Death

In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid monarch offered Abu Hanifa the post of Chief Judge of the State, but he declined to accept the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was appointed Qadi Al-Qadat (Chief Judge of the State) of al-Mansur regime instead of himself. In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa recused himself by saying that he did not regard himself fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa of lying. "If I am lying," Abu Hanifa said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?" Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa arrested, locked in prison and tortured. He was never fed nor cared for.[8] Even there, the indomitable jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him. In 767, Abu Hanifa died in prison. The reason of his death is not clear, as some say that Abu Hanifa issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against Al-mansoor, and the latter had him poisoned to death.[9] It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. Later, after many years, a mosque, the Abu Hanifa Mosque was built in the Adhamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad. The tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites including tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani were destroyed by Shah Ismail of Safavi empire in 1508.[10] In 1533, Ottomans reconquered Iraq and rebuilt the tomb of Imam Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites.[11] Works • Kitaab-ul-Aathaar narrated by Imaam Muhammad al-Shaybani – compiled from a total of 70,000 ahadith • Kitabul Aathaar narrated by Imaam Abu Yusuf • Aalim wa'l-muta‘allim • Fiqh al-Akbar • Musnad Imaam ul A'zam • Kitaabul Rad alal Qaadiriyah References Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Abū Ḥanīfa • Nu'mani, Shibli (1998). Imam Abu Hanifah — Life and Works. Translated by M. Hadi Hussain. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi. ISBN 81-85738-59-9. 1. ^ Mohsen Zakeri (1995), Sasanid soldiers in early Muslim society: the origins of 'Ayyārān and Futuwwa, p.293 [1] 2. ^ ABŪ ḤANĪFA, Encyclopedia Iranica 3. ^ Imam-ul-A’zam Abu Hanifa, The Theologian 4. ^ http://www.islamicinformationcentre.co.uk/alsunna7.htm last accessed 8 June 2011 5. ^ S. H. Nasr(1975), "The religious sciences", in R.N.Frye, the Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4, Cambridge University Press. pg 474: "Abu Hanfia, who is often called the "grand imam"(al-Imam al-'Azam) was Persian 6. ^ Cyril Glasse, "The New Encyclopedia of Islam", Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. pg 23: "Abu Hanifah, a Persian, was one of the great jurists of Islam and one of the historic Sunni Mujtahids" 7. ^ "Imam-ul-A’zam Abu Hanifa, The Theologian". Masud.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 8. ^ Ya'qubi, vol.lll, p.86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.lll, p.268-270. 9. ^ Najeebabadi, Akbar S. (2001). The History of Islam. vol, 2. Darussalam Press. pp. 287. ISBN 9960-892-88-3. 10. ^ Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire 11. ^ History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey External links • [2] • Book on Imam e Azam Abu Hanifa • Biographical summary of Abu Hanifa • Abu Hanifa on Muslim heritage • Imam Abu Hanifa By Shiekh G. F. Haddad • Tajik president’s articles about Imam Azam attract interest in Muslim countries • 2009 announced Year of Imam Azam in Tajikistan