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The Hanafiyyah
school is the first of the four orthodox
Sunni schools
of law. It is distinguished from the
other schools through its placing
less reliance on mass oral traditions
as a source of legal knowledge. It
developed the exegesis of the Qur'an
through a method of analogical reasoning
known as Qiyas (see Sunni
Islam). It
also established the principle that
the universal concurrence of the Ummah
(community) of Islam on a point of
law, as represented by legal and religious
scholars, constituted evidence of
the will of God. This process is called
ijma', which means the consensus of
the scholars. Thus, the school definitively
established the Qur'an, the Traditions
of the Prophet, ijma' and qiyas as
the basis of Islamic law. In addition
to these, Hanafi accepted local customs
as a secondary source of the law.
The Hanafi school of law was founded
by Nu'man Abu Hanifah (699-765) in Kufa
in Iraq. It derived from the bulk
of the ancient school of Kufa and
absorbed the ancient school of Basra.
Abu Hanifah belonged to the period
of the successors (tabiin)of the Sahabah
(the companions of the Prophet). He
was a Tabi'i since he had the good
fortune to have lived during the period
when some of the Sahabah were still
alive. Having originated in Iraq,
the Hanafi school was favoured by
the first 'Abbasid caliphs in spite
of the school's opposition to the
power of the caliphs.
The privileged position which the school
enjoyed under the 'Abbasid caliphate
was lost with the decline of the 'Abbasid
caliphate. However, the rise of the
Ottoman empire led to the revival
of Hanafi fortunes. Under the Ottomans
the judgement-seats were occupied
by Hanafites sent from Istanbul, even
in countries where the population
followed another madhhab. Consequently,
the Hanafi madhhab became the only
authoritative code of law in the public
life and official administration of
justice in all the provinces of the
Ottoman empire. Even today the Hanafi
code prevails in the former Ottoman
countries. It is also dominant in
Central Asia and South Asia. The Sunni
Hanafi law was also official Islamic
law in Sultanates and Mughal
dynasty in South Asia.
Within the Sunni Muslim tradition, Hanafi
is one of four schools of law and
considered the oldest and most liberal
school of law. Hanafi is one of the
four schools of thought (madhabs /
Maddhab) of religious jurisprudence
(Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. Named for
its founder, the Hanafi school of
Imam Abu Hanifa. It makes considerable
use of reason or opinion in legal
decisions. Sunni Hanafi creed is essentially
non-hierarchial and decentralized,
which has made it difficult for 20th
century rulers to incorporate its
religious leaders into strong centralized
state systems.
The Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence
was founded by Imam Abu Hanifa, born
in Kufa, Iraq about A.D.700. He was
one of the earliest Muslim scholar-interpreters
to seek new ways of applying Islamic
tenets to everyday life. In his lifetime
Abu Hanifa was disgraced, called ignorant,
inventor of new beliefs, hypocrite
and kafir. He was imprisoned and poisoned.
He died in 150 A.H. [circa 767-768
C.E.]. Abu Hanifa's interpretation
of Muslim law was extremely tolerant
of differences within Muslim communities.
He also separated belief from practice,
elevating belief over practice. Hanafi
took Shafi as his rival and vice versa.
Most of the Hanafi school follows al-Maturidi
in doctrine. Mohammad ibn Mohammad
ibn Mahmud Abu Mansur al-Samarqandi
al-Maturidi al-Hanafi (d. 333) of
Maturid in Samarqand, Shaykh al-Islam,
was one of the two foremost Imams
of the mutakallimûn of Ahl al-Sunna.
He was known in his time as the Imam
of Guidance (Imâm al-Hudâ).
Broad-minded without being lax, this
school appeals to reason (personal
judgment) and a quest for the better.
It is generally tolerant and the largest
movement within Islam. The Hanafi
school is known for its liberal religious
orientation that elevates belief over
practice and is tolerant of differences
within Muslim communities.
Hanafi scholars refuse to control a human
religious or spiritual destiny, and
refuse to give that right to any human
institution. Among the Hudud crimes,
those crimes against God, blasphemy
is not listed by the Hanafis. Hanafis
concluded that blasphemy could not
be punished by the state. The state
should not be involved in deciding
God-human relationships. Rather, the
state should be concerned only with
the violation of human rights within
the jurisdiction of the human affairs
and human relationships.
Notwithstanding their common heritage
from Imam Abu Hanifah, the scholars
belonging to the Hanafi madhhabin
South Asia are divided in the Barelvi
and the Deobandi
school, and these two schools have
different attitude toward Wahhabism.
The Sunni Hanafi school is dominant in
the Arab Middle East, Turkey, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, India, and Afghanistan.
The followers of Imam Abu Hanifa (d.
767) are found in Pakistan, India,
Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria,
China, North Africa, Egypt, and in
the Malay Archipelago. The school
is followed by the majority of the
Muslim population of Turkey, Albania,
the Balkans, Bosnia, Central Asia,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
China, India and Iraq. Tajik, Turkmen,
Kazakhs, Kyrghiz, Uzbeks, Uyghurs,
Bashkirs, Hui and Tatars also are
Sunni Hanafi.
Page last updated:
Tuesday, December 20, 2005 11:56:22 -0500 |
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