The Hanafiyyah and their Usage of The Quran
Introduction
When approaching Islamic law, a jurist deals with a plethora of sources. A jurist must look at different sources with seemingly conflicting pieces of evidence and establish a framework to derive and enact the law. Due to prevalent practices of an era and varying applications of proofs, scholars came to differing conclusions regarding the law. Scholars like Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī[1] and Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal[2] focused on the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. Others focused on the common practices of those in their vicinity such as Mālik b. Anas[3].
Nuʿmān b. Thābit, known as Imām Abū Ḥanīfah[4], developed a framework that relied on the Quran to justify its positions[5]. Naturally, many questioned his apparent lack of Hadith utilization. Furthermore, some claimed that certain hadith had not reached Imām Abū Ḥanīfah while others claimed he ignored or rejected them.
In this article, I will touch upon some of the methodology and framework of the Ḥanafī madhhab and its development of law. Moreover, I will explain scenarios where an alternative source of law is preferred to a hadith.
Ḥanafīs and Hadith
During the time of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, the fabrication of Hadith was becoming a problem. Therefore, the school emphasized the Quran because it was the strongest source of legislation from a transmission perspective. The madhhab examined the apparent meaning and exact wording of the Quran when deriving law.
The Ḥanafī madhhab developed a means to assess and give preference when applying Hadith for legal purposes. The system emerged due to differing accounts regarding the actions of the Prophet ﷺ. The Ḥanafī madhhab focused on commonalities found in Hadith rather than how strong or weak they were. I will first discuss the role of the Quran in Ḥanafī fiqh with two case studies, then discuss the categorization of Hadith with two case studies, before concluding.
Ẓāhir of the Quran
The highest source of law in the Ḥanafī madhhab is the Quran, where the ẓāhir[6] (apparent) wording and meaning of the Quran[7] is emphasized. Ẓāhir can refer to both the literal interpretation[8] and the first thing a person thinks of when hearing a word. For example, when someone says "that man is a lion," two interpretations can occur. The literal interpretation is that the man is actually a lion. The apparent interpretation is that the man is figuratively being compared to a lion.
Case Study 1: Wuḍūʾ
As an integral component of worship, the various madhāhib have used their own methodologies to determine the farḍ acts of wuḍūʾ, which has resulted in differences of opinions. The Ḥanafī madhhab extrapolates the farḍ[9] acts of wuḍūʾ by looking at the ẓāhir in the āyah of wuḍūʾ.
The major madhāhib have agreed upon four farḍ wuḍūʾ components: washing the hands, face, and feet along with wiping the head[10]. They utilize the āyah: “O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles”[11]. However, unlike the Ḥanafīs, the majority of the jurists consider nīyah[12] to be a farḍ component of wuḍūʾ. They use the hadith where the Prophet ﷺ says, “Indeed actions are by their intentions”[13], which is applied as a prerequisite to all acts of worship. Conversely, the Ḥanafīs take the apparent meaning from the āyah. Therefore, the minimum obligation for wuḍūʾ is whatever is mentioned in the āyah and anything beyond it is highly recommended, but not required[14].
Case Study 2: Mahr
Allah says in the Quran “Give those you have consummated marriage with their due dowries”[15] and “and we certainly know what we made obligatory upon them”[16]. When a couple gets married and a mahr is not specified, a difference of opinion arises. The Ḥanafīs use the apparent meaning of the two āyahs in order to conclude that a mahr needs to be given to the bride. They set the default amount by using ʿurf[17] and the status of the woman as a baseline[18]. Conversely, the other madhāhib leave the mahr unspecified.
Categorization of Hadith
The Ḥanafī madhhab is distinct in the way it categorizes and applies Hadith in law. Ḥanafīs categorize it under three categories: those which are mass transmitted to the extent that it would be impossible for the narrators to collude on a lie (mutawātir)[19], those which have one or two companions in the early transmission but then become disseminated by a group of three narrators or more in the later generations (mashhūr)[20], and those narrations which have a single narrator in the early transmission and are not disseminated more in the later generations (khabar wāḥid)[21].
There is a high level of certainty with mutawātir and mashhūr narrations. Therefore, those narrations should be acted upon in some manner or a clear reason should be provided for why they were not. Khabar wāḥid narrations are also acted upon, but not to the same degree as the former categories. If a mutawātir source such as the Quran, a mashhūr narration, or a well-known common practice of the scholars of Kufa[22] conflict with a khabar wāḥid, it is not acted upon. Hence, differences of opinions arise, because this practice is not found in the other madhāhib. On the surface, it seems like the Ḥanafīs are rejecting Hadith when in reality, they are preferring to utilize proofs with a higher level of certainty when creating law.
Case Study 1: Walī
The Ḥanafīs allow a woman to marry without her male representative (walī) present, which the other madhāhib do not allow. The khabar wāḥid hadith, “The marriage of a woman who gets herself married without the permission of her walī is voided and nullified”[23] is used to support their prohibition. The Ḥanafī madhhab uses a proof from the Quran, which has a higher level of certainty, to support their allowance. They cite the āyah “Do not stop them from marrying other spouses”[24]. They contend that the word “them” in the āyah is used in its general, exclusive, feminine form. Therefore, the default is that a woman is able to get married without a walī present. In this circumstance, the Ḥanafīs take the mutawātir Quran, over the khabar wāḥid hadith.
Case Study 2: Tawāf
When discussing ritual purity (ṭahārah) in regards to ṭawāf around the Kaʿbah, there is a difference of opinion on whether it is mandatory or not[25]. The other madhāhib legislate that ṭahārah is necessary for ṭawāf by citing the hadith, “Ṭawāf of the Kaʿbah is like prayer”[26]. They argue that the same pre-conditions, e.g. ṭahārah, that are needed to perform prayer are needed to perform ṭawāf[27]. In contrast, the Ḥanafī madhhab utilizes the Quran over a khabar wāḥid. They cite the āyah “(And let them) do ṭawāf around the ancient house (Kaʿbah)”[28]. They argue that the comparison between ṭawāf and prayer refers to the obligation, rather than to the pre-conditions to perform these acts. Once again, the mutawātir āyah is preferred over a khabar wāḥid narration.
Conclusion
When deriving legislation, various sources of evidence are taken into account. The other madhāhib used methodologies such as utilizing a khabar wāḥid whenever possible, even though stronger evidence was available. The Ḥanafī madhhab relied extensively on its use of the Quran’s ẓāhir wording and meaning over a khabar wāḥid, which resulted in the claim that the Ḥanafīs rejected Hadith. However, through the four case studies, it was demonstrated that the Ḥanafīs in fact, did not reject Hadith, but simply took the stronger, mutawātir, Quranic evidence. The Ḥanafīs use the same methodology throughout their madhhab. Therefore, claims of the Ḥanafīs rejecting Hadith are neither accurate nor fair assessments of their legal methodology.
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1. d. 204 A.H.
2. d. 241 A.H.
3. d. 179 A.H.
4. d. 150 A.H.
5. ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad al-Nasafī, Manār al-anwār fī usūl al-fiqh, 25
6. Not to be confused with the Ẓāhirī
(literalist) movement
7. Sohail Hanif , “A Theory of Early Classical Ḥanafīsm: Authority, Rationality and Tradition in the Hidāyah of Burhān al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī (d. 593/1197)”
8. Fatāwā Al-Shabakah al-Islāmīyah 9/379
9. Mandatory
10. al-Mawsūʿah al-Fiqhīyah al-Kuwaytīyah 43/332
11. Quran 5:6
12. Intention
13. al-Bukhārī (1/1), Abū Dāwūd (13/27), al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah (37/100)
14. al-Nasafī, Manār al-anwār fī usūl al-fiqh, 32
15. Quran 4:25
16. Quran 33:50
17. Local custom
18. This scenario doesn’t have a hadith against the Ḥanafī opinion however is still worth mentioning due to the taking of the apparent wording of the Quran
19. Shāh Walī Allāh Dehlawī (d. 1762 C.E.), Muqaddimah fī uṣūl al-ḥadīth, 75
20. Ibid, 14
21. Uṣūl al-shāshī 1/231
22. As mentioned in the footnotes above Imām Abū Ḥanīfah derived a lot of his fiqh from the scholars of Kufa. How could something be a part of Islamic rulings but be hidden away from thousands of companions who lived in Kufa?
23. Abū Dāwūd (2083), al-Tirmidhī (1127), Ibn Mājah (1897), al-Dārimī, Aḥmad (2260)
24. Quran 2:232
25. Wahbah al-Zuhayli, al-Fiqh al-islāmī wa adillatuh, 88
26. al-Tirmidhī (960)
27. Wahbah al-Zuhayli, al-Fiqh al-islāmī wa adillatuh, 164
28. Quran 22:29
