An original Deoband.org article
By Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hafiz al-Makki
Translated by Ismaeel Nakhuda
By Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hafiz al-Makki
Translated by Ismaeel Nakhuda
Translator’s forewordSource : Deoband Dot Org
The following is a translation of the introduction (by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hafiz al-Makki) to Shaykh Latif al-Rahman al-Bahraichi al-Qasmi’s Al-Rasa’il al-Thalathah al-Hadithiyyah, a collection of three hadith compilations containing narrations transmitted by Imam Abu Hanifah Nu‘man ibn Thabit. It was during the Hajj of 2009 that I was sat in a tent in Mina, a stone throw away from the Jamarat, when I was forced to listen to a young man’s rant on how weak Imam A‘zam Abu Hanifah apparently was in hadith.
Ignoring the sanctity of the venue and time, this young man — who it later transpired was an instructor at Al Kauthar Institute — gave a very colourful and misleading description of the respected imam’s supposed lack of knowledge and prowess in hadith. He also gave very little opportunity to others to rectify his wrong impressions. During this lengthy and greatly troubling speech, this young man — who, to add legitimacy to his views, claimed to be Hanafi and cited several contemporary Hanafi ‘ulama to support his claim to this effect — made many frivolous comments regarding the great imam that left me greatly pained and astonished. I also wondered how one could indulge in such slander of an individual who met and narrated from several Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them), and that also at such a sacred time and place.
I pray and hope that by translating writings on this subject, misconceptions about this great tabi‘i, hadith scholar and faqih will be removed, insha-Allah. To add salt to my wounds, the Al Kauthar instructor also insisted that Imam Abu Hanifah apparently only knew seventeen hadiths! La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. I will, insha-Allah, deal with this issue in a subsequent translation.