The Well-Known Issues Where Imām Abū Ḥanīfah Retracted His Earlier Views
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil in the Light of Qurʾān and Ḥadīth, Vol. 1, p. 571
❖ Question
Which issues did Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله) retract from?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The details of the issues in which Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله) retracted are found across different books. Though a full list requires broader research, the following are among the most famous issues where his retraction is documented and acknowledged:
① Masḥ over Socks (Jurābayn)
- Initially, he held a stricter opinion regarding wiping over socks.
- Later, he retracted and accepted its permissibility.
- This retraction is explicitly recorded in al-Hidāyah.
② The Issue of Khalq al-Qurʾān (Creation of the Qurʾān)
- At one stage, a controversial statement was attributed to him.
- He later retracted and clarified his stance.
- References: Tārīkh Baghdād and al-Tankīl.
③ Mention in the Creedal Works
- In Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah and related texts, retractions of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah are acknowledged.
- Similarly, in Kitāb al-Māturīdiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 172, an allusion to his retraction is mentioned:
"Wa lākin al-Imām Abā Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī..."
Conclusion
- These examples illustrate that Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was not rigid in his opinions but, like other great scholars, retracted when clearer evidence became apparent.
- His humility in retracting opinions serves as a role model for scholarship in Islām.
Hādhā mā ʿindī wa-Allāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
