Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (37) | Abu Hanifa Al-Numan, may God have mercy on him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 The best of generations in their conduct and example,

0:08 Following the Messenger when he strove or spoke.

0:13 Mawaddah Association

0:15 Presents:

0:17 Portraits from the Life of the Tabi'un

0:21 By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:26 May Allah have mercy upon him.

0:28 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man,

0:33 May Allah have mercy upon him.

0:43 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man once visited Imam Malik,

0:47 While a group of his students were with him.

0:50 When he left,

0:52 Malik turned to those sitting with him and said,

0:55 "Do you know who this is?"

0:58 They replied, "No."

1:00 He said, "This is al-Nu'man ibn Thabit.

1:04 This is a man who, if he were to claim about this pillar

1:07 that it was made of gold, he would provide proof for his claim,

1:11 and it would turn out to be exactly as he said."

1:13 Imam Malik was not exaggerating in his description of Abu Hanifah’s strength of argument,

1:20 his quick-wittedness,

1:22 and his sharp, brilliant mind.

1:25 History and biographical books are filled with accounts of his debates with his opponents in legal opinion,

1:31 and his adversaries in creed.

1:33 All of these are testimonies to the truth of what Imam Malik described him with:

1:38 that if he were to claim to you that the dust before you was gold,

1:43 you would have no choice but to yield to his argument and accept his claim.

1:49 So how much more so when he is defending the truth

1:52 and arguing for its sake?

1:54 Among these instances is that a man from the people of Kufa, whom Allah had led astray,

2:01 held a position of status in the eyes of some people,

2:04 and his word carried weight among them.

2:08 This man used to claim to the people, among the things he asserted,

2:12 that Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) was Jewish by origin,

2:16 and that he remained upon his Judaism even after Islam.

2:21 When Abu Hanifah heard this statement of his,

2:25 he went to him and said,

2:27 "I have come to you to propose marriage to your daughter, so-and-so, on behalf of one of my companions."

2:32 The man replied, "Welcome and greetings!

2:36 A request from someone like you, O Abu Hanifah, cannot be refused.

2:40 But who is the suitor?"

2:43 He said, "A man known among his people for honor and wealth,

2:48 generous and open-handed,

2:51 a memorizer of the Book of Allah (the Almighty and Majestic),

2:54 who spends the entire night in a single rak'ah,

2:57 and weeps profusely out of fear of Allah (the Exalted)."

3:01 The man exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent! That is enough, O Abu Hanifah.

3:06 Some of the qualities you have mentioned regarding the suitor

3:09 make him a match for the daughter of the Commander of the Faithful."

3:13 Abu Hanifah then said,

3:15 "However, he has one trait that you must be aware of."

3:20 He asked, "And what is that?"

3:22 He replied, "He is a Jew."

3:25 The man recoiled and said, "A Jew?

3:28 Do you want me to marry my daughter to a Jew, O Abu Hanifah?

3:33 By Allah, I will not marry her to him,

3:36 even if he possessed all the virtues of the first and the last generations!"

3:40 Abu Hanifah then said,

3:42 "You refuse to marry your daughter to a Jew,

3:45 and you reject that with the utmost vehemence,

3:48 yet you claim to the people

3:50 that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

3:53 married both of his daughters to a Jew?"

3:57 The man began to tremble and said,

4:00 "I seek Allah’s forgiveness for the evil words I have spoken,

4:03 and I repent to Him for the falsehood I have fabricated."

4:07 Another instance is

4:11 that one of the Khawarij,

4:13 namely al-Dahhak al-Shari,

4:15 came to Abu Hanifah one day and said,

4:19 "Repent, O Abu Hanifah!"

4:21 He asked, "From what should I repent?"

4:24 The Khariji replied,

4:26 "From your view permitting the arbitration

4:28 that took place between Ali and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them)."

4:31 Abu Hanifah said to him,

4:34 "Will you not agree to debate me on this matter?"

4:37 The Khariji replied, "Yes."

4:40 Abu Hanifah said,

4:42 "If we disagree on something in what we are debating,

4:45 then who shall judge between us?"

4:48 The Khariji said,

4:50 "Appoint whomever you wish."

4:52 Abu Hanifah turned to a man from the Khariji's companions

4:56 who was with him and said,

4:58 "Judge between us regarding what we disagree upon."

5:01 Then he said to the Khariji,

5:03 "I am satisfied with your companion;

5:05 are you satisfied with him?"

5:08 The Khariji was pleased and said, "Yes."

5:11 Abu Hanifah then said,

5:13 "Woe to you!

5:15 You permit arbitration regarding what occurs between me and you,

5:18 yet you deny it to two of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?"

5:24 The Khariji was stunned,

5:26 and could not utter a response.

5:28 Another instance is

5:32 that Jahm ibn Safwan,

5:34 the head of the misguided and heretical Jahmiyyah sect,

5:38 and the sower of evil in the land of Islam,

5:41 once came to Abu Hanifah and said,

5:44 "I have come to you to speak with you about things I have prepared for you."

5:49 Abu Hanifah replied,

5:51 "Speaking with you is a disgrace,

5:53 and delving into what you follow is like a blazing fire."

5:57 Jahm said,

5:59 "How did you judge me as you did,

6:02 when you have not met me before,

6:04 nor heard my speech?"

6:06 Abu Hanifah replied,

6:08 "Reports have reached me about you that do not come from a person of the Qiblah."

6:14 Jahm said,

6:16 "Do you judge me based on the unseen?"

6:18 Abu Hanifah replied,

6:20 "That has become famous about you and widespread,

6:23 and both the common and the elite have known it.

6:26 So it became permissible for me to confirm it against you by what has been transmitted about you."

6:31 Jahm said,

6:33 "I do not want to ask you about anything except faith."

6:37 Abu Hanifah replied,

6:39 "Have you not known faith until this hour, that you must ask me about it?"

6:44 Jahm said,

6:46 "Yes, but I have doubted a type of it."

6:50 Abu Hanifah replied,

6:52 "Doubt in faith is disbelief."

6:55 Jahm said,

6:57 "It is not permissible for you to brand me with disbelief

7:00 unless you hear from me what constitutes disbelief."

7:03 Abu Hanifah said,

7:06 "Speak."

7:08 Jahm said,

7:12 "Tell me about a man who knew Allah in his heart,

7:16 and knew that He is One, with no partner and no equal,

7:18 and knew Him by His attributes,

7:21 and that there is nothing like unto Him,

7:25 then he died without declaring faith with his tongue.

7:28 Does he die a believer or a disbeliever?"

7:30 Abu Hanifah replied,

7:32 "He dies a disbeliever,

7:34 and he is among the people of the Fire,

7:38 if he did not declare with his tongue what he knew in his heart,

7:42 provided there was no obstacle preventing him from declaring it with his tongue."

7:44 Jahm said,

7:46 "How can he not be a believer,

7:49 when he has known Allah with true knowledge?"

7:51 Abu Hanifah replied,

7:53 "If you believe in the Qur'an

7:55 and take it as an argument,

7:57 I will speak to you with it.

8:00 And if you do not believe in the Qur'an

8:02 and do not see it as an argument,

8:06 I will speak to you with what we speak to those who oppose Islam."

8:08 Jahm said,

8:10 "Rather, I believe in the Qur'an

8:12 and I take it as an argument."

8:14 Abu Hanifah said,

8:16 "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)

8:19 has made faith dependent on two faculties:

8:21 the heart and the tongue,

8:24 not just one of them.

8:29 The Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

8:31 are overflowing with the confirmation of this."

8:33 He said (the Exalted):

8:37 "They knew the truth in their hearts,

8:39 and they spoke it with their tongues.

8:42 So Allah admitted them, because of what they said,

8:45 into Gardens beneath which rivers flow."

8:47 And He (the Exalted) said:

8:49 "Say..."

8:51 He commanded them to speak,

8:54 and did not suffice with knowledge and understanding from them.

8:57 And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

9:01 "Say 'La ilaha illa Allah' and you will succeed."

9:04 He did not make success dependent on knowledge alone,

9:07 but rather joined speech to it.

9:10 And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

9:15 "He who says 'La ilaha illa Allah' will be brought out of the Fire."

9:18 He did not say, "He who knows Allah will be brought out of the Fire."

9:21 If speech were not needed,

9:24 and knowledge were sufficient without it,

9:26 then Iblis would be a believer,

9:29 because he is knowledgeable of his Lord.

9:32 He knows that He is the One who created him,

9:34 and He is the One who will cause him to die,

9:36 and He is the One who will resurrect him,

9:38 and He is the One who led him astray.

9:41 Allah (the Exalted) said, quoting him:

9:45 "You created me from fire and created him from clay."

9:50 And he said: "My Lord, respite me until the day they are resurrected."

9:53 “He said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Thy Right Path.” (7:16)

9:57 If what you claim were true,

10:00 then many of the disbelievers would be believers

10:03 due to their knowledge of their Lord,

10:05 despite their denial of Him with their tongues.

10:08 Allah (the Exalted) said:

10:10 “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)

10:14 He did not make them believers by their certainty,

10:17 but rather counted them as disbelievers due to the rejection of their tongues.

10:22 Abu Hanifah continued to flow in this manner,

10:26 Sometimes by way of the Qur'an, and other times by way of the hadith.

10:29 Until signs of bewilderment and defeat appeared on the face of Jahm.

10:34 He slipped away from the presence of Abu Hanifah, saying:

10:38 "You have reminded me of something I had forgotten, and I shall return to you."

10:43 Then he departed, never to return.

10:46 Another instance of this is

10:50 that Abu Hanifah once encountered a group of atheists

10:54 who denied the existence of the Creator, Majestic and Exalted is He.

10:58 He said to them:

11:00 "What do you say about a ship laden with heavy cargo,

11:04 filled with goods and supplies,

11:07 surrounded in the depths of the sea by crashing waves,

11:12 and buffeted by fierce winds,

11:15 yet it continues to sail calmly along its charted course,

11:20 proceeding securely toward its known destination,

11:24 without any disturbance, flaw, or deviation,

11:28 while there is no sailor on board to steer its path,

11:32 or navigator to regulate its movement?

11:35 Is such a thing logically possible?"

11:38 They replied, "No, this is something the intellect cannot accept,

11:42 nor can the imagination conceive, O Shaykh."

11:46 He said, "Glory be to Allah!

11:49 You deny that a ship can sail the sea in a precise manner

11:53 without a captain to oversee it,

11:57 yet you affirm that this universe exists—

12:00 with its surging seas, its orbiting celestial bodies,

12:03 its soaring birds, and its roaming beasts—

12:07 without a Maker to perfect its creation,

12:10 or a Disposer of affairs to perfect its management?

12:13 Woe to you and to what you fabricate!"

12:16 Having spent his entire life’s journey

12:23 defending the religion of Allah,

12:26 with the profound proof the Creator had bestowed upon him,

12:29 and arguing for His law with the unique logic Allah had granted him,

12:34 when death came to him,

12:37 they found in his will that he had charged his family

12:41 to bury him in pure land,

12:44 and to keep him away from any place involving the suspicion of usurpation.

12:48 When his will reached al-Mansur,

12:51 he said, "Who will excuse us from Abu Hanifah,

12:55 both in life and in death?"

12:57 Abu Hanifah had requested that

13:00 al-Hasan ibn 'Umarah perform his ritual washing.

13:03 When he washed him, he said:

13:06 "May Allah have mercy on you, O Abu Hanifah,

13:09 and forgive you for what you have offered.

13:12 You have not broken your fast for thirty years,

13:15 and you have not rested your head on your right side at night for forty years.

13:20 You have truly exhausted the jurists who came after you."

13:24 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man was

13:30 a staunch defender of the sanctities of Allah,

13:33 long in his silence,

13:35 and constant in his reflection.

13:38 Imam Abu Yusuf

13:48 says, when he strives or speaks:

13:52 "They were here, watering our lives like rain clouds;

13:57 though they have passed, their memory remains exalted among us.

14:02 They departed, leaving a question in the conscience:

14:07 Is there any like them, a star that has risen and shone?

14:12 They filled life with glories through their deeds,

14:17 and the world of the self flourished because of them."

Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (37) | Abu Hanifa Al-Numan, may God have mercy on him | C (2)

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