Introduction

The hanafi school is one of the most followed school of muslim law is mostly followed in the asia and the founder of this school was the Imam Abu Hanifa. this school is also know as the Kufa school of thought. 

In this blog we will discuss everything about the hanafi school of thought in the detail and what are the essentials of the school

Introduction of Hanafi School

Noman Ibn thabit, Popularly known as Imam abu hanifa was born in Kufa in 80 century during the reign of Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan, and Umayyad King. He studied Islamic Jurisprudence in the city of Kufa, Makah and Madina under wide range of eminent teachers who were Jurists, and traditionists Of the time. The prominent teacher of Imam Abu Hanifa was Hamad Ibn Abi Sulaiman, who was himself of the disciple of Ibrahim Nakhei. Imam spends 18 years under the guidance of Hamad where from he learnt the fiqh of Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood and also received the Futwas of Ibrahim Nakhei. He also met Imma Mohammad Bakir, the 5^th Imam of Shias and his son Imam Jaffer Al Sadik, a great Muslim jurist and the 6^th Imam of Itna Asharia Shias. He had interactions and dialogues with both of them and acknowledged them as being great jurist of the time. Imam abu Hanifa regarded both of them in high esteem. He heard that traditions of prophet [saw] from Abu Abdullah ibn-ul Mubarak, As-shabi, Kathadah, Al A’mash and other men of eminence in the branch of learning. After the death of Imam Hamad in 120 he succeeded him as and started giving discourses in fiqh to the student and other persons. His public lecturers in Kufah soon gave him fame as a great jurist. He gained immediate notoriety as the Master of Jurisprudence thanks to his exceptional reasoning and deduction skills, as well as the advantages of a sharp recall and lucid comprehension.He witnessed both rise and fall of Umayyad dynasty. He spent 52 years of his life under Umayyad rule and 18 years under Abhashed rule.

Imam abu Hanifa made his living As a cloth merchant and would bear all the expenses of his full time pupils. He trained a class of jurists who were not only expert in law but also were expert in various disciplines. Abu Hanifa preferred discussion method over dictation and lecture method. Everyone was given anequal chance of debating and discussing the legality of any issue which was put forth. Everyone was free to give his opinion and counter opinion with arguments from the Quran and Hadith. In this way the participatory approach was adopted by Imam Abu Hanifa which allowed him to be listener, listener and teacher simultaneously. After listening to all the discussions and opinions of disciples on every aspect of the issue, the Imam would finally give his opinion or judgements regarding the issues concerned.

Most of the Times disciples would agree with the opinion of Imam. However, it also happened that the disciples and Imam would differ with each other’s opinion. In such a scenario all the opinions would be reduced in writing, which resulted inpreparing a vast literature on Hanafi jurisprudence. In 132 hijri he constituted a committee of 40 men, among his main disciples for the codification of laws. Of this committee yahya ibn zaid, hafs ibn ghiyath, abu yousf, daud-at-tati, habban and mandal were men of great reputation and traditionists, Zufar was noted for his power of deducing rules of law and qasim ibn muim and Imam Mohammed were great Arabic scholars. The committee used to discuss any practical and theoretical question that arose or suggested itself, and to conclusions which they are agreed upon after a full and free debate were duly recorded. It took 30 years for the code to be completed, Abu Hanifa neveraccepted any post in the government of the time, therefore, became victim of Umayyad and Abbasid rullers. Finally, the great jurist was put into prison by Al Mansour, where he was poisoned to death in 150  hijri at the age of Seventy. Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Mohammed were his two main disciples and main promoters of Hanafi School. So Hanafi school emerged on the works of Imam Abu Hanifa and his disciples.

It is to be noted that Imam Abu Hanifa’s personality and works have also been made controversial at different times. Some people have gone so far in praising him that they have raised him to the status of Prophet and companions and are not ready to differ with his opinion in any case whatsoever. On the other hand, there are people who allege him of deviating from Suratulmustaqeem, trampling with the Sunnat of the Prophet [saw] and more importantly allege him of giving Futwas without taking recourse to texts of Sharia. It is submitted that both the views are unrealistic and unsound.

Silent features of Hanafi School:

• Quran is the first and foremost Source of deducting the form of rituals, bearing on civil and criminal laws, or for deducting the moral principles which should govern the case.

• Hadis as the second source. However, the scrutiny and reliability of Hadith were held in high esteem by Imam Abu Hanifa because of his piety. He had laid down verystrict tests for checking the authenticity of traditions. He would not accepted hadith unless he was satisfied that the authority is beyond doubt. This is the reason many critics of Imam Abu Hanifa alleged him of using Qiyas more than hadith. However, it is to be noted that Imam in his life time rebutted this allegation. It is pertinent to mention that Iraqi jurists would checkcredibility Of Hadith not merely on the touchstone of authenticity of narrators but also other allied evidences like time, place, person, event, etc.

•  He would rely more on the fatwas and narration of hadith transmitted through Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood as both had lived in Kufa. Hazrat Ali has transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa during his reign.

•  The Reliance on the principle of Qiyas is the special character of Kufa school of Abu Hanifa. He elevated the status of Qiyas and used it frequently in the absence of authentic Hadith, or any sayings of the companions.

•  This school affirmed the validity of Ijma in every age.

• The doctrine of Istihsan was evolved by this school, I.e. using the rule of law as needed in certain situations.

• Recognize the authority of local customs and usages as a source of law for the purpose to infer.

The followers of this school are majority in number as compared to all other schools of Islamic jurisprudence and are separate across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, China and parts of Russia,many parts of Central Asia, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and palastine.

Difference between Hanafi school of thought and Maliki school of thought

Hanafi school	Maliki school
Quran is the primary source of law	Quran is the primary source of law
Hadith is the second source of law	Hadith is the second source of law
This school affirmed the validity of Ijma in every age	This school accepts the ijma of the companions and the ijma of the people of the Madina as the most preferable Ijma
The qiyas is the special character of the Hanafi school of thought	Less reliance on Qiyas and more reliance on the custom of the people of Madina
The doctrine of istihsan was evolved by this school	The doctrine of istislah was evolved by this school

 

Difference between hanafi and Shafi school of thought

Hanafi school	Shafi school
Quran is the primary source of law	Quran is the primary source of law
Hadith is the second source of law	Hadith is the second source of law
This school affirmed the validity of Ijma in every age	This school broaden the scope of the ijma.
The qiyas is the special character of the Hanafi school of thought	Limited use of Qiyas to matters of detail
The doctrine of istihsan was evolved by this school	The doctrine of istishab was evolved by this school

 

Difference between hanafi school and Hanbali school of thought

Hanafi school	Hanbali school
Quran is the primary source of law	Quran is the primary source of law
Hadith is the second source of law	Hadith is the second source of law. Extensive use of hadith even they preferred week hadith
This school affirmed the validity of Ijma in every age	Very less use of Ijma due to dependence on Hadith.
The qiyas is the special character of the Hanafi school of thought	This school focused more on the traditions and restricted the scope of Qiyas.
This school is mostly followed in asia	The followers of this school are in majority in Saudi Arabia.

 Difference between shafi and Maliki school of thought

Shafi school	Maliki school
Quran is the primary source of law	Quran is the primary source of law
Hadith is the second source of law	Hadith is the second source of law
This school broaden the scope of the ijma.	This school accepts the ijma of the companions and the ijma of the people of the Madina as the most preferable Ijma
Limited use of Qiyas to matters of detail	Less reliance on Qiyas and more reliance on the custom of the people of Madina
The doctrine of istishab was evolved by this school	The doctrine of istislah was evolved by this school

What is the Hanafi School of Thought and who founded it?

The Hanafi School of Thought is one of the four major Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence (fiqh). It was founded by Imam Abu Hanifa (699–767 CE) in Kufa, Iraq. Known for its emphasis on reason, analogy (qiyas), and juristic discretion (istihsan), it is the oldest and most widely followed school among Sunni Muslims, especially in South Asia, Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, and parts of the Arab world.

How does the Hanafi school differ from other Islamic schools of thought?

The Hanafi school is distinguished by its flexibility in legal reasoning, allowing the use of analogy, juristic preference, and consideration of public interest. Compared to schools like the Maliki, Shafi’i, or Hanbali, Hanafi jurists often give more weight to independent reasoning (ijtihad) and less reliance solely on Hadith if a stronger opinion through analogy is available. This makes it adaptable and widely applied across diverse cultures.

Where is the Hanafi School of Thought predominantly followed today?

Today, the Hanafi school is the most widely followed Islamic legal tradition globally. It is the dominant school in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey, and parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Balkans. Due to its historical adoption by powerful Islamic empires like the Abbasids, Ottomans, and Mughals, the school gained widespread institutional and cultural influence.