Written by: Fazilat al-Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri Hafizahullah
How were Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and his students viewed by the Muhaddithin?
Answer: Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, is unanimously considered weak by the group of Muhaddithin. Similarly, Muhammad bin Hasan Shaybani, may Allah have mercy on him, and Hasan bin Ziyad Lualwi are also unanimously regarded as weak and abandoned. Qadi Abu Yusuf, may Allah have mercy on him, is considered flawed and weak by the majority of Muhaddithin. For this reason, the Muhaddithin did not consider the books of the Hanafi jurists worthy of attention. Allah Almighty has made the Muslim Ummah independent of these books. Their presence or absence is the same.
The religion is recorded in the books of the great Muhaddithin, الحمد للہ علیٰ ذلک. For several reasons, the Muhaddithin were displeased with Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and his companions.
Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him (463 AH), states:
[أما سائر أهل الحديث فهم كالأعداء لأبي حنيفة وأصحابه]
All the great Muhaddithin, may Allah have mercy on them, were as if enemies of Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and his students.
Reference: (Al-Intiqaa: p. 173, Al-Maghani al-Akhbar lil-Ayni al-Hanafi: 251/3)
Allama Muhammad Anwarullah Farooqi, authorized successor of Hazrat Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki Sahib, states:
Now consider that in that era, Imam (Abu Hanifa) had many opposing hadith scholars, whose opposition still has an effect. The habit of the hadith scholars was that whenever they found something against hadith, they would debate on it, to the extent that they were ready to give their lives, as you have seen in the issue of the creation of the Quran.
Reference: (Haqeeqat al-Fiqh, Part One, p. 305)
