WEBVTT 00:00:00.530 --> 00:00:03.529 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.529 --> 00:00:08.529 The best of generations in their conduct and example, 00:00:08.529 --> 00:00:13.529 Following the Messenger when he strove or spoke. 00:00:13.529 --> 00:00:15.529 Mawaddah Association 00:00:15.529 --> 00:00:17.530 Presents: 00:00:17.530 --> 00:00:21.589 Portraits from the Life of the Tabi'un 00:00:21.589 --> 00:00:26.010 By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:26.010 --> 00:00:28.010 May Allah have mercy upon him. 00:00:28.010 --> 00:00:33.020 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man, 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:35.020 May Allah have mercy upon him. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:47.500 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man once visited Imam Malik, 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:50.539 While a group of his students were with him. 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:52.539 When he left, 00:00:52.539 --> 00:00:55.539 Malik turned to those sitting with him and said, 00:00:55.539 --> 00:00:58.539 "Do you know who this is?" 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:00.539 They replied, "No." 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:04.540 He said, "This is al-Nu'man ibn Thabit. 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.540 This is a man who, if he were to claim about this pillar 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:11.540 that it was made of gold, he would provide proof for his claim, 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:13.920 and it would turn out to be exactly as he said." 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:20.920 Imam Malik was not exaggerating in his description of Abu Hanifah’s strength of argument, 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:22.920 his quick-wittedness, 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.920 and his sharp, brilliant mind. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:31.920 History and biographical books are filled with accounts of his debates with his opponents in legal opinion, 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.920 and his adversaries in creed. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.920 All of these are testimonies to the truth of what Imam Malik described him with: 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:43.920 that if he were to claim to you that the dust before you was gold, 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:49.920 you would have no choice but to yield to his argument and accept his claim. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:52.920 So how much more so when he is defending the truth 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:54.920 and arguing for its sake? 00:01:54.920 --> 00:02:01.620 Among these instances is that a man from the people of Kufa, whom Allah had led astray, 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:04.620 held a position of status in the eyes of some people, 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:08.620 and his word carried weight among them. 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:12.620 This man used to claim to the people, among the things he asserted, 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:16.620 that Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was Jewish by origin, 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:21.620 and that he remained upon his Judaism even after Islam. 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:25.810 When Abu Hanifah heard this statement of his, 00:02:25.810 --> 00:02:27.810 he went to him and said, 00:02:27.810 --> 00:02:32.810 "I have come to you to propose marriage to your daughter, so-and-so, on behalf of one of my companions." 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:36.810 The man replied, "Welcome and greetings! 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:40.810 A request from someone like you, O Abu Hanifah, cannot be refused. 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:43.810 But who is the suitor?" 00:02:43.810 --> 00:02:48.810 He said, "A man known among his people for honor and wealth, 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:51.810 generous and open-handed, 00:02:51.810 --> 00:02:54.810 a memorizer of the Book of Allah (the Almighty and Majestic), 00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:57.810 who spends the entire night in a single rak'ah, 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:01.810 and weeps profusely out of fear of Allah (the Exalted)." 00:03:01.810 --> 00:03:06.810 The man exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent! That is enough, O Abu Hanifah. 00:03:06.810 --> 00:03:09.810 Some of the qualities you have mentioned regarding the suitor 00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:13.810 make him a match for the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful." 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:15.810 Abu Hanifah then said, 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:20.810 "However, he has one trait that you must be aware of." 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:22.810 He asked, "And what is that?" 00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:25.810 He replied, "He is a Jew." 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:28.810 The man recoiled and said, "A Jew? 00:03:28.810 --> 00:03:33.810 Do you want me to marry my daughter to a Jew, O Abu Hanifah? 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:36.810 By Allah, I will not marry her to him, 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:40.810 even if he possessed all the virtues of the first and the last generations!" 00:03:40.810 --> 00:03:42.810 Abu Hanifah then said, 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.810 "You refuse to marry your daughter to a Jew, 00:03:45.810 --> 00:03:48.810 and you reject that with the utmost vehemence, 00:03:48.810 --> 00:03:50.810 yet you claim to the people 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:53.810 that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 00:03:53.810 --> 00:03:57.810 married both of his daughters to a Jew?" 00:03:57.810 --> 00:04:00.810 The man began to tremble and said, 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:03.810 "I seek Allah’s forgiveness for the evil words I have spoken, 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:07.810 and I repent to Him for the falsehood I have fabricated." 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:11.250 Another instance is 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:13.250 that one of the Khawarij, 00:04:13.250 --> 00:04:15.250 namely al-Dahhak al-Shari, 00:04:15.250 --> 00:04:19.250 came to Abu Hanifah one day and said, 00:04:19.250 --> 00:04:21.250 "Repent, O Abu Hanifah!" 00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:24.250 He asked, "From what should I repent?" 00:04:24.250 --> 00:04:26.250 The Khariji replied, 00:04:26.250 --> 00:04:28.250 "From your view permitting the arbitration 00:04:28.250 --> 00:04:31.250 that took place between Ali and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them)." 00:04:31.250 --> 00:04:34.279 Abu Hanifah said to him, 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.279 "Will you not agree to debate me on this matter?" 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:40.279 The Khariji replied, "Yes." 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.279 Abu Hanifah said, 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:45.279 "If we disagree on something in what we are debating, 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:48.279 then who shall judge between us?" 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:50.279 The Khariji said, 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:52.339 "Appoint whomever you wish." 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:56.339 Abu Hanifah turned to a man from the Khariji's companions 00:04:56.339 --> 00:04:58.339 who was with him and said, 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:01.339 "Judge between us regarding what we disagree upon." 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:03.470 Then he said to the Khariji, 00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:05.470 "I am satisfied with your companion; 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:08.470 are you satisfied with him?" 00:05:08.470 --> 00:05:11.470 The Khariji was pleased and said, "Yes." 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:13.470 Abu Hanifah then said, 00:05:13.470 --> 00:05:15.470 "Woe to you! 00:05:15.470 --> 00:05:18.470 You permit arbitration regarding what occurs between me and you, 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:24.470 yet you deny it to two of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?" 00:05:24.470 --> 00:05:26.470 The Khariji was stunned, 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:28.470 and could not utter a response. 00:05:28.470 --> 00:05:32.139 Another instance is 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:34.139 that Jahm ibn Safwan, 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:38.139 the head of the misguided and heretical Jahmiyyah sect, 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:41.139 and the sower of evil in the land of Islam, 00:05:41.139 --> 00:05:44.139 once came to Abu Hanifah and said, 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:49.139 "I have come to you to speak with you about things I have prepared for you." 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:51.170 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:05:51.170 --> 00:05:53.170 "Speaking with you is a disgrace, 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:57.170 and delving into what you follow is like a blazing fire." 00:05:57.170 --> 00:05:59.230 Jahm said, 00:05:59.230 --> 00:06:02.230 "How did you judge me as you did, 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:04.230 when you have not met me before, 00:06:04.230 --> 00:06:06.230 nor heard my speech?" 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:08.230 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:06:08.230 --> 00:06:14.329 "Reports have reached me about you that do not come from a person of the Qiblah." 00:06:14.329 --> 00:06:16.329 Jahm said, 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:18.329 "Do you judge me based on the unseen?" 00:06:18.329 --> 00:06:20.329 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:23.329 "That has become famous about you and widespread, 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:26.329 and both the common and the elite have known it. 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:31.329 So it became permissible for me to confirm it against you by what has been transmitted about you." 00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:33.329 Jahm said, 00:06:33.329 --> 00:06:37.329 "I do not want to ask you about anything except faith." 00:06:37.329 --> 00:06:39.329 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:06:39.329 --> 00:06:44.360 "Have you not known faith until this hour, that you must ask me about it?" 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:46.360 Jahm said, 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:50.360 "Yes, but I have doubted a type of it." 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.360 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.420 "Doubt in faith is disbelief." 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.420 Jahm said, 00:06:57.420 --> 00:07:00.420 "It is not permissible for you to brand me with disbelief 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:03.459 unless you hear from me what constitutes disbelief." 00:07:03.459 --> 00:07:05.459 Abu Hanifah said, 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.550 "Speak." 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:12.550 Jahm said, 00:07:12.550 --> 00:07:16.550 "Tell me about a man who knew Allah in his heart, 00:07:16.550 --> 00:07:18.550 and knew that He is One, with no partner and no equal, 00:07:18.550 --> 00:07:21.550 and knew Him by His attributes, 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:25.550 and that there is nothing like unto Him, 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:28.550 then he died without declaring faith with his tongue. 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:30.550 Does he die a believer or a disbeliever?" 00:07:30.550 --> 00:07:32.550 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:34.550 "He dies a disbeliever, 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:38.550 and he is among the people of the Fire, 00:07:38.550 --> 00:07:42.550 if he did not declare with his tongue what he knew in his heart, 00:07:42.550 --> 00:07:44.579 provided there was no obstacle preventing him from declaring it with his tongue." 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:46.620 Jahm said, 00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:49.620 "How can he not be a believer, 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:51.810 when he has known Allah with true knowledge?" 00:07:51.810 --> 00:07:53.810 Abu Hanifah replied, 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:55.810 "If you believe in the Qur'an 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:57.810 and take it as an argument, 00:07:57.810 --> 00:08:00.810 I will speak to you with it. 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:02.810 And if you do not believe in the Qur'an 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:06.839 and do not see it as an argument, 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:08.839 I will speak to you with what we speak to those who oppose Islam." 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:10.839 Jahm said, 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:12.939 "Rather, I believe in the Qur'an 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:14.970 and I take it as an argument." 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:16.970 Abu Hanifah said, 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:19.970 "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) 00:08:19.970 --> 00:08:21.970 has made faith dependent on two faculties: 00:08:21.970 --> 00:08:24.970 the heart and the tongue, 00:08:24.970 --> 00:08:29.970 not just one of them. 00:08:29.970 --> 00:08:31.970 The Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 00:08:31.970 --> 00:08:33.970 are overflowing with the confirmation of this." 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:37.220 He said (the Exalted): 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:39.220 "They knew the truth in their hearts, 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.220 and they spoke it with their tongues. 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:45.220 So Allah admitted them, because of what they said, 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:47.220 into Gardens beneath which rivers flow." 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.220 And He (the Exalted) said: 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:51.220 "Say..." 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:54.220 He commanded them to speak, 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:57.320 and did not suffice with knowledge and understanding from them. 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:01.320 And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:04.320 "Say 'La ilaha illa Allah' and you will succeed." 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.320 He did not make success dependent on knowledge alone, 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:10.320 but rather joined speech to it. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.320 And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:18.320 "He who says 'La ilaha illa Allah' will be brought out of the Fire." 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.350 He did not say, "He who knows Allah will be brought out of the Fire." 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:24.350 If speech were not needed, 00:09:24.350 --> 00:09:26.350 and knowledge were sufficient without it, 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:29.350 then Iblis would be a believer, 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:32.350 because he is knowledgeable of his Lord. 00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:34.350 He knows that He is the One who created him, 00:09:34.350 --> 00:09:36.350 and He is the One who will cause him to die, 00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:38.350 and He is the One who will resurrect him, 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:41.350 and He is the One who led him astray. 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:45.350 Allah (the Exalted) said, quoting him: 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:50.350 "You created me from fire and created him from clay." 00:09:50.350 --> 00:09:53.350 And he said: "My Lord, respite me until the day they are resurrected." 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:57.350 “He said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Thy Right Path.” (7:16) 00:09:57.350 --> 00:10:00.350 If what you claim were true, 00:10:00.350 --> 00:10:03.350 then many of the disbelievers would be believers 00:10:03.350 --> 00:10:05.350 due to their knowledge of their Lord, 00:10:05.350 --> 00:10:08.350 despite their denial of Him with their tongues. 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:10.350 Allah (the Exalted) said: 00:10:10.350 --> 00:10:14.350 “And they denied them, though their souls acknowledged them, for spite and arrogance. Then see the nature of the consequence for the wrong-doers!” (27:14) 00:10:14.350 --> 00:10:17.350 He did not make them believers by their certainty, 00:10:17.350 --> 00:10:22.379 but rather counted them as disbelievers due to the rejection of their tongues. 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:26.379 Abu Hanifah continued to flow in this manner, 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:29.379 Sometimes by way of the Qur'an, and other times by way of the hadith. 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:34.379 Until signs of bewilderment and defeat appeared on the face of Jahm. 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:38.379 He slipped away from the presence of Abu Hanifah, saying: 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:43.379 "You have reminded me of something I had forgotten, and I shall return to you." 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:46.379 Then he departed, never to return. 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:50.429 Another instance of this is 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:54.429 that Abu Hanifah once encountered a group of atheists 00:10:54.429 --> 00:10:58.429 who denied the existence of the Creator, Majestic and Exalted is He. 00:10:58.429 --> 00:11:00.429 He said to them: 00:11:00.429 --> 00:11:04.429 "What do you say about a ship laden with heavy cargo, 00:11:04.429 --> 00:11:07.429 filled with goods and supplies, 00:11:07.429 --> 00:11:12.429 surrounded in the depths of the sea by crashing waves, 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:15.429 and buffeted by fierce winds, 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:20.429 yet it continues to sail calmly along its charted course, 00:11:20.429 --> 00:11:24.429 proceeding securely toward its known destination, 00:11:24.429 --> 00:11:28.429 without any disturbance, flaw, or deviation, 00:11:28.429 --> 00:11:32.429 while there is no sailor on board to steer its path, 00:11:32.429 --> 00:11:35.429 or navigator to regulate its movement? 00:11:35.429 --> 00:11:38.429 Is such a thing logically possible?" 00:11:38.429 --> 00:11:42.429 They replied, "No, this is something the intellect cannot accept, 00:11:42.429 --> 00:11:46.429 nor can the imagination conceive, O Shaykh." 00:11:46.429 --> 00:11:49.429 He said, "Glory be to Allah! 00:11:49.429 --> 00:11:53.429 You deny that a ship can sail the sea in a precise manner 00:11:53.429 --> 00:11:57.429 without a captain to oversee it, 00:11:57.429 --> 00:12:00.429 yet you affirm that this universe exists— 00:12:00.429 --> 00:12:03.429 with its surging seas, its orbiting celestial bodies, 00:12:03.429 --> 00:12:07.429 its soaring birds, and its roaming beasts— 00:12:07.429 --> 00:12:10.429 without a Maker to perfect its creation, 00:12:10.429 --> 00:12:13.429 or a Disposer of affairs to perfect its management? 00:12:13.429 --> 00:12:16.429 Woe to you and to what you fabricate!" 00:12:16.429 --> 00:12:23.450 Having spent his entire life’s journey 00:12:23.450 --> 00:12:26.450 defending the religion of Allah, 00:12:26.450 --> 00:12:29.450 with the profound proof the Creator had bestowed upon him, 00:12:29.450 --> 00:12:34.450 and arguing for His law with the unique logic Allah had granted him, 00:12:34.450 --> 00:12:37.480 when death came to him, 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:41.480 they found in his will that he had charged his family 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.480 to bury him in pure land, 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:48.830 and to keep him away from any place involving the suspicion of usurpation. 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:51.830 When his will reached al-Mansur, 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:55.830 he said, "Who will excuse us from Abu Hanifah, 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:57.899 both in life and in death?" 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:00.899 Abu Hanifah had requested that 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:03.899 al-Hasan ibn 'Umarah perform his ritual washing. 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:06.929 When he washed him, he said: 00:13:06.929 --> 00:13:09.929 "May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Hanifah, 00:13:09.929 --> 00:13:12.929 and forgive you for what you have offered. 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:15.929 You have not broken your fast for thirty years, 00:13:15.929 --> 00:13:20.929 and you have not rested your head on your right side at night for forty years. 00:13:20.929 --> 00:13:24.929 You have truly exhausted the jurists who came after you." 00:13:24.929 --> 00:13:30.710 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man was 00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:33.710 a staunch defender of the sanctities of Allah, 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:35.870 long in his silence, 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.379 and constant in his reflection. 00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:42.250 Imam Abu Yusuf 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:52.460 says, when he strives or speaks: 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:57.460 "They were here, watering our lives like rain clouds; 00:13:57.460 --> 00:14:02.460 though they have passed, their memory remains exalted among us. 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:07.460 They departed, leaving a question in the conscience: 00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:12.460 Is there any like them, a star that has risen and shone? 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:17.460 They filled life with glories through their deeds, 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:21.460 and the world of the self flourished because of them."