The Hanafi School of Jurisprudence

The Hanafi school (al-Madhhab al-Hanafi) is the oldest and most widely followed of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence. It was founded by Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man ibn Thabit (80-150 AH / 699-767 CE) in Kufa, Iraq, and is followed by approximately one-third of the world's Muslims, predominantly in Turkey, Central Asia, South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan), the Balkans, and parts of the Arab world including Iraq, Syria, and Egypt.

The Founder: Abu Hanifah

Abu Hanifah was born in Kufa to a prosperous family of Persian origin. He was a successful silk merchant who devoted himself to Islamic scholarship. He studied under prominent scholars including Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (his primary teacher), Ata ibn Abi Rabah, and is reported to have met several companions of the Prophet, including Anas ibn Malik. Known as "al-Imam al-A'zam" (the Greatest Imam), he was renowned for his sharp intellect, piety, and independence. He refused the position of chief judge offered by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur and was reportedly imprisoned and tortured for his refusal. He died in prison in 150 AH.

Methodology

The Hanafi methodology is characterized by its extensive use of ra'y (reasoned opinion) and qiyas (analogical reasoning) when direct textual evidence from the Quran and Sunnah does not address a specific case. Abu Hanifah also employed istihsan (juristic preference), where strict analogy is set aside in favor of a ruling that better serves the objectives of the Shariah. He placed particular importance on the collective understanding of the companions and the amal (practice) of the people of Kufa. While sometimes characterized as a school of "opinion," the Hanafi school begins with the Quran and Sunnah; ra'y is employed only after textual sources are exhausted.

Key Distinctive Positions

Among the Hanafi school's distinctive positions: wudu is broken by bleeding but not by touching a person of the opposite sex; the opening takbir can be said with phrases other than "Allahu Akbar" (like "Allahu Ajall"); Bismillah is recited silently in prayer; Witr prayer is three rak'ahs with one salam (wajib, not sunnah); a woman may contract her own marriage without a wali (guardian) if she is adult and sane; travel that shortens prayer is approximately 80 km; and the nisab for theft (triggering the hadd punishment) is relatively high, reflecting the school's tendency toward lenience in criminal penalties.

Major Scholars and Works

Abu Hanifah's two most prominent students systematized and transmitted the school: Abu Yusuf (the first to hold the title of Chief Judge in Islam) authored Kitab al-Kharaj, and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani compiled the six foundational books (Zahir al-Riwayah) of the school. Later scholars who developed the school include al-Sarakhsi (al-Mabsut), al-Kasani (Bada'i al-Sana'i), al-Marghinani (al-Hidayah), and Ibn Abidin (Radd al-Muhtar), whose commentary remains the primary reference for Hanafi fatwa today. The Hanafi school's adoption by the Ottoman Empire cemented its dominance across a vast geographic area.