What's in a Name? A study of the name of the Grandfather of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah
Introduction
Anyone wishing to study the Ḥanafī school of thought must familiarize themselves with its scholars and more importantly, its eponym Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (d. 150 AH). While his life, teachings, and efforts to preserve Islam are well documented, one would be surprised to know that his own lineage is not as well preserved. While his name, al-Nuʿmān, and his father’s name, Thābit, are well known and are agreed upon, there are several names attributed to the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah. In this article, I will attempt to gather all the potential names of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah and determine which one is the most accurate.
Exploring the history of the name of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah is more than purely an academic endeavor. It provides us with the ethnic and cultural background behind one of Islam’s earliest and most prolific thinkers. By better understanding the history and lineage of Abū Ḥanīfah, we appreciate the context in which his ideas were developed.
Important Caveats
The name of Abū Ḥanīfah’s grandfather will likely have some key markers, namely that the name will most likely be Persian and non-Islamically rooted as Abū Ḥanīfah’s grandfather was the first in his lineage to convert to Islam and live in Kūfah, the home of Abū Ḥanīfah.[1] Thus, his name would be neither Arabic nor Islamic.
Kāwūs
The first choice for finding the biography of a scholar of the Ḥanafī school is a book of Ḥanafī history. The historian of the Ḥanafī school, Abd al-Qādir al-Qurashī’s (d. 775 AH) Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍīʾah fī Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanafiyyah is just that. It contains the biographies of many scholars of the school, including, Abū Ḥanīfah. In the segment dedicated to Abū Ḥanīfah, Abd al-Qādir al-Qurashī’ notes Abū Ḥanīfah’s name as al-Nuʿmān b. Thābit b. Kāwūs.[2] Making Kāwūs the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah. While I couldn’t find any explicit mention of this name being of Persian origin, one can make this conclusion as some other historical figures with this name were from Persia. Some Persian figures with this name were Ḥaydar ibn Kāwūs, a Persian general under the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim,[3] and Kāwūs, the king of Osrušana, an area inTransoxiana [4] that was once under the control of the Persian empire.[5] This name is attributed to the scholar Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣarīfīnī (d. 641 AH) [6]. However, I was unable to find his book or text on the subject. Thus we are unable to affirm this attribution without his words and evidence on the subject.
Ṭāwūs
In his addendum to the aforementioned Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍīʾah fī Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanafiyyah of Abd al-Qādir al-Qurashī’ titled Manāqib al-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfah, Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1016 AH), the famous scholar of the Ḥanafī school, discusses what the name of Abū Ḥanīfah’s grandfather is. He initially mentions two names, Ṭāwūs,[7] the subject of this paragraph, and Zūṭā, which we will discuss later. While in this text he does not prefer one over the other, in his Ṭabaqāt al-Qārī al-Athmār al-Junniyyah fī Asmāʾ al-Ḥanafiyyah, he only mentions the name Ṭāwūs, thus indicating his preference for it.[8] Despite rhyming with the above name Kāwūs, its origins are much more straightforward. Ṭāwūs is likely derived from the Arabic word Ṭāws which means to beautify one’s face.[9] Additionally, many early Islamic scholars have the name Ṭāwūs, such as the famous student of the ṣaḥābah from Yemen, Ṭāwūs ibn Kaysān[10]. Since this name is likely of Arab origin, we can conclude that this was probably not the name of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah.
Qays
In his Kitāb al-Taʿlīm, Masʿūd b. Shaybah (n.d.), another Ḥanafī scholar, writes that the name of Abū Ḥanīfah’s grandfather is Qays.[11] Like the name Ṭāwūs, Qays has origins in Arab and Islamic society.[12] As such, this name is also unlikely to have been the name of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah. Masʿūd b. Shaybah also does not provide any further references or explanation for his choice of this name.
al-Marzubān
The name al-Marzubān, however, seems to fit the criteria better. First, the name originates from Khurāsān,[13] which was a part of the Persianite empire. This name is also attributed to several scholars such as Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855 AH) [14] and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Mizzī (d. 742 AD) [15]. The name al-Marzubān means leader and is similar to the Arabic word Ruzb, although it is not a derivative of that word.[16]
Zūṭā
As mentioned above, the name Zūṭā is not only brought by Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī, but is perhaps the most widely accepted name attributed to the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah. Quite possibly the most well-known book for the biography of scholars is the Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ of Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH). In this book and another book dedicated to Abū Ḥanīfah, Manāqib al-Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, he writes the name of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah as Zūṭā.[17] He likely takes this name from Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī Abī ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣaymarī’s (d. 436 AH) Akhbār Abī Ḥanīfah wa Aṣḥābih.[18] While I could not find a direct root for the name Zūṭā, it is evident by the word pattern that it does not fall into the Arabic naming scheme and is more similar to a non-Arabic name like Mūsā.[19] The most substantial piece of evidence for this name is that al-Ṣaymarī brings a chain of narration for it to the grandson of Abū Ḥanīfah, ʿUmar b. Ḥammād.[20] The chain of narration, coupled with the non-Arabic origins of the name, make this the most likely candidate for the name of the grandfather of Abū Ḥanīfah.
al-Nuʿmān/al-Naʿmān
The final name I will bring is al-Nuʿmān. This opinion was championed by many of the scholars of names and lineage, particularly al-Samʿānī in his al-Ansāb and then confirmed by Ibn al-Athīr in his al-Lubāb fī Tahdhīb al-Ansāb.[21] One might quickly dismiss this name due to its clear Arabic origins. Al-Nuʿmān is the name of a valley between Makkah and Ṭāʾif and was referenced in poetry by the early Arabs.[22] However, one should not overlook it. The name al-Naʿmān, which is nearly identical to the name al-Nuʿmān, save the fatḥah on the Nūn, could be the actual name intended. This name refers to an area near Kūfah and has Persian origins.[23] The name al-Nuʿmān could have been accidentally preserved due to its similarities to al-Naʿmān. This theory is admittedly not without fault because every reference to this name is to al-Nuʿmān and not al-Naʿmān. Additionally, in his Abū Ḥanīfah Ḥayātuh wa ʿAṣruh, Ārāʾuh wa Fiqhuh, Muḥammad Abū Zahrah (d. 1974 CE) brings a chain of narration to the name al-Nuʿmān. However, this one goes to the other grandson of Abū Ḥanīfah, Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād.[24]
Conclusion
When looking at the names mentioned above, it is clear that two names stick out the most: Zūṭā and al-Nuʿmān/al-Naʿmān. Both of these names have chains of narration going back to the grandchildren of Abū Ḥanīfah, ʿUmar ibn Ḥammād and Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, respectively. While it is admittedly challenging to choose between these two names, the more likely is Zūṭā as al-Nuʿmān is not of Persian origins and al-Naʿmān is never directly referenced. The second name, al-Nuʿmān, could have been a given name after his conversion to Islam.
Afterword
The acceptance of Islam is the greatest act a human being can do. What separates someone like Abū Bakr (may Allah ﷻ be pleased with him) and Abū Lahab, whose name is eternally cursed in the Qurʾān, begins with the utterance of faith. Allah ﷻ preserved this honor for the one born out of Islam alone. However, abandoning one’s religion, family, and former way of life may seem daunting. To cut themselves off from their family’s history and to start anew. However, this story should bring hope to anyone looking to accept Islam. Abū Ḥanīfah’s grandfather, regardless of name, took a leap and accepted Islam. From that, his son Thābit was presented to Ali (may Allah ﷻ be pleased with him), and he made dua for Thābit. This ultimately led to Abū Ḥanīfah, whose teachings are still studied hundreds of years after his death, the reward for which continually goes back to his grandfather.
Footnotes
[1] Masʿūd b. Shaybah, Kitāb al-Taʿlīm 1:105
[2] Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍīʾah Abd al-Qādir al-Qurashī 1:50
[3] Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn 3:323
[4] Al-Balādhurī, Fatūḥ al-Buldān 3:528
[5] Maps – Persian Languages and Literature at UCSB. persian.religion.ucsb.edu/home/maps.
[6] See footnotes Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍīʾah Abd al-Qādir al-Qurashī 1:53
[7] Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī, Manāqib al-Imām al-Aʿẓam Abī Ḥanīfah 2:451
[8] Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī, Ṭabaqāt al-Qārī al-Athmār al-Junniyyah fī Asmāʾ al-Ḥanafiyyah 1:249
[9] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 16:211
[10] Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Dhahabī, Sīr Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ 5:39
[11] Masʿūd b. Shaybah, Kitāb al-Taʿlīm 1:105
[12] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 16:417
[13] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 2:496
[14] Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī, Maghānī al-Akhyār fī Sharḥ Asāmī Rijāl Maʿānī al-Āthār 3:121
[15] Jamāl al-Dīn al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-Kamāl fī Asmāʾ al-Rijāl 29:423
[16] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 2:496
al-Irzab: A big bodied idiot
[17] Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī 3:391
[18] Akhbār Abī Ḥanīfah wa Aṣḥābih, Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī Abī ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣaymarī 1:14
[19] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 19:325
[20] Akhbār Abī Ḥanīfah wa Aṣḥābih, Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī Abī ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣaymarī 1:14
[21] Ibn al-Athīr, al-Lubāb fī Tahdhīb al-Ansāb 2:13
[22] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 33:519
The ancient Arabs would read the couplet
((We ask you: Did Nu'man flow after you? ... our favorite valley is the valley of Nu'man))
[23] Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs 33:519
[24] Muḥammad Abū Zahrah, Abū Ḥanīfah Ḥayātuh wa ʿAṣruh, Ārāʾuh wa Fiqhuh 1:15
