موقف الإمام أبي حنيفة من حديث رسول الله وحجيته

Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, is one of the four great Imams followed by a vast number of Muslims around the world, and his followers outnumber the rest in the world. There is no doubt that the Imam adhered to the Holy Qur’an, the authentic Prophetic Sunnah, the consensus of the Companions, and sound analogical reasoning. These are the fundamental sources of Islamic jurisprudence in all schools of thought. Despite this, Imam Abu Hanifa has been opposed and criticized by many, with baseless accusations. Some claim that Abu Hanifa had little knowledge of the Prophetic Hadith. Others say he only knew 17 Hadiths, and some go further to assert that he knew only 130 Hadiths, of which he forgot or confused 120, either by altering the chain of transmission or changing the text unknowingly, leaving him with only 10 Hadiths in possession. Is it conceivable that someone with such limited knowledge of the Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, could be among the greatest Imams of the Muslims, followed by the majority of Muslims across the world? The opinions of scholars about him differ. Some were moderately fair, their piety preventing them from attacking him, while others exceeded all bounds, not fearing any punishment from Allah the Almighty, and thus narrated false accounts. We wish if these people had restrained their tongues out of fear of Allah! Did their piety not prevent them from sharing everything they heard or read with the masses about this great Imam, who met his Lord with a pure and sincere heart? Allah granted him blessings in this world, and in the Hereafter. He will be among the close ones to Allah, leaving behind a lasting legacy. Peace be upon Abu Hanifa al-Nuʿman. This study addresses the accusations directed at al-Nuʿman—the Greatest Imam—using an inductive, analytical, and critical methodology to establish the truth. Of course, we do not claim that Imam Abu Hanifa was infallible, by Allah! no! No one has the right to make such a claim, not even about the Prophets, except that Allah forgave the Prophets for their past and future sins. This study does not aim to prove that Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, was correct and truthful in everything he said, but rather to distinguish truth from falsehood, whether it was said by the Hanafi school, the scholars of Hadith, or other schools of thought. This is what we call upon all esteemed scholars to do, regardless of their affiliations, and without bias.