Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man ibn Thabit was a jurist and theologian of Kufa, in Iraq, whose approach to law became the basis of the Hanafi madhhab — one of the four enduring schools (madhhabs) of Sunni jurisprudence. The majority of classical sources place his birth in Kufa around 80 AH (699 CE) and his death in 150 AH (767 CE), though a few report different birth years (e.g. 70 or 77 AH). He is traditionally said to be of Persian (mawla, non-Arab client) descent, with a grandfather reportedly from the eastern lands; his exact ancestry is debated in the sources.

A prosperous dealer in khazz (a silk-and-wool cloth), he turned from early interest in theological debate to the study of law, studying for many years under the Kufan jurist Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (d. c. 120 AH/737 CE). He became known for the disciplined use of reasoned opinion (ra'y) and analogy in legal questions.

Abu Hanifa repeatedly declined judicial office. Tradition reports that he refused appointment under the late Umayyad governor Ibn Hubayra and later the post of chief judge (qadi al-qudat) offered by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. He died in 767 during imprisonment in Baghdad; sources differ on whether he was poisoned, was worn down by harsh confinement, or died of age. His tomb in the Adhamiyya district of Baghdad later became a major shrine. Much of the detail of his piety and trials comes from later admiring biography (manaqib) rather than contemporary record.