Author Anwar (Ahmad Raza Bijnori Deobandi) said:
“A’mash also used to say that I have seen that Ibrahim never said anything on his own opinion; it is evident that all the jurisprudential sayings attributed to Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, whether in Imam Abu Yusuf’s book Al-Athar, Imam Muhammad’s book Al-Athar, or Ibn Abi Shaybah’s Musannaf, are all considered as Marfu‘ Ahadith (Prophetic traditions).”
We say that if Imam Nakha’i’s jurisprudential sayings are considered Marfu‘ Ahadith, then there is no doubt that Imam Abu Hanifa frequently opposed Nakha’i’s jurisprudential opinions, which implies that Imam Sahib frequently contradicted the Prophetic Ahadith. Here we present some of Imam Nakha’i’s jurisprudential sayings as examples which Imam Abu Hanifa and the Hanafis opposed.
1. Imam Nakha’i used to cut off communication and greetings with Murji’ah people and ordered his students to avoid them; he also expelled Murji’ah students from his school. However, Imam Abu Hanifa accepted the Murji’ah as his teacher and not only that, but made them his leader. For example, Imam Nakha’i expelled a Murji’ah named Jamad from his school, but Imam Abu Hanifa studied religious sciences from him for eighteen years. Any fair person can easily decide whether Imam Abu Hanifa can be called bound to the Nakha’i school in this case.
2. Imam Nakha’i said: While washing the face in ablution, the part of the ear facing the face should be washed, and the rest of the ear should be wiped during wiping the head. Imam Abu Hanifa opposed this ruling and said the entire ear should be wiped along with the head.
3. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone does not rinse the mouth and nose (Madhmadah and Istinshaq) during ablution, their ablution is invalid and they must perform it again.
Imam Abu Hanifa holds that ablution is valid without rinsing the mouth and nose.
4. Imam Nakha’i said: Kissing one’s wife or a non-mahram woman breaks ablution.
Imam Abu Hanifa holds that kissing any woman does not break ablution.
5. Imam Nakha’i said: Backbiting and tattling break ablution.
Imam Abu Hanifa holds that backbiting and tattling do not break ablution.
6. Imam Nakha’i said: Wiping the entire head is obligatory.
Imam Abu Hanifa holds that wiping a quarter of the head is sufficient.
7. Imam Nakha’i said: If a child’s urine falls on clothes or body, sprinkling water purifies it, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds that without washing, purification is not achieved.
8. Imam Nakha’i said: If a person with ablution cuts nails or hair, they should wash the cut nails and wipe the head again, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds this is not necessary.
9. Imam Nakha’i said: If a woman wipes only the temples, her ablution is invalid; she must wipe the entire head, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds wiping the temples suffices.
10. Imam Nakha’i said: If a one-dirham amount of impurity falls on clothes or body, prayer is invalid without washing, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds that one dirham amount is excused and prayer is valid; more than that requires washing.
11. Imam Nakha’i said: A woman with Istihadah (prolonged bleeding) should combine Dhuhr and Asr prayers with one ghusl (ritual bath), similarly Maghrib and Isha, and perform a separate ghusl for Fajr prayer, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds that fresh ablution without combining prayers suffices for each prayer.
12. Imam Nakha’i said: If the duration of postpartum bleeding (Nifas) of a woman who gave birth is not determined, she should observe the Nifas period of a woman from her family, but Imam Abu Hanifa and other Hanafis said:
ولسنا نأخذ بذلك
13. Imam Nakha’i holds that saliva is impure and cannot be purified without washing.
But Imam Abu Hanifa holds that saliva is pure.
14. Imam Nakha’i said: A husband can perform ghusl for his living wife and perform tayammum (dry ablution) if water is unavailable, but Imam Abu Hanifa holds that a husband cannot perform ghusl or tayammum for his deceased wife, though he can for the living.
15. Imam Nakha’i said: The mu’adhdhin (caller to prayer) has the discretion to speak or not during the second call (ithna’), but Imam Abu Hanifa and Hanafis said:
وأما نحن فنرى أن لا يفعل، وإن فعل فلم ينقض ذلك أذانه
16. Imam Nakha’i used to lead prayer standing to the right or left of the mihrab, not directly in front, but Imam Abu Hanifa said there is no harm in standing in front of the mihrab as long as not inside it.
17. Imam Nakha’i said: The number seventeen (in prayer) cannot be said without placing the fingers down, but Imam Abu Hanifa said it remains seventeen even without placing down, though placing down is recommended.
18. Imam Nakha’i said: If Witr prayer is not performed before dawn (Fajr al-Sadiq), it should not be prayed afterward, but Imam Abu Hanifa and other Hanafis say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
19. Imam Nakha’i said: If a person enters the mosque while the Imam is in Ruku‘ (bowing), they should join the Ruku‘ without running, but Hanafis say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
20. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone feels moisture on the private part during prayer due to doubt, they should abandon and repeat the prayer, but Imam Abu Hanifa said: Unless certain moisture is felt, do not abandon or break the prayer.
21. Imam Nakha’i said: During the Friday sermon, one may greet or respond to sneezes, but Hanafis said:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا ولكنا نأخذ بقول سعيد بن المسيب رضي الله عنه
22. Imam Nakha’i said: If a follower sits only until the Tashahhud and leaves before the Imam’s salam, their prayer is invalid. Imam Abu Hanifa said in this case the prayer is valid.
23. Imam Nakha’i did not accept prostration (Sajdah) on Surah Sad, but Hanafis do.
24. Imam Nakha’i said: The number of shrouds for a man should be odd, but Imam Abu Hanifa said it can be odd or even, both are permissible.
25. Imam Nakha’i said: Lying breaks the fast.
But Imam Abu Hanifa disagrees.
26. Imam Nakha’i said: The zakat on money borrowed is obligatory on the borrower, not the lender, but Hanafi Imams say:
سنا نأخذ بهذا
27. Imam Nakha’i said: If a woman’s husband becomes an apostate, she is considered divorced, but Imam Abu Hanifa disagrees.
28. Imam Nakha’i said: If a man divorces his wife after I‘laa (declaration of abstinence), the I‘laa becomes invalid, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
29. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone kills their slave, they can be punished with Qisas (retaliation) if the heirs desire, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
30. Imam Nakha’i said: If a man marries a divorced woman during her waiting period (‘Iddah) and a child is born from this marriage, if the previous husband claims the child, it belongs to him; if he denies and the new husband claims, it belongs to the latter; if both deny or doubt, the child is considered common to both. Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
31. Imam Nakha’i said: Women’s testimony is not accepted in Qisas cases, but Imam Abu Hanifa accepts it.
32. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone wills a slave to one person and one-third of wealth to another, the slave is given first and then the one-third wealth if the testator left wealth, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
33. Imam Nakha’i said: Apostate women should be punished with death, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
34. Imam Nakha’i said: If a Muslim or Jew or Christian releases a hunting dog without saying Bismillah, eating the hunted meat is disliked, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا، لا بأس بأكله
35. Imam Nakha’i was asked: Which sacrifice is better, from a castrated or non-castrated animal? He replied castrated, but Imam Abu Hanifa said: The better sacrifice is whichever is fatter and fresher.
36. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone vows to walk four miles and rides after one mile, they must walk the four miles again, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
37. Imam Nakha’i said: If a silver ring has a gemstone, it can be sold at any price and for anything, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
38. Imam Nakha’i used pure red and yellow clothes.
Hanafi Imams prohibit pure red and yellow clothes for men.
39. Imam Nakha’i said: Freeing a slave in Kaffarah (expiation) is not sufficient, but Hanafi Imams allow it.
40. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone vows to slaughter their child, they should slaughter one hundred camels as expiation, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
41. Imam Nakha’i said: If the child of those who performed Li‘an (mutual cursing) dies and the heirs include mother, one sister, and one brother, the brother gets one-third and the rest goes to the mother, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
42. Imam Nakha’i said: If the child of a woman who performed Li‘an dies and her mother is alive, all the wealth goes to the mother; if the mother is not alive, it goes to the closest relative of the mother, but Hanafi Imams say if the mother is absent, all wealth goes to the deceased boy’s close relatives.
43. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone buys a pregnant slave and both buyer and seller claim the child is theirs, the child belongs to the buyer, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
44. Imam Nakha’i said: The hand of a coffin thief should be cut off, but Hanafis say no.
45. Imam Nakha’i said: Along with cutting the thief’s hand, compensation for stolen goods should also be taken, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
46. Imam Nakha’i said: If three men have intercourse with a slave woman during one purity period and she becomes pregnant, the child belongs to the last man who had intercourse, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
47. Imam Nakha’i said: If a robber kills someone, the heirs may cut off the robber’s hands and feet and then kill him, but Hanafi Imams say the robber can only be killed; cutting hands and feet is not permissible.
48. Imam Nakha’i said: The punishment for a sodomite is the same as for a fornicator.
But many Hanafi Imams do not consider a sodomite as a fornicator.
49. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone lends silver and the borrower returns better silver of the same amount, it is not permissible because it becomes usury, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
50. Imam Nakha’i said: When flogging a drinker, their clothes should not be removed, but Imam Abu Hanifa says clothes should be removed.
51. Imam Nakha’i said: If a child’s mother’s husband accuses her and denies the child as his, then if someone accuses the woman of adultery, they should be punished with Qadhf (false accusation), but Imam Abu Hanifa holds that such a woman’s accuser is not punished with Qadhf.
52. Imam Nakha’i said: If someone buys a healthy animal for sacrifice and it later becomes defective, the sacrifice is valid, but Hanafi Imams say:
لسنا نأخذ بهذا
53. Imam Nakha’i wore iron rings, but Hanafi Imams consider iron rings impermissible for men.
The above details are derived from a maximum of two hundred issues attributed to Ibrahim al-Nakha’i. Out of these two hundred issues, Imam Abu Hanifa opposed Imam Nakha’i in fifty-two and agreed in one hundred forty-eight. This means that in at least twenty-five percent, i.e., one-fourth of the issues, Imam Abu Hanifa opposed Nakha’i. Clearly, this is a significant amount of opposition, and this list only includes issues related to actual events; otherwise, Imam Nakha’i did not respond to hypothetical or unreal issues. In this regard, the number of issues Imam Abu Hanifa opposed from Imam Nakha’i would be much higher, meaning Imam Abu Hanifa opposed at least three hundred thousand issues from Imam Nakha’i, because according to author Anwar, Imam Sahib formulated one million two hundred fifty thousand issues, and it is known that in one-fourth of the issues Imam Sahib strongly opposed Nakha’i, even in actual issues. In other words, Imam Sahib opposed three hundred thousand Marfu‘ Ahadith, because author Anwar considers Nakha’i’s sayings as Marfu‘ Ahadith and claims that all of Imam Nakha’i’s rulings are of the status of Marfu‘ Ahadith.
