Three books and two treatises are attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah, namely:
(1) الفقه الاكبر
(2) العالم والمتعلم
(3) كتاب الحيل
(4) الوصية
(5) رسالة الي عثمان البتي
Apart from كتاب الحيل, none of these books is established from Imam Sahib; rather, they are famous only on the basis of a false attribution. A detailed review of them is presented below:
(1) الفقه الاكبر Its one chain is this:
محمد بن مقاتل الرازي، عن عصام بن يوسف، عن حماد بن ابي حنيفة، عن ابي حنيفة .
For a book’s attribution to be sound, it is necessary that it be established to its author through a sound chain. Now we present a scholarly and investigative review of the chain of this book.
Let the circumstances of its narrators be observed in order:
(1) Muhammad bin Muqatil al-Razi has been called “da’if” (weak) by Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him)
and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him)
. Not even the slightest word of authentication is established for him. Moreover, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him:
وهو من الضعفاء المتروكين.
“This narrator is among the weak narrators of the abandoned (matruk) category.”
(2) Regarding the narrator Isam bin Yusuf al-Balkhi, Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وقد روى عصام هذا عن الثوري وعن غيره أحاديث لا يتابع عليها.
“This Isam narrated from Imam Sufyan al-Thawri and other teachers hadiths that no one followed him in.”
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وكان صاحب حديث ثبتا فى الرواية، ربما اخطا
“He was a muhaddith and trustworthy in narration; sometimes he made mistakes.”
Imam al-Khalili says:
وهو صدوق “He is a truthful narrator.”
Note: Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) quotes from Imam Ibn Sa’d (may Allah have mercy on him):
كان عندهم ضعيفا فى الحديث.
“This narrator was weak in hadith according to the scholars of hadith.”
However, this reference could not be found in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d.
(3) Hammad bin Abi Hanifah is a “da’if” (weak) narrator. Not even the slightest word of authentication is established for him.
Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him:
لا أعلم له رواية مستوية فأذكرها .
“I do not know of a single correct narration of his that I could mention.”
He also says:
وإسماعيل بن حماد بن أبى حنيفة ليس له من الروايات شيء، ليس هو، ولا أبوه حماد، ولا جده أبو حنيفة من أهل الروايات شيء،ليس هو، ولا ابوه حماد، ولا جده ابوحنيفه من اهل الروايات، وثلاثتهم قد ذكرتهم في كتابي هذا في جملة الضعفاء .
“Isma’il bin Hammad bin Abi Hanifah narrated no hadith. Isma’il bin Hammad, his father Hammad, and his grandfather Abu Hanifah were all not among those fit for hadith (narrators). (For this reason) I have counted all three among the weak narrators in my book.”
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ضعفه ابن عدي وغيره من قبل حفظه.
“He was declared weak by Imam Ibn Adi and others because of weakness of memory.”
This was the state of the book’s chain. In the world of scholarship, how can the heart be satisfied that this work is by Imam Abu Hanifah? This is a false attribution, which is why the muhaddithun and the scholars of truth did not even give it any attention.
Furthermore, this treatise, spanning five or six pages, is filled with misguidance and deviation. It contains misguided Ash’ari creed. Mulla Ali Qari, the Hanafi Mu’tazili, by adding Mu’tazili belief in his commentary, made it even worse. There is nothing in it in accordance with the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, the people of truth. In other words, it is a heap of ignorance, deviation, lies and falsehood.
(2) Its second chain is this:
الحسين بن على الكاشغري” عن أبى مالك نصران بن نصر الختلي، عن ابي الحسن علي بن احمد الفارسي، عن نصر بن يحييٰ، عن أبى مطيع.
Let a brief account of its narrators also be observed:
(1) Husain bin Ali al-Kashghari is a severely lying narrator. He himself used to fabricate hadiths.
Regarding him:
◆ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
متهم بالكذب “He is accused of lying.”
◆ Hafiz al-Sam’ani says:
يضع الحديث “He himself fabricates hadiths.”
◆ Ibn al-Najjar says:
كان شيخا صالحا متدينا، الا انه كتب الغرائب، وقد ضعفوه واتهموه بالوضع.
“He was a pious and religious shaykh, but he wrote munkar narrations. The muhaddithun declared him weak and accused him of fabricating hadiths.”
(2) Nasran bin Nasr al-Khatli is a “majhul” (unknown) narrator. Not only is there no authentication for him, not even his mention is found anywhere.
(3) Ali bin Ahmad al-Farisi is also a “majhul” (unknown) narrator. Not even his mention is found in the books of biographical evaluation (rijal).
(4) Nasr bin Yahya al-Balkhi is also unknown. His name and trace are not found in the books of rijal either.
(5) Abu Muti’ Hakam bin Abdullah al-Balkhi is a severely discredited and “da’if” (weak) narrator.
It is established that Fiqh al-Akbar is a false book that has been attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah.
Therefore, the statement of Janab Sarfaraz Khan Safdar Deobandi Hayati that:
“Some people have had the doubt that Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) has no book of his own, and especially that al-Fiqh al-Akbar is not his, but this is merely a delusion of those people.” is not correct.
It is known that considering Fiqh al-Akbar to be a work of Imam Sahib is Safdar Sahib’s “mere delusion.”
(2) The book العالم والمتعلم : is also wrongly attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah. Its chain is:
ابو محمد الحارثي البخاري، عن محمد بن يزيد، عن الحسن بن صالح، عن أبى مقاتل، عن أبى حنيفة.
Brief biographies of the narrators in this chain:
(1) Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ya’qub al-Harithi al-Bukhari is a severely criticised narrator.
* Imam Abu Zur’ah Ahmad bin Husain al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him, d. 357 AH) said:
ضعيف.
“He was a weak narrator.”
* Allamah Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
قال أبو سعيد الرؤاس : يتهم بوضع الحديث
“Abu Sa’id al-Rawwas said that he was a narrator accused of lying.”
* Ahmad Sulaymani said:
كان يضع هذا الإسناد على هذا المتن، وهذا المتن علٰي هذا الاسناد .
“This person would attach one chain to a different text and one text to a different chain.”
* Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
وهذا ضرب من الوضع . “Doing this is a form of fabricating hadith.”
* Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
هو صاحب عجائب وأفراد عن الثقات .
“He was a person who narrated strange and unusual reports from trustworthy narrators.”
* Hafiz Khatib Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
صاحب عجائب ومناكير وغرائب .
“This person narrated strange and munkar reports.”
He also said:
وليس بموضع الحجة. “He is not fit to be used as evidence.”
* Hafiz Khalili (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
يعرف بالأستاذ، له معرفة بهذا الشأن، هو لين، ضعفوه، يأتي بأحاديث يخالف فيها، حدثنا عنه الملاحمي وأحمد بن محمد بن الحسين البصير بعجائب.
“This narrator is known by the name Ustadh. He had knowledge of this field, but he was weak; the muhaddithun have declared him da’if. He narrates hadiths in which trustworthy narrators oppose him. Munkar reports were narrated to us from him by al-Malahimi and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Husain al-Basir.”
This is the condition of the Ustadh al-Harithi, for whom not even the lowest word of tawthiq is established.
(2) Muhammad bin Yazid is an unknown narrator, “majhul”. His mention could not be found in the books of narrator biographies.
(3) Hafs bin Aslam Samarqandi is a “kadhdhab” (liar) and “wada'” (fabricator) narrator.
* Imam Qutaybah bin Muslim said: I said to Abu Muqatil about one of his hadiths:
يا أبا مقاتل ! هو موضوع ؟، قال : بابا، جو فى كتابي، وتقول: هو موضوع ؟ قال: قلت : نعم، وضعوه فى كتابك.
“O Abu Muqatil! Is this fabricated? He said: Father! It is written in my book, and you say, ‘Is it mawdu’?’ I said: Yes, the liars put it into your book.”
* Ahmad Sulaymani said:
فى عداد من يضع الحديث .
“This narrator is counted among those who used to fabricate hadiths themselves.”
* Imam Juzjani said:
كان ينشي للكلام الحسن إسنادا.
“This narrator would attach a chain to a good statement and make it a hadith.”
* Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
وليس هو ممن يعتمد على رواياته .
“He is not one of those narrators whose narrations can be relied upon.”
* Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
ياتي بالاشياء المنكرة التى يعلم من كتب الحديث أنه ليس لها أصل يرجع إليه.
“He narrates such munkar reports that, on referring to the books of hadith, it becomes clear that they have no basis to rely upon.”
* Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
حدث عن عبيد الله، وأيوب السختياني، ومسعر، وغيره بأحاديث موضوعة.
“He narrated fabricated hadiths attributed to Ubaydullah, Imam Ayyub Sakhtiyani, Mis’ar and others.”
* Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared one of his hadiths “ghayr qawi” (not strong).
* Hafiz Abu Nu’aym Isfahani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
حدث عن أيوب السختياني، وعبيد الله بن عمر، ومسعر بالمناكير
“He narrated munkar reports attributed to Imam Ayyub Sakhtiyani, Ubaydullah bin Umar and Mis’ar.”
* Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him a kadhdhab (liar).
He also said:
أحد المتروكين “He is a matruk narrator.”
He further said:
وهومتهم، واه. “He is accused of lying and is weak.”
* Ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
متروك الحديث. “He is a matruk al-hadith narrator.”
However, Hafiz Khalili (may Allah have mercy on him) said about him:
مشهور بالصدق والعلم “This person is known for truthfulness and knowledge.”
This is an oversight by Hafiz Khalili (may Allah have mercy on him); he could not have known the criticisms of the scholars regarding his person. His opinion cannot be accepted against the unanimous judgement of the muhaddithun.
It is established that this book too is falsely attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah. This book too is full of misguidance, and it clearly violates the unanimous beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.
(3) كتاب الحيل : This book is established from Imam Abu Hanifah, but Allah did not keep it preserved in the world; no trace of it is found today.
Regarding this book, Imam Khatib Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
أخبرنا محمد بن عبيد الله الحنائي، قال : أخبرنا محمد بن عبد الله الشافعي، قال: حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل السلمي، قال: حدتنا أبو توبة الربيع بن نافع، قال : حدثنا عبد الله بن المبارك، قال : من نظر فى كتاب الحيل لأبي حنيفة، أحل ما حرم الله، وحرم ما أحل الله.
“Muhammad bin Ubaydullah al-Hinna’i told us, he said: Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Shafi’i informed us, he said: Muhammad bin Isma’il al-Sulami told us, he narrated: Abu Tawbah al-Rabi’ bin Nafi’ informed us, he said: Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) told us: Whoever studies Abu Hanifah’s Kitab al-Hiyal will begin to declare lawful what Allah has made unlawful, and declare unlawful what Allah has made lawful.”
Regarding the narrators of the chain of this report, please observe:
(1) Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali, known as Khatib al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him), is a trustworthy Imam. Concerning him, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
أحد الحفاظ الاعلام، ومن ختم به اتقان هذا الشأن، وصاحب التصانيف المنتشرة فى البلدان.
“He (may Allah have mercy on him) was among the scholars who were hafiz of hadith and allama. Mastery of this knowledge ended with him. He has many works that are spread across the lands.”
(2) Concerning Muhammad ibn Ubaydullah ibn Yusuf al-Hinna’i, Imam Khatib says:
كتبنا عنه، وكان ثقة مأمونا، زاهدا، ملازما لبيته.
“We wrote hadiths from him. He was trustworthy, reliable, devout and ascetic, and he remained settled in his house.”
(3) Concerning Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ibrahim al-Shafi’i, the critic of narrators Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
الإمام، المحدث، المتقن، الحجة، الفقيه، مسند العراق .
“He was an Imam, a muhaddith, a firm scholar, a proof, a jurist, and the muhaddith of Iraq.”
(4) Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Sulami is a trustworthy hafiz.
(5) Abu Tawba al-Rabi ibn Nafi is a trustworthy proof.
(6) Imam Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak is trustworthy, firm, a jurist, a scholar, generous and a mujahid.
(4) كتاب الوصیة: This book too is wrongly attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa. The chain of this book up to Imam Sahib is as follows:
أبو طاهر محمد بن المهدي الحسيني، عن إسحاق بن منصور المسياري، عن أحمد بن على السليماني، عن حاتم بن عقيل الجوهري، عن أبى عبد الله محمد بن سماعة التميمي، عن أبى يوسف، عن الإمام أبى حنيفة.
Now, a brief review of the narrators of this chain follows:
(1-4) Muhammad ibn Mahdi al-Husayni, Ishaq al-Misyari, Ahmad al-Sulaymani and Hatim al-Jawhari are all unknown and unidentified. Their mention is not found in the books of biographical evaluation of narrators.
(5) Qadi Abu Yusuf is a “da’if” narrator according to the majority of hadith scholars.
This book is filled with superstitions opposed to the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.
(5) رسالة ابي حنيفة الي عثمان البتي: This treatise contains the misguided belief of “irja'”. Its chain up to Imam Abu Hanifa is stated as follows:
يحيي بن مطرف البلخي، عن أبى صالح محمد بن الحسين السمرقندي، عن أبى معيد سعدان بن محمد البستي، عن أبى الحسن على بن أحمد الفارسي، عن نصير بن يحيي البلخي، عن محمد بن سماعة التميمي، عن أبى يوسف، عن أبى حنيفة.
A brief account of its narrators is as follows:
(1-4) Yahya ibn Mutarrif al-Balkhi, Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Samarqandi, Sa’dan ibn Muhammad al-Bustī, Ali ibn Ahmad al-Farisi: none of these four is mentioned in any book. They are unknown persons.
(5) Nusayr ibn Yahya al-Balkhi is also an “unknown” narrator. Not even the slightest word of praise (tawthiq) for him has been established.
(6) Qadi Abu Yusuf is a “da’if” narrator according to the majority. Imam Abu Hanifa himself said to Abu Yusuf:
لا تزو عني شيئا، فإني والله ما أدري أخطئ أنا أم أصيب ؟
“Do not narrate anything from me, for by Allah, I do not know whether I am making a mistake or being correct!”
