HANAFI SCHOOL OF LAW

Presenters: Group 1
Professor: Dean Anzeri Ali
28 January 2017
 Overview

The Hanafi School is one

of the five schools of
thought in jurisprudence
(Fiqh) within Sunni Islam.
 Overview

Muslims all over the world is said to

be divided to two communities:

The Sunnis and Shia Muslim

 Overview

What is Sunni Islam?

It is the largest denomination of Islam.

Its name comes from the word Sunnah,

referring to the exemplary behavior of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad.
 Overview

The differences between Sunni and

Shia Muslims arose from a
disagreement over the choice of
Muhammad's successor.
 Overview

According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did

not clearly designate a successor and the
Muslim community acted according to his
sunnah in electing his father-in-law Abu Bakr as
the first caliph. This contrasts with the Shi'a
view, which holds that Muhammad intended
his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to
succeed him.
 Overview

The Hanafi School is one

of the five schools of
thought in jurisprudence
(Fiqh) within Sunni Islam.
 Overview

It was built upon the teachings of Abu

Hanifa, a merchant who studied and
taught in Iraq, and who is reported to
have left behind one major work, Al-
Fiqh al-Akbar.
 Overview

Abu Hanifas disciples, Abu Yusuf and

Muhammad al-Shaybani, compiled,
organized and preserved his teachings.

They laid down the systematic

foundations for the work of later Hanafis.
 Overview

Hanafi is the fiqh with the largest number of

followers among Sunni Muslims.

It is predominant in the countries that were

once part of the historic Ottoman Empire,
Mughal Empire and Sultanates of Turkic rulers
in the Indian subcontinent, northwest China
and Central Asia.
 Overview

While the Hanafi school, along with other

Sunni schools, utilizes qiyas (analogical
reasoning) as a method of legal reasoning,
Abu Hanifa himself relied extensively on
ray (personal opinion).
 Overview

It maintained a peculiar
characteristic which gives
emphasis on the practical aspects
of the law.
 Overview

It is distinguished from the other

schools through its placing less
reliance on mass oral traditions as a
source of legal knowledge.
 Overview

It also established the principle that the

universal concurrence of the Ummah
(community) of Islam on a point of law, as
represented by legal and religious scholars,
constituted evidence of the will of God.

This process is called ijma', which means the

consensus of the scholars.
 Overview

The Hanafi school definitively established the

Qur'an, the Traditions of the Prophet, ijma' and
qiyas as the basis of Islamic law.

Additionally, Hanafi school accepted local

customs as a secondary source of the law.
 Overview

Hanafi doctrines have always been

considered among the most flexible and liberal
in Islamic law, including in the areas of criminal
law, treatment of non-Muslims, individual
freedoms, marriage and guardianship, and
ownership and use of property.
The Life of Imam al-Numan Ibn Thabit
The Life of Imam Abu Hanifah
Nu'man ibn Thabit (80-150 A.H.)
His Name,
Occupation,
Early Education,
Teachers,
Testimony & Death
1. Name, Birth and Ancestry
Better known as `Imam-e-`Adham' (The Greatest
Imam), or by his kunyah `Abu Hanifah', Nu'man ibn
Thabit was born in the city of Kufa (modern day Iraq)

Birth
699-765 CE (common era)
80-148 AH (after hijrah)

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-

Arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the
names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather
(Mah).
1. Name, Birth and Ancestry

Father was a successful business man, trading silk

materials. He succeeded his father in the business.

Abu Hanifa was the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school

of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)

Abu Hanifa was also one of the Tabiun, the generation

after Sahaba (companions), because he saw the Sahabi
Anas ibn Malik, and transmitted hadiths from him and
other Sahaba.
 Tabiun

The Tabiun are the generation of muslims

who were born after the death of
Muhammad but who were contemporary of
the Sahaba Companions.

As such they played an important part in the development of

Islamic thought and philosophy, and in the political
development of the early Caliphate. In particular, they played
a vital role in the split in the Islamic community between
Sunni and Shia Muslims.
2. Early Education

a) Ilmul-Kalm (Islamic Theology)

early on he had no interest nor the opportunity to

acquire any education in his early childhood

but

Memorised the Qurn during his childhood.

Devoted the early part of his life in studying ilmul-

Kalm(Islamic Theology).
2. Early Education

Soon he began to take an interest in education which

was heightened further ny the unexpected advice of
As-Shabi, one of Kufas most well-known scholars.

He happened to pass the home of as-Shabi.

Shabi, mistaking him for a student, asked him whose

classes he attended.
2. Early Education

Abu Hanifa responded that he did not attend any

classes, Shabi said

I see signs of intelligence in you..

Abu Hanifa embarked on a prolific quest for

knowledge that would in due course have a profound
impact on the history of Islam.
2. Early Education
His early education was achieved through madris
and it is here that he learned the Quran and Hadith,
doing exceptionally well in his studies.

Abu Hanifas initial chain of knowledge was with

Muhammad al-Baqir and he subsequently expanded
this chain of knowledge with Imam Jafar al-Sadiq.

Abu Hanifa was one of the distinguesd students of

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq.

Imam Jafar had opened a university that not only

taught religion, but also sciences and math.
2. Early Education

Frequented the city of Basra and debated with the

deviant sects such as, Khawrij, Mutazilahs,
Murjiahs, Jahmiahsand Shiahs.

One of the renowned works on Islamic Creed

attributed to him is Fqhul-Akbar.
2.b) Training in Fiqh & Hadeeth

Around the age of Twenty, Imm Sahib

relinquished Ilmul-Kalm and devoted to Fiqh.

Amongst his famous teachers was Hammd

Ibn Abi Sulaimn(d.120AH).

Hammad was amongst the prominent and

representative Jurists in Kufa.
2.b) Training in Fiqh & Hadeeth

He spent 18 years studying Fiqh and Hadeeth

combined by Hammd.

After his teachers death, he travelled to

Makkah & Madeenah in search for knowledge.
2.c) His Reputation in Hadeeth

Imm al-Amash praised him for his perceptiveness in

Hadeeth.

Imm al-AwzaI met with Imm Sahib and discussed the

issue of raising the hands other than the initial
Takbeer. Imm Sahib substantiated his position by
narrating a Hadeeth with his chain of transmitters.

Abdullah Ibn Mubrak describes him as the quintessence

on knowledge
 2.d) His Teachers

He is reported to have 300 teachers.

Amongst his reputable teachers were;

-Amir al-Shabi(d.104 AH)
-Ata IbnAbiRabah(d.115 AH)
-IbnShihbal-Zuhri(d. 124 AH)
-AmrIbnDeenr(d. 126 AH)
-Qatdah(d. 118 AH)
-SulaimanIbnMihrnAl-A-ash (d. 148 AH)
-The Immsof the Shiahse.g. Jafaral-Sdiq,
Mumhdal-Bqir.
 Adulthood and Death

Chief Judge of the State

In 763, al-Masur, the Abbasid monarch offered

Abu Hanifa the post of the Chief Judge of the
State (Qadi Al-Qadat)

.but he declined to accept the offer, choosing to

remain independent
 Adulthood and Death

His student Abu Yusuf was appointed Chief Judge of the

State of al-Mansur regime instead of himself.

Abu Hanifa excused himself by saying that he did not

regard himself fit for the post.

A-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for

offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa
of Lying.
 Adulthood and Death

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)?
 Adulthood and Death

Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa

arrested, locked in prison and tortured.

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.
 Adulthood and Death

Later, after many years a mosque, the Abu

Hanifa Mosque in the Adhamiyah
neighborhood of Baghdad was built in
honor of him.
 2.d) His Teachers

He is reported to have 300 teachers.

Amongst his reputable teachers were;
-Amir al-Shabi(d.104 AH)
-Ata IbnAbiRabah(d.115 AH)
-IbnShihbal-Zuhri(d. 124 AH)
-AmrIbnDeenr(d. 126 AH)
-Qatdah(d. 118 AH)
-SulaimanIbnMihrnAl-A-ash (d. 148 AH)
-The Immsof the Shiahse.g. Jafaral-Sdiq,
Mumhdal-Bqir.
 2.d) His Teachers

He is reported to have 300 teachers.

Amongst his reputable teachers were;
-Amir al-Shabi(d.104 AH)
-Ata IbnAbiRabah(d.115 AH)
-IbnShihbal-Zuhri(d. 124 AH)
-AmrIbnDeenr(d. 126 AH)
-Qatdah(d. 118 AH)
-SulaimanIbnMihrnAl-A-ash (d. 148 AH)
-The Immsof the Shiahse.g. Jafaral-Sdiq,
Mumhdal-Bqir.
The evolution of the Hanafi School of Law
 EVOLUTION OF
HANAFI SCHOOL
OF THOUGHT
According to Ibn Hazm...
The meaning and application of Qiyas
(Analytical deducation) and
Ististhan Juristic preference
under the Hanafi school
 Qiyas
The Hanafi school has the broadest outlook and
thus the most liberal on the whole; offering to
the competent jurist an easy method of
analogical inference. This is because the Hanafi
School pays greater attention to the philosophy
and rationale of the injunctions, especially in
regard to transactions intended for the welfare
and prosperity of the people. Qiyas became one
of the fundamental principles of this school,
which was able to develop Qiyas more than most.
 ISTIHSAN
Istihsan literally means to deem or consider
something good.
According to al-Imam al-Karkhi, a Hanafi
jurists: Istihsan is to depart from the existing
precedent, by taking decision in a certain
case different from that on which similar case
has been decided, for a reason stronger than
the one that is obtained in those cases.
 ISTIHSAN
According to some scholars, Juristic preference
is a fitting description of Istihsan as it involves
setting aside an established analogy in favour of
an alternative ruling which serves the ideals of
justice and public interest in a better form.
Hanafi jurists view Istihsan as not to be
independent of Shariah, but an integral part of
Shariah. It is a subsidiary source of Islamic Law
It is an important branch of Ijtihad, and has
played a prominent role in adaptation of Islamic
Law to the changing needs of society.
 TYPES OF ISTIHSAN
Istihsan on the basis of the text
e.g. Forward sale of salam
There are two proofs for salam: One is general
text which indicates that it is not permissible of
salam i.e. the Sunnah of Messenger of Allah sale
not what is not with you
Another proof is specific text which permitted
salam sale i.e. the Sunnah Whoever concludes
salam, let him do so over a specified measure,
specified weight and specified period of time.
 TYPES OF ISTIHSAN
Istihsan on the basis of necessity and need.
E.g. Hearsay evidence.
Based on general principle, it is not admissible.
Since the witness has to observe and listen by
himself.
But it is exceptional to the case of death and
giving birth for necessity and need. Since it cause
hardship to find a person who really observed
such happening or event.
 TYPES OF ISTIHSAN
Istihsan on the basis of custom
e.g. Endowment (waqaf)
According to the established principle in Hanafi
school regarding waqaf, it should be permanent in
nature. Thus based on this principle, the waqaf of
movable property is not permissible since it may
be easily damage.
 TYPES OF ISTIHSAN
Istihsan on the basis of public interest.
Ee.g. Contract of Muzaraah (agriculture)
According to the established principle in Hanafi
school, the contract of muzaraah is terminated
with the death of both contracting parties i.e. the
owner of the land and the farmer or any one of
them. But the Hanafi jurists made an exception in
one situation i.e. in case of the death of the owner
of the land and the crops have not yet ripe. This is
for the protection of the interest of the farmer.
 TYPES OF ISTIHSAN
Istihsan on the basis of concealed analogy
E.g. Mortgage of minor property by guardian.
According to Hanafi jurists, the guardian is allowed to
carry out some kind of dispositions regarding minors
property and he also is not allowed to carry out some
kind of dispositions. Among the disposition that is
allowed is to deposit minors property for safe
keeping. And the disposition which is not allowed is to
take minors property for the payment of his own
debt. The issue in question is whether the guardian is
allowed to mortgage minors property.
 The Analogical Istihsan
This is a departure from Qiyas Jali (obvious analogy) to Qiyas Khafi
(hidden analogy).
EXAMPLE: Charitable endowment (waqf) of arable land includes
the ancillary rights, also known as easements, such as the right to
water even if these rights are not mentioned explicitly in the
instrument of waqf. A direct analogy between waqf and sale, as
both involve transfer of ownership, dictates that these rights should
not be included if they are not plainly mentioned in the contract
because anything that is not mentioned expressly in the contract of
sale is excluded from the transaction.
The Hanafis see that such ruling would frustrate the basic objective
of waqf, which is to denote the land for charitable purposes.
Thus, using this alternative analogy, Hanafis rule that the ancillary
rights are inclued in the waqf transaction even if they are not
mentioned explicitly in the contract.
 ISTIHSAN = EQUITY
THEREFORE, Istihsan is inspired by the principle of
fairness and conscience, and both authorize a
departure from a rule of positive law when its
enforcement leads to unfair results. Istihsan and equity
assume that good and evil are not a matter of relative
convenience for the individual but rather derived from
an eternally valid standard that is ultimately dependent
of human cognizance and adherence.
Istihsan does not recognize anything beyond the
Sharian. But rather, it seeks solutions in accordance
with the higher objectives of Shariah
The order of sources of Islamic law
 The method of making legal provisions for Hanifa
Madhhab, in order of importance and preference, was
based on the following basic sources: :
Quran
Sunnah
Post companions of Prophet Muhammad
Qiyas (analogy)
Istihsan (juristic preference)
Ijma
Orf (local custom of people).
 Quran
This is the Word of God and the
fundamental basis of Sharia.
 Sunnah
Examples from the life of the
Prophet Muhammad, his words
and expressions which are
commentaries for the verses of
the Quran.
If the previous sources were
ambiguous on an issue, then
the following sources were
used:
If the previous sources were
ambiguous on an issue, then
the following sources were
used:
 Posts Companions
of the Prophet Muhammad
(Sahabah, as-sahabah)
This source also clarifies in various aspects of the
Sharia, as the companions were with the Prophet
and know the essence or the same background,
different problems. Vyskazavaniya tabiinov (the
next generation behind them) are not statements
of associates, as they not directly have contact
with the Prophet.
 Qiyas
A proposition by analogy, which applies in cases
where in Revelation there was no literal to a given
problem. The essence of this method is that the
legal issue in these cases can be resolved on the
basis of analogy with what already exists in
Revelation. The legal problem is associated already
in solution and on this basis of decision.
 Istihsan (preference)
Possibility of rejection of arguments qiyas if
formally correct opinion on the analogy in this
situation is not quite appropriate. In this case, the
requirement imposed on the basis of another
argument, which is opposed to explicit qiyas.
Istihsan applies when qiyas contradicts Ijma and
orfom.
 Ijma
Unanimity mudzhtahidov
(theologians), both past and
today, about any problem.
 Orf
Use as an argument to any of the traditional
distribution opinion in the Muslim society, if there
is no literal evidence Revelation. Orf is divided into
Sahih and Fasid.
SAHIH - is the RUF, which is not contradicts
revelation. That allows him to apply as
evidence.
FASID this is the RUF, which contradicts
revelation. This type of Orf not accepted as
evidence.
The countries in which the followers of the
Hanafi school can be found
 TURKEY
* Population: 79, 622, 062
* Muslim Population: 98%
 ALBANIA
* Population: 2, 903, 700
* Muslim Population: 58%
BALKAN STATES
BOSNIA
* Population: 3, 802, 134
* Muslim: 50.07%
BULGARIA
* Population: 7, 097, 796
* Muslim: 7.8%
 CROATIA
* Population: 4, 225, 001
* Muslim: 3%
GREECE
* Population: 10, 921, 488
* Muslim: 4.7%
KOSOVO
* Population: 1, 852, 341
* Muslim: 90%
 MACEDONIA
* Population: 2, 081, 012
* Muslim: 34.9%
MONTENEGRO
* Population: 626, 101
* Muslim: 18.5%
ROMANIA
* Population: 19, 372, 734
* Muslim: 0.3%
 SLOVENIA
* Population: 2, 069, 815
* Muslim: 2.4%
SERBIA
* Population: 8, 830, 729
* Muslim: 3.2%
 CENTRAL ASIA
KAZAKHSTAN
* Population: 17, 855, 384
* Muslim: 70.2%
KYRGYZSTAN
* Population: 6, 033, 769
* Muslim: 75%
 TAJIKISTAN
* Population: 8, 681, 644
* Muslim: 85%
TURKMENISTAN
* Population: 5, 438, 670
* Muslim: 89%
UZBEKISTAN
* Population: 30, 322, 370
* Muslim: 88%
 AFGHANISTAN
* Population: 33, 332, 025
* Muslim: 84.7%
 PAKISTAN
* Population: 201, 995, 540
* Muslim: 90%
 CHINA
* Population: 1, 373, 541, 278
* Muslim: 1.8%
 INDIA
* Population: 1, 328, 380, 510
* Muslim: 13%
 IRAQ
* Population: 37, 669, 892
* Muslim: 95%
 Conclusion/Summary

The main reasons for the conflicting rulings

of the Muslim schools of law, such as:
1. Word meanings
2. Narrations of hadiths
3. Admissibility of certain legal principles
4. Methods of Qiyas (Analogical deduction)
 Conclusion/Summary
According to Sunni schools of law, secondary sources of
Islamic law are:
1. consensus decision-making
2. analogical reason (Qiyas)- process of deductive
analogy in which the teachings of the Hadith are
compared and contrasted with those of the Qur'an
3. pure reason
4. seeking the public interest;
5. juristic discretion;
6. the rulings of the first generation of Muslims;
7. and local customs.
Conclusion/Summary
 Conclusion/Summary
[1] Hanafi school frequently relies on analogical
deduction and independent reasoning.
[2] Maliki uses the Hadith
[3] Hanbali uses the Hadith.
[4] Shafi'i school uses Sunnah
[5] Usuli school of Ja'fari jurisprudence uses four
sources, which are Qur'an, Sunnah, consensus and
the intellect.
 Narration of Hadith
Arabic, the noun adth (Arabic: adth IPA:
[adi]) means "report", "account", or "narrative

Hanafites quoted a hadith stating that "In my

community there will rise a man called Abu Hanifa [the
Hanafite founder] who will be its guiding light". In fact
one agreed upon hadith warned that, "There will be
forgers, liars who will bring you hadiths which neither
you nor your forefathers have heard, Beware of
them."[citation needed] In addition the number of
hadith grew enormously.
 Methods of Qiyas
Methods of Qiyas- analogical reason is the fourth
source of the sharia for the majority of Sunni
jurisprudence. It aims to draw analogies to a
previously accepted decision.
 Methods of Qiyas
The Hanafi school of thought very strongly supports qiyas.
Imam Abu Hanifa elevated qiyas to a position of great
significance in Islamic law.
Abu Hanafi extended the rigid principle of basing rulings on
the Qur'an and Sunnah to incorporate opinion and exercise of
free thought by jurists. In order to respond suitably to
emerging problems, he based his judgments, like other
jurists, on the explicit meanings of primary texts (the Qur'an
and sunnah). But, he also considered the "spirit" of Islamic
teachings, as well as whether the ruling would be in the
interest of the objectives of Islam. Such rulings were based
on public interest and the welfare of the Muslim community.