Abu Hanifa
Abu Hanifa (Arabic: أَبُو حَنِيفَة, romanized: Abū Ḥanīfa; September 699–767) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, which remains the most widely practiced to this day. His school predominates in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran (until the sixteenth century), Turkey, the Balkans, Russia, Circassia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and some parts of the Arab world.
Abu Hanifa | |
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أَبُو حَنِيفَة | |
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| Born | September 699 CE (Rajab 80 AH) |
| Died | 767 CE (150 AH; aged 68–70) Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Iraq) |
| Resting place | Abu Hanifa Mosque, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Religion | Islam |
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| Era | Late Umayyad – early Abbasid |
| Region | Kufa |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Independent (eponym of the Hanafi school) |
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| Arabic name | |
| Personal (Ism) | Al-Nuʿmān ٱلنُّعْمَان |
| Patronymic (Nasab) | Ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ٱبْن ثَابِت بْن زُوطَا بْن مَرْزُبَان |
| Teknonymic (Kunya) | Abū Ḥanīfa أَبُو حَنِيفَة |
| Toponymic (Nisba) | Al-Taymī al-Kūfī ٱلتَّيْمِيّ ٱلْكُوفِيّ |
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Born to a Muslim family in Kufa, Abu Hanifa traveled to the Hejaz region of Arabia in his youth, where he studied in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He was named by al-Dhahabi as "one of the geniuses of the sons of Adam" who "combined jurisprudence, worship, scrupulousness, and generosity".
As his career as a jurist and theologian progressed, he became known for favoring the use of reason in his jurisprudential rulings, and even in his theology. His school grew after his death, and the majority of its followers would also come to follow the Maturidi school of theology. He left behind two major students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, who would later become celebrated jurists in their own right.