Hanafi School of Thought

By: Aneeqa Anwar (Islamabad)
Hanafi school is one of the four practicing religious Islamic schools of Fiqh. Thus, Hanafi school has emerged over a large number of followers during the past centuries.
The head of This Hanafi school of thought is Abu Hanifa. When we refer to a Muslim, we are referring to Quran, the message of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Hence, Hanafi’s promote Sunni dialect.
After the death of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Muslims had to think carefully about who is going to be their political leader. Many Muslims agreed to have Abu Bakr. So, the Islamic religion which was brought up by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was performed by the first caliph Abu Bakr. Eventually, the matter of Islam did not stop but became well known among people in the later era.

Who is Imam Abu Hanifa?

The Hanafi legal school came into being from the teachings of the theologian Abu Hanifah as spread by his disciples Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al Shaybani. During the early stages, this school became dominant among the Abbasids and Ottomans. While talking about Imam Abu Hanifa, he is the founder of the Sunni School of Law. Moreover, he is also known as Imam Al Azam.
Abu Hanifa grew up in Kufa and finished his education there. In fact, he also visited Makkah and Madina many times. Finally, he became an expert in Islamic jurisprudence.

Existence of Hanafi School

The Hanafi school was the earliest among all four schools of thought. Although, it was criticized by those living in Madinah, but became much familiar in other countries. Hence, it is also the most liberal school of Islamic law. The Hanafi School elevates belief over practice and accepts the differences within the Muslim communities.

More About Hanafi Sect

Hanafi Sect, in other words, Sunni sect promotes the madhab, religion better following Quranic Law and Sunnah called as the Shariat. Moreover, the fiqhi rules and matters have first complied in this school. This school spread most of the Islamic word among people.
This school is mostly based on opinions, fatwas, judgments and thinking of the companion Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood and Hazrat Ali bin Abi Talib.

When Abu Hanifah formed the fiqh of Islam he selected 40 people to compile the fiqh among his students. Moreover, all of his students were experts. Then, after the compilation work, some companions of Imam Abu Hanifa wrote books in accordance with the Hanafi religion. In order to live a life in accordance with Islamic teachings, one should read the fiqhi books of Hanafi school.

Hanafi Books

Hanafi books that one can go through are Umdata ul Fiqh, Qudoori. Such books contain detailed information on how to live your life on the Islamic aspect. Moreover, many authentic hadith books are also present by the names of Ibn Maja, hadith book of Imam Bukhari, Ibn Muslim.

Conclusion

We know that the Sunni population rate is much higher than the other sects. This is because Sunni’s prefer the Quran along with Sunnah. They keep their thinking moderate and realistic. Hanafi’s avoid extreme thinking about Deen. They hence make considerable use of reason or opinion in legal decisions.
Hanafi followers see Quran, the Sunnah, the ijma (consensus) and qiyas (deduction from analogy) as the sources of law. Moreover, the followers of Imam Abu Hanifa are in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, China, North Africa, Egypt, and in the Malay Archipelago.