The Prophet himself prohibited writing and preserving of his words and traditions. There were some questions where the Quran does not provide explicit commands. The doctrine of hadith was not developed at that time. Hence Hanifa relied mostly on ‘qiyas’ (analogical deductions). Abu Hanifa was of the view that law must be formulated according to the changing needs of the society. He was also in favour of interpreting the law in the light of juristic equity. In last article, we have got broad idea of different schools of Muslim Law. In this article, we are studying Hanafi school of Muslim Law in detail.
After the death of the Prophet in 632, his followers subsequently built an empire that would stretch from Central Asia to Spain less than a century after his death. But a debate over succession split the community, with some arguing that leadership should be awarded to qualified individuals and others insisting that the only legitimate ruler must come through Mohammed’s bloodline. At the time of the death of the Prophet, there was a quarrel between the two groups for imamate (the temporal leadership of the religion). One group advocated the principle of the election in choosing the Imam. This group is known as “Sunni”. The adherents to the Sunni doctrine are called Sunni. While, the other group opposed the principle of the election in choosing the Imam and proclaimed that Ali is the successor of the ‘Prophet’. They firmly believe that imamat must be devolved upon the successors of the prophet, i.e. (i) Ali, the son in law; and (ii) Fatima, the daughter of Prophet. This group is known as “Shia”. Thus, there are two main schools of Muslim Law: a) Sunni school and b) Shia school. There are four sub-schools in Muslim Law. Viz: Hanafi school, Maliki school, Shafei school, and Hanbali school.
Hanafi School of Muslim Law:
It is the first and most popular and largest school of Law among Muslims. Imam Abu Hanifa was the founder of Hanafi School (80 A.H. to 150 A.H). Abu Hanifa an-Numan-ibn-Thabit, commonly known as Imam Abu Hanifa, the founder of most important of the Sunni Sects was born in the year 80 A.H. at Kufa. He was native of Koofa city in Iraq; hence this school is also known as Koofa school. The majority of Sunnis in India are the follower of this school. It prevails in Northern India, Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Egypt.
The Hanafi School recognises only those traditions which have passed through the severe test regarding their originality. Those traditions which are not authentic are not to be accepted as law. The doctrines of this school being practical and most suitable to the changing conditions of the society have always been favoured by Caliphs and the emperors. Two disciples of Imam of Abu Hanifa named Abu Yusufs and Imam Mohammad codified their law based on Ijma and lsthihsan. Abu Yusuf (who became the Chief Kazi at Baghdad) relied upon traditions while Imam Mohammad cited traditions to justify conclusions arrived at by qiyas.
Abu Hanifa did not compose or write any books on law himself, but his numerous discussions and opinions as recorded by his disciples, form the basis of this school. Two important and authoritative texts of this school are Fatwa-e-Alamgiri and Hidaya. Fatwa-e-Alamgiri is a digest of cases compiled under the order of Emperor Aurangazeb Alamgir. Fatwa means judicial decisions and Alamgir is the official name of Mugal Emperor. It has great authority in India. Hidaya is written by Burhan–u-dheen, Ali bin Abu Baker al Marghinani. It contains law on almost all subjects except the law of inheritance. Another important texts are Sirajiyya, Radd-al-Mukhtar, Darr-ul-Mukhtar, and Al-Mukhtasarof Kuduri.
Main Features of Maliki School:
Main features of this school are
- It is considered as the foundation of the Islamic Fiqh i.e. Islamic Jurisprudence.
- This school gives less reliance on oral traditions (Ahadis) unless their authority is beyond doubt.
- Abu Hanifa gave greater reliance on Qiyas
- Abu Hanifa introduced the principle of Istihsan which is also known as juristic opinions or juristic equity.
- A little extension of the scope of Ijma.
- Imam Abu Hanifa also gave preference to urf or usage. Abu Hanifa recognised the authority of local customs as a source of law.
- Two disciples of Imam of Abu Hanifa named Abu Yunus and Imam Mohammad codified their law based on Ijma and lsthihsan.
Abu-Hanifa was a pious and honest man, with independent character. He never accepted any post in the Government and became victim of Ummayad rulers as well as Abbasid. Towards the end of Ummayad Caliphate, Ibn Hubaira, the governor of Iraq, offered Abu-Hanifa the post of Kazi, but he declined it and for his act of refusal was flogged by the Governor. During Abbaside dynasty, Al-Mansur put him behind the bars ostensibly for the same reason, and he died in the year 150 A.H. He was held in such high esteem that his funeral prayers were offered for ten days and on each occasion about 50,000 people attended the congregation.
Conclusion:
The Hanafi School is the first of the four and the largest orthodox Sunni schools of law. It differs from the other schools through its placing less reliance on mass oral traditions as a source of legal knowledge. Hanafi teaching has become a comprehensive school of Islamic jurisprudence, which was able to solve almost all the existing problems of the region. In selecting candidates, Abu Yusuf gave preferred representatives of the Hanafi school of thought. For this reason, hanafizm spread in greater rapidity.