very well and have served Me beautifully. I have forgiven you and those who follow in your madhab and follow you until the end of the  world.'

Shiraz:
Even if for the sake of argument we accept the above to be true, what justifies forgiving the followers of Imaam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih and that too until the end of the world?

Abu Junayd:
For the sake of argument/discussion couldn't we say that this is in accord with the fact that  Allahu ta 'ala forgives every sin except Shirk? All those who die with Iman having forsaking their lowly desire and not having associated a partners with Allahu ta 'ala would indeed be true followers of the Fiqh and Aqeedah of Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih ( See Fiqh Akbar).  Forgiveness  through tawbah  is open to the believers until Yawmul Qiyam on a collective basis and until the agony of death on an individual basis
 

> Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih, the exemplar of the Sunnites who was firmly grounded in  work of devotion who wished to go into seclusion and abandon the  society of mankind, for he had made his heart free from every thought  of human power and pomp.

Shiraz:
Imaam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih would not have ever even dreamt of this vile innovation of the Sufis - far is he from these types of innovations -The Prophet(s) said (approximate meaning of the translation of the hadeeth);

"The believer who mixes with the people and bears there evil conduct against him is better than the believer who keeps away from people for fear of their evil" [This is an authentic hadeeth - the reference misses me now]

Abu Junayd:
Generally, those without sufficient knowledge of Deen ( those who teach themselves) attribute their lack of understanding to the so-called  "vile innovations of the sufis"  If  zuhd ( austerity) were bid'ah then forsaking hubb ud dunya would be bid'ah. The Hadith does not imply that one must associate with any and everyone. .  Allahu ta 'ala says:

Restrain yourself along with those who call on their Lord at morning and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who follows his own lust and whose case has been abandoned. ( 18:28)

Also;

From Abu Sa'id al Khudri Rathi Allahu anhu:  Rasulullah Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim said, "A time will come that the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take on the top of mountains and the places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his religion from afflictions." Abu Sa'id al-Khudri  Sahih Al Bukhari 1.18

Muslims are forbidden to associate with kuffar and muslims who are Fasiqeen (evil transgressors).  On many an occassion, Muslims suffering at the hands of oppressive rulers  have been forced to make hijra to safeguard their deen.  Witness Algeria, Kashmir, Palestine, Kosova. Often times the oppressors are rulers who outwardly proclaim to be muslim rulers, enforcing Shariah. We all know the well known hadith , and I paraphrase " A person follows the deen of his companion, so be careful with whom you are striking  an acquaintance".

Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih was known to disassociate himself from those who sold their deen for a price.  He never accepted money from the rulers and stayed away from the circles of the scholars who served the  rulers for pay.  Yazid ibn 'Amr, Governor of Iraq during the time of Marwan ibn Muhammad, the fourteenth and last Umayyad Khalifa, who was a grandson of Marwan ibn Hakam (Rahmatullah ta'ala 'alaih) and was killed five years after assuming the caliphate in Egypt in 132 (750 A.D.), proposed to Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullah ta'ala 'alaih) to become a judge for the law court of Kufa. But, since he had as much zuhd, taqwa and wara' as he had knowledge and intellect, he refused it. He was afraid of not being able to safeguard human rights because of human weaknesses. With a command from Yazid, he was given a whipping, hundred and ten blows to the head. His blessed face and head swelled. The next day, Yazid took the Imam out and oppressed him by repeating his offer. The Imam said, "Let me consult," and obtained permission to leave. He went to the blessed city of Mecca and stayed there for five or six years.

The 'Abbasid Khalifa Abu Jafar Mansur commanded him to be the chief of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 150 A.H. [767 A.D.]. He refused it and was put into jail. He was subjected to whipping, ten blows more every following day. When the number of whipping reached one hundred, he attained martyrdom.   Imam Abu Hanifah  Rahmatullah 'alaih refused the company of the evil. Refusing to be a servant of corrupt rulers, he chose Martyrdom instead.  This is the way of Sayyidina Imam Hussein Radhi Allahu anhu.  This is basic deen, not the" vile innovations of the sufi's".
 

>One night he dreamed that he was collecting the bones of the  Rasulullah (Salawaat and Salaams be upon him) from the tomb, and choosing some and discarding others.

Shiraz:
This again is contradictory to the hadeeth of the Prophet(s) which states that (approximate meaning of the translation of the hadeeth);  "Allah has forbidden the earth from eating the body of the Prophets" [This is a authentic hadeeth, again I miss the reference of it].  How could you reconcile a "true" dream contradicting a authentic Hadeeth?

Abu Junayd:
The nature of dreams is that they are generally symbolic  in nature and in need of interpretation.  The Science of Dream interpretation ( Ilmul Ta'bir Ruyah,) was mastered by Imam Muhammad Ibn Sirrin Radthi Allahu anh.   It has it's roots in Suratul Yusuf where the foundations for dream interpretation  are set forth.  This Blessed surah contains the dream of Sayyidinaa Yusuf Alaihi salaam as well as the inmates of the prison who recognized the gift Allahu ta 'ala bestowed upon Sayyidinaa Yusuf Alaihi salaam.  Sayyidinaa Ya'qub taught Sayyidinaa Yusuf  alaihi salaam the science of dream interpretation.  Did the sun, moon  and stars prostrate to Sayyidinaa Yusuf alaihi salaam? The dream is not an implication that the bones of Ambiyaa rot.  Any one with basic knowledge of Shari'ah knows that the bodies of Ambiyaa and Mursaleen do not rot.  The bones  here are representative of the corpus of knowledge  prevalent at the time and not what the literalists  who lack hikmah would imply Astaghfirullah..
 

> He awoke in terror and asked one of the pupils of Muhammad b. Sirrin to  interpret the dream. This man said to him: "You will attain a high rank in Knowledge of the Rasulullah (Salawaat and Salaams be upon him)  and in preserving his Sunnah, so that you will sift what is genuine  from what is spurious.

Shiraz:
There is near/almost consensus among the scholars that though Imaam Abu Hanifah) Rahmatullah 'alaih reached a very high station in knowledge and fiqh he (r) did not reach the level of being a Muhaddith (a scholar of hadeeth) and Allah -Most High- knows best.

Abu Junayd:
Your statement that Imam Abu Hanifah  was not a Muhaddith is belied by the fact that you acknowledge that he reached a high Station in Ilm and Fiqh but was not a Muhaddith appears to be the words of someone repeating what he heard from someone else without out stopping to think about what was said.. You have not presented any evidence for your statement.  What 'Ulema say he was not a Muhaddith?  How can one on one hand say That the Imam is a Faqih of the highest rank and then say that he didn't have the qualifications of one who can perform Ijtihaad.  Of course  some say that Naseerudeen Al  Albaani is greater that Imam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih as he is supposedly a Muhaddith Astaghfirullah!
 

It is written in the book Hada'iq: "When al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih memorized hadiths he wrote them down. He kept the hadith books he wrote in wooden boxes, some of which he  always kept at hand wherever he went. His quoting only a few hadiths does not show that the number of hadiths he memorized was small. Only bigoted enemies of Islam may say so. This bigotry of theirs proves al-Imam al-azam's  perfection; an inept person's slandering the learned indicates the formers perfection." Founding a great Madhhab  and answering hundreds of thousands of questions by documenting them with ayats and hadiths could not have  been done by a person who was not deeply specialized in the sciences of tafsir and hadith. In fact, bringing forth a  new, unique Madhhab without a model or an example is an excellent proof for al-Imam al-azam's expertise in the  sciences of tafsir and hadith.

Because he worked with extraordinary energy and brought forth this Madhhab, he did  not have time to quote the hadiths or to cite their transmitters one by one; this cannot be grounds for denigrating  that exalted Imam by jealously casting aspersions on him by saying that he was weak in the knowledge of hadith. It  is a known fact that riwaya (transmitting) without diraya (ability, intelligence) has no value. For example, Ibn Abd  al-Barr said, "If riwaya without diraya were valuable, a dustman's quoting a hadith would be superior to Luqman's  intelligence."

." Ibn Hajar al-Makki was one of the 'Ulema' in the Shafi'i Madhhab, but he wrote in his book Qala'id: "The  great 'Alim of hadith A'mash asked al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullah 'alaih many questions. Al-Imam al-azam answered each of  his questions by quoting hadiths. After seeing al-Imam al-azam's profound knowledge in hadith, A'mash said, 'O,  you, the 'Ulema' of fiqh! You are like specialized doctors, and we the 'Ulema' of hadith are like pharmacists. We cite hadiths and their transmitters, but you are the ones who understand their meanings."

" It is written in the book  'Uqud al-jawahiri 'l-munifa: "While 'Ubaidullah ibn 'Amr was in the company of the great 'Alim of hadith A'mash,  someone came up and asked a question. As A'mash thought about the answer, al-Imam al-azam joined in. A'mash  repeated the question to the Imam and requested an answer. Al-Imam al-azam immediately answered it in detail.  Admiring the answer, A'mash said, "O Imam! From which hadith do you derive this?' Al-Imam al-azam quoted the  hadith ash-Sharif from which he derived the answer and added, 'I heard this from you.' " Al-Imam al-Bukhari knew  three hundred thousand hadiths by heart. He wrote only twelve thousand of them in his books because he feared  very much the threat in the hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person quotes, in the name of hadith, what I have not uttered,  he will be tormented very bitterly in Hell." Having much wara' and taqwa, al-Imam al-azam imposed very heavy  conditions for the transmitting of hadiths. He would quote only those hadiths fulfilling these conditions. Some  'Ulema' of hadith transmitted numerous hadiths because their branch was wider and their conditions were lighter.  The 'Ulema' of hadith never belittled one another on account of differing conditions. Had this not been so, Imam  Muslim would have said something to offend al-Imam al-Bukhari (Rahmatullah ta'ala 'alaihima). Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa's Rahmatullah 'alaih transmitting only a few hadiths because of his circumspection and taqwa could only be a good reason for  praising and lauding him."
 

In the preface to Durr al-mukhtar writes: "A hadith ash-Sharif states: 'As Adam ('alaihi 's-salam) was proud of me so I am proud of a man of my Umma named Numan and called Abu Hanifa. He is the light of my Umma.' " Another hadith ash-Sharif states:

"Prophets ('alaihimu 's-salam) are proud of me.And I am proud of Abu Hanifa. He who loves him will have loved me. He who feels hostility towards him will have felt hostility towards me." These hadiths are also written in the book Al-muqaddima by the profound scholar Hadrat Abu 'l-Laith as-Samarqandi and in Taqadduma, which is a commentary to the former. In the preface to the fiqh book Al-muqaddima by al-Ghaznawi hadiths praising him are quoted. In Diya' al-ma'nawi, a commentary on it, Qadi Abi 'l-Baqa said, 'Abul-Faraj 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Jawzi, based on the words of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, said that these hadiths were mawdu'. Yet this remark of his is bigotry, for these hadiths were reported by several chains of transmitters. Ibn 'Abidin, in his commentary on Durr al-mukhtar, proved that these hadiths were not mawdu' and quoted the following hadith ash-Sharif from the book Al-khairat al-hisan by Ibn Hajar al-Makki: "The ornament of the world will be taken away in the year 150." He went on, "The great fiqh scholar Shams al-aimma 'Abd al-Ghaffar al-Kardari (d. 562/1166 A.D.) said, "It is obvious that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa, since he passed away in 150." A hadith ash-Sharif given by al-Bukhari and Muslim says, "If iman went to the planet Venus, a man of Faris (Persian) descent would bring it back." Imam as-Suyuti, a Shafi'i alim, remarked, "It has been communicated unanimously that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to al-Imam al-azam." Numan Alusi writes in the book Ghaliyya that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to Abu Hanifa and that his grandfather descended from a Faris family.

'Allama Yusuf, a Hanbali scholar, quoted in his work Tanwir as-sahifa from Hafiz 'Allama Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Barr (b. 368/978 and d. 463/1071 in Shatiba), Qadi of Lisbon, Portugal, 'Do not slander Abu Hanifa and do not believe those who slander him! I swear by Allahu ta'ala that I know not a person superior to him, having more wara', or being more learned than he. "Do not believe what al-Khatib al-Baghdadi said! He was antipathetic towards the 'ulama'. He slandered Abu Hanifa, Imam Ahmad and their disciples. The 'ulama' of Islam refuted al-Khatib and censured him. Ibn al-Jawzi's grandson, 'Allama Yusuf Shams ad-din al-Baghdadi, wrote in his forty-volume book Mirat az-zaman that he was astonished to know that his grandfather had followed al-Khatib. Imam al-Ghazali (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), in his Ihya', praises al-Imam al-azam with such words as ''abid', 'zahid' and 'al-'arifu bi'llah'. If the Sahabat al-Kiram and the 'ulama' of Islam had different points of view from one another, it was not because they did not approve of each other's words or because they were unsociable to one another or because they disliked one another; mujtahids (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) disagreed with one another concerning ijtihad for Allahu ta'ala's sake and to help the religion."
 

A hadith ash-Sharif states: "The most beneficial ones of my Umma are those who live in my time. The next most beneficial ones are those who succeed them. And the next most beneficial ones are those who will come after them." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the Tabiin were more beneficial than Taba' at-Tabiin. The Islamic 'ulama' all agree that al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa saw some of the as-Sahabat al-kiram, heard hadiths from them, and, therefore, was one of the Tabiin. For example, al-Imam al-azam heard the hadith, "A person who builds a mosque for Allahu ta'ala's sake will be given a villa in Paradise," from  Abdullah ibn Awfa, who was a Sahabi. Jalal ad-din as-Suyuti, a Shafi'i scholar, wrote in his book Tabyid as-sahifa that al-Imam 'Abdul karim, one of the Shafi'i scholars, wrote a complete book describing the Sahabis whom al-Imam al-azam had seen. It is written in Durr al-mukhtar that al-Imam al-azam saw seven Sahabis.

Among the four Aimmat al-Madhahib ( Imams of the Schools of Islamic Law), only al-Imam al-azam was honored with being one of the Tabiin. It is a rule in 'ilm al-usul (knowdelgeof the fundamental rules of Fiqh) that the view of those who admit something is preferred to the view of those who refuse it. It is obvious that al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa, being one of the Tabiin, is the highest of the 'Aimmat al-Madhahib. The Ghair Muqalidden  (those who refuse to follow the Traditional 'Ulema from among the four madhhaabs) denying al-Imam al-azam's superiority or their trying to vilify this exalted Imam by saying that he was weak in the knowledge of hadith, is similar to their denying the superiority of Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar (Radhi-Allahu 'anhuma). This perverse negation of theirs is not a sort of illness that can be cured by preaching or advice. May Allahu ta'ala cure them! The Muslims' Khalifa 'Umar (Radhi-Allahu 'anh) said during his khutba: "O Muslims! As I tell you now, Rasulullah (Sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) told us during his khutba: "The most beneficial people are my Sahaba. The most beneficial after them are their successors. And the next most beneficial are those who will come after them. There will be liars among those who will come after these.' " The four Madhhabs which Muslims have been following and imitating today are the Madhhabs of those beneficial people whose beneficence was corroborated by Rasulullah (Sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam).
 

Wa Ma alaina illal Balaaghul Mubeen.