Imam Abu Hanifa
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Al-Fiqh al-Akbar is one of the earliest texts written on Islamic creed
and one of the surviving works of Abu Hanifa, the Great Imam of
jurisprudence and theology. Studied for centuries in the Muslim world,
Al-Fiqh al-Akbar offers a more nuanced, textured approach to
understanding divine oneness (tawhid), the focal point of Islamic
belief. It refines one’s understanding of the Creator, the messengers
and divine communication, and enables one to gain much-needed insight
into the realities of this life and the events of the hereafter.
Al-Fiqh al-Akbar not only improves one’s
understanding of ‘aqida and deepens one’s appreciation of his or her
beliefs, but it endeavors to address questions, which, if left
unanswered, could leave insidious doubt and cause communal division.
Such questions include: Where is Allah? Does Allah evolve? What
constitutes true Islamic belief? Are prophets capable of sinning? Is
there creation beyond what we see? What comes after death?
An essential work for those intested in learning the greatest knowledge, that of their Creator.
Abu Hanifa (699 — 767 CE / 80 — 148 AH)
was born in Kufa, Iraq during the reign of the powerful Umayyad caliph
Abdul Malik bin Marwan. Acclaimed as Al-Imam al-A’zam, or Al-A’dham (the
Great Imam), Nu’man bin Thabit bin Zuta bin Mah was better known by his
kunya Abu Hanifa. It was not a true kunya, as he did not have a son
called Hanifa, but an epithetical one meaning pure in monotheistic
belief. In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa excused himself by saying
that he did not regard himself fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his
own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused
Abu Hanifa of lying. “If I am lying,” Abu Hanifa said, “then my
statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted
post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?” Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu
Hanifa arrested and locked in prison and tortured. Ya’qubi, vol.lll,
p.86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.lll, p.268-270. Even there, the indomitable
jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him. In
767, Abu Hanifa died in prison. It was said that so many people attended
his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more
than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried.
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