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nadeem@acm.org
And whomsoever Allah wishes good for, He gives him
understanding of Deen…
Great Imaams
A Brief History
Nadeem Abdul Hamid
This work may be freely
duplicated and distributed without prior permission of the publisher under the
conditions that (1) no copies are sold for profit (2) ample credit for its
origin is given, and (3) this notice is kept intact in any copies.
PUB #A005 2000.07.05
Contents
We praise
Allah, the Exalted and Great, and we send blessings
Upon His
noble Messenger 
.
The
four schools of Islamic law, accepted unanimously by the Ahlus-Sunnah
wal-Jama’ah, are the results of an immeasurable amount of work of four
great scholars and their numerous students. The four Imaams, Imaam Abu
Haneefah (
), Imaam Shaafi’i (), Imaam Maalik () and Imaam Hanbal () are stars in the history
of Islam. Their lifelong dedication to the deen has provided the Muslims
after them with a reliable foundation of beliefs and practices based on the
example of the Prophet (
) and his companions (
). The result of the work of
each of these scholars and their students is a unified system of human life
unparalleled to any other. The necessity of adhering to one of the four madhaahib
(schools of thought) is the topic of many other essays. In this small book, our
goal is only to present, by the grace of Allah, sketches of the lives and
character of these four great Muslims in order to increase our belief and
practice upon that which was brought by Rasoolullah ().
The greatest Imaam and foremost scholar of jurisprudence, knowledgeable in hadeeth and fiqh and known for piety.
His
name was Nu’maan ibn Thaabit. Born 80 years after the Hijrah in
Kufa (pronounced koo-fah), ‘Iraaq, his ancestry is reported to be from Fars
(Persia). He was born in the era of the Sahaabah (), among them Hazrat Anas (
), and is established to be
a Taabi’ee. At the time of his birth, Kufa was the center of Islamic
knowledge: among the hundreds of Sahaabah () who had resided there were
some of the greatest Companions including Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood () and Hazrat Abu Hurairah (
). Thousands of jurists and
scholars of hadeeth were born in Kufa around this period of history.
His
father passed away while he was a child and he bore the responsibility of the
family business. He was a merchant of silk and cloth and built up somewhat of a
fortune, which he later used to finance his studies and the studies of his
students. At the age of 22 he was spending much of his time in debating and it
was in this period of time that Imaam Sha’bee () advised him to associate
himself with a scholar.
He
learned his knowledge of fiqh from Imaam Hammaad ibn Abi Sulaymaan () over a period of more than
18 years and the number of traditions ascribed to him is approximately 4,000,
comparable to the Muwatta of Imaam Maalik () and the Musnad of
Imaam Shaafi’i (). His main teacher of ahadeeth
was Imaam Aamir Sha’bee () who in turn had gathered
knowledge of hadeeth from 500 Sahaabah. Imaam Hammad () was also extremely
knowledgeable in hadeeth and fiqh and it was said of him that he
was the most knowledgeable person of the ahadeeth of Hazrat Ibn Mas’ood
() and ‘Ali (). Imaam Abu Haneefah () also acquired knowledge
from other teachers including Ibraheem Nakh’i, Qataada, Qaasim bin Muhammad,
Naafi’, Hasan Basri and other famous Taabi’een (
).
Among
the students of Imaam Abu Haneefah (
)
were also great scholars of hadeeth and fiqh. Some of them were
Imaam Muhammad ibn Hasan ash-Shaybaani, Imaam Abu Yusuf, ‘Abdullah ibn
al-Mubaarak and Wakee’ ibn al-Jarraah, the ustaadh of Imaam
Shaafi’i (). Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn
al-Mubaarak () was reported to have said,
“If Allah had not directed me to Abu Haneefah and Sufyaan, I would have been no
different than the rest of the people.” Another of those that studied under
him, Imaam Yahyaa ibn Sa’eed al-Qattaan () said: “By Allah, we sat
with Abu Haneefah and listened to him and by Allah, when I looked at him I
would know from his face that he feared Allah, the Mighty and Glorious.” Imaam
Shaafi’i () once said of him: “In fiqh,
all scholars are the dependents of Abu Haneefah.”
His
literary works include various Masaaneed (compilations by his students
of the ahaadeeth he related), his Kitaabul-Aathaar compiled from
70,000 ahaadeeth, al-Fiqh al-Akbar, an essay on the correct fundamental
beliefs regarding Allah, Kitaabul Rad ‘alal-Qaadiriyah and al-‘Aalim
wal-Muta’allim.
Many
anecdotes tell of his strong knowledge of hadeeth. Among them is that of
Imaam Abu Yusuf () who said that when Imaam
Abu Haneefah () explained some legal issue,
he (Abu Yusuf) would then go to all the scholars of hadeeth in Kufa and
gather the hadeeth that were in support of the ruling that the Imaam
Saahib had given, intending thereby to read them to the Imaam Saahib for his
satisfaction. However, when he had read all the hadeeth to the Imaam
Saahib, he informed him that such-and-such hadeeth had such-and-such
weakness, and another hadeeth had so-and-so as an unreliable narrator
and so were not up to the standard needed for deducing legal opinions. The Imaamul-A’zam
remarked, “I am knowledgeable of the knowledge of the people of Kufa.”
His
skill of argument and strength of logic was remarked by Imaam Maalik () who once said: “I have
seen a man who, if he spoke to you regarding this stone pillar in order to
prove to you that it was gold, he would be able to establish his proof.”
The
good character and piety of Imaam Abu Haneefah () were also well
established. He never accepted a favor from anyone and so was never indebted.
Once a person saw Imaam Abu Haneefah () walking towards him and he
avoided him and walked along another path. When the Imaam asked him why he had
done so, he replied that he was ashamed as he owed the Imaam 10,000 dirhams
(silver coins). The humbleness of the man caused Imaam Abu Haneefah () to forgive the entire
debt. Someone mentioned to Sufyaan Thawri () that he had never heard
the Imaam backbiting anyone. Hazrat Sufyaan () replied, “Abu Haneefah is
not such a fool that he will destroy his own good deeds.”
His
piety was reflected in the fact that for 40 consecutive years, he performed the
Fajr prayers with the same wuduu’ as the ‘Isha-
that is, he spent the entire night in worship. He said: “There is no Surah
in the entire Qur’an which I have not recited during nafl prayers.” He
performed Hajj 55 times in his lifetime and by the end of his life had
recited the Qur’an 7,000 times.
His
extreme caution to avoid the corruption of politics led to two trials, the
first during the rule of Ibn Hubairah when the Imaam Saahib refused his request
to become a judge. He was whipped for his rejection. Again during the rule of
Mansoor he rejected a request to become judge of Baghdaad and swore that he
would never accept such posts. For that he was imprisoned, beaten and
forcefully fed poison which led to his martyrdom. He died in a state of
prostration in Baghdaad in 150 H. at 70 years of age. 50,000 people gathered
for his funeral prayer, of which six were held in order to accommodate the
crowds. His only son, Hammad, led the last Janaazah prayer.[1]
Imaam
of Darul-Hijrah, the Imaam of Madinah,
a great
muhaddith and mujtahid.
Imaam
Abu ‘Abdullah Maalik ibn Anas ibn Maalik al-Asbahi ()
was born in Madinah in 93 H. Such was his love for the City of the Prophet () that he spent his entire
life there and acquired all his knowledge within the city. He would not leave
the city for any travel other than the obligatory Hajj for fear of dying
outside of Madinah. His love for the Prophet () was such that he never
recited a hadeeth unless he had wuduu’.
He
acquired knowledge of Qur’an from Naafi’ and his teachers also included Zuhri,
Aamir ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Zubayr and Rabee’atur-Raa’i ().
Hazrat Qaadi Ayyaad ()
has recorded that he had over 1,300 students, including ‘Abdullah ibn Mubaarak,
Sufyaan Thawri, Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah, Awzaa’i and Imaam Shaafi’i ().
His
collection of hadeeth, named al-Muwatta, was labeled by Imaam
Shaafi’i ()
as “the soundest book after the Book of Allah.” This appellation held until the
compilation of Saheeh al-Bukhaari. His other works include Tafseer Ghareebil-Qur’aan,
Kitaabus-Sirr and al-Mudawwanatul-Kubraa.
Imaam
Maalik ()
was very cautious in passing rulings. He was never too proud to say that he did
not know when asked about matters that he was not sure of. Once the khaleefa
asked that his Muwatta be displayed in the Ka’baa so that all
Muslims could be forced to follow his rulings. Imaam Maalik ()
refused to do so saying that the Sahaabah (
)
themselves had held differing opinions and that all such reliable opinions were
upon the righteous path. He loathed innovations and kept away from the many
sects that arose in his time.
Imaam
Maalik ()
had two sons, Yahyaa and Muhammad, and one daughter named Faatimah. His son
Yahyaa grew to become a great scholar. During the month of Rabiul-Awwal
in 179 H. he left this world after an illness which had plagued him during the
last few years of his life. He was buried in Jannatul-Baqee’ in his
beloved city of Madinah and the Ameer of Madinah, ‘Abdul ‘Azeez ibn
Muhammad led his Janaazah prayer.[2]
Just before his death, Imaam Maalik ()
recited the tashah-hud and then recited the verse of Surah Rum:
“With Allah is
the Command in the past and in the future.”
The Imaam
of the world, Mujtahid of his time.
Imaam
Shaafi’i () was reportedly born on the
same day as Imaam Abu Haneefah’s () death. He was born in
Gaza, Palestine. His proper name is Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idrees ibn ‘Abbaas
ibn ‘Uthmaan ibn Shaafi’i ibn Saa’ib ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Abd Yazeed ibn Haashim ibn
al-Muttalib ibn ‘Abd Manaf al-Qurayshi al-Makki ash-Shaafi’i- descended from
the great-grandfather of the Noble Prophet ().
His
father also passed away early and he was taken to Makkah by his mother at the
age of 2. He gained his elementary religious knowledge in Makkah along with
training of archery and horse riding and a high degree of Arabic poetry. He
grew up in circumstances of extreme poverty, but he was brilliant of mind and
strong of memory: He told that when the teacher taught the children, he would
learn everything by heart instantly and so in the teacher’s absence he would
teach, thus the teacher would waive his fees. By the age of seven he had
memorized the entire Qur’an and at 10 he knew the Muwatta of Imaam
Maalik (
)
by heart. After some years in Makkah, he moved to Madinah where he obtained
knowledge of hadeeth and fiqh from the scholars of that city.
His
teachers included his uncle Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Shaafi’i, Sufyaan ibn
Uyaynah, Imaam Maalik ibn Anas and Imaam Muhammad ibn Hasan ash-Shaybaani (). The legacy left by the
Imaam was monumental: His Risaalah was the first work in the history of
mankind formulating the theoretical and practical bases of jurisprudence. The
teachings of his school of thought are embodied in the seven-volume al-Umm
and in the science of tafseer (commentary of Qur’an) he was the first to
establish the principles of abrogation (‘ilm al-naasikh wal-mansookh).
Hasan ibn Muhammad Za’frani said: “The scholars of hadeeth were asleep
and awoke when Shaafi’i woke them,” and ash-Shaybaani said of him: “If the
scholars of hadeeth speak, it is in the language of Shaafi’i.”
He
was of a pristine character, independent, generous and broad-minded. Of his
generosity, it is reported that once he came back to Makkah from Yemen,
bringing 10,000 deenars (gold coins) with him. He camped outside Makkah
and by the end of the day he had given away the entire amount to the poor and
needy people. He divided his nights into three equal parts: writing, praying
and sleeping. Every night he would complete the recitation of the entire Qur’an
in prayer and during Ramadaan he would complete it twice a day.
He
was a handsome man of fair complexion. His beard was never more than a handful
and he would dye it with henna. It was said that he liked scent and
whichever pillar he leaned against while he was teaching, his fragance would
linger upon it. He could truthfully say of himself, “I have never told a lie,”
and in the company of such an intense personality, his students could not
swallow a drink of water, out of awe, while he was looking on.
He
passed away at 53 years of age in Cairo on a Friday during the month of Rajab
(204 H.). The governor of Egypt led the Janaazah prayers, which were
also attended by his two sons Abul-Hasan Muhammad and ‘Uthmaan. After a
lifetime of service to Islam, he left behind over 100 works and many students
who upheld his legacy.[3]
Born
in Baghdaad in 164 H., Imaam Abu ‘Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ibn
Hilaal ibn As’ad ibn Idrees ash-Shaybaani () also suffered the loss of
his father a short while after his birth. He reports that he never saw his
father nor grandfather and that his mother brought him up.
After
acquiring basic Islamic education, he began studying hadeeth as a young
adult. For sixteen years he traveled through Kufa, Basra, Makkah, Madinah,
Yemen, Damascus, Morocco, Persia and Khurasan. He memorized 100,000 ahaadeeth,
thirty thousand of which are recorded in his monumental and popular work, al-Musnad.
He was one of the greatest students of Imaam Shaafi’i () and out of respect for his
teacher, he would never give a legal opinion as long as Shaafi’i () was in ‘Iraaq. His school of
thought was based mainly upon the Qur’an, hadeeth and ijmaa with
little recourse to qiyaas. Among his students were two of his sons,
Saalih and ‘Abdullah, and Imaam Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Bukhaari (). Besides his Musnad,
he was the author of numerous other works.
Like
other pious scholars before him, Imaam Maalik () bore harsh torture and
imprisonment rather than bowing to the desires of the corrupt leaders. He
refused to give up defending the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah that the Qur’an
is the uncreated, eternal word of Allah. For this, the khaleefa
imprisoned him for over two years. He died at 77 years of age in 241 H. and
over 600,000 people attended his Janaaza prayers. For one week such
prayers were held at his grave, the last of the four great mujtahid
Imaams of Islam.[4]
Truly to Allah we belong,
And to Him we return.
We ask Allah that He keeps us guided upon the Straight Path-
the path of Islam- the path of the Prophet () which
was illuminated by these four scholars and preserved and propagated by their
students and all the ‘ulamaa-ul-haqq up till today.
Aameen.
“The Four Great Imaams” Compiled by students
of Jameatul Imam Muhammad Zakaria, UK. Publication No. 4.
[http://www.inter-islam.org].
Biographical Notes of The
Reliance of the Traveler. Nuh Ha Mim Keller. (Amana Publications, Maryland)
Dars-e-Tirmidhi. (Urdu) Maulana Muhammad Taqi ‘Uthmaani. (Maktaba
Darul-‘Uloom, Karachi)
Introduction of Sharh
al-Fiqh al-Akbar. (Beirut 1997)
Ihyaa ‘Uloom ad-Deen. Imaam Ghazaali. Vol. 1
The reader is kindly requested to please forward any corrections or suggestions for improvement to the publisher.
[1] For the greater part of Islamic history, the majority of cases in the courts of the khaleefahs were decided according to the Hanafi school of law. In addition, over half of the entire ummah follows that madhhab even today, attesting to the greatness of its legacy. Famous scholars of the Ahnaaf include Imaam Tahaawi, Haafiz Abu Bashr Dulaabi, Imaam Badruddeen ‘Ayni, Ali bin Sultan Nooruddeen Mulla ‘Ali Qaari, Imaam Jalaaluddeen Suyooti and many others ().
[2] Scholars of the Maalikiyyah include Haafiz Ibn ‘Abdul-Birr, Imaam al-‘Arabi, Haafiz Ibn Rushd and others ().
[3] Great scholars of the Shaafi’i madhhab include such masters of hadeeth and fiqh as Imaam Nawawi, Imaam Daaraqutni, Imaam Bayhaqi, Imaam Dhahabi, Haafiz Ibn Atheer Jazri, Haafiz Ibn Hajar and Haafiz ‘Iraaqi ().
[4] Among the scholars of the Hanaabilah are the names of Haafiz al-Muqaddasi, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Quddaamah and Haafiz Ibn Rajab ().