Faith, Islam, and the Community

One of the most influential theological positions in Al-Fiqh al-Akbar concerns the definition of faith (iman). Abu Hanifa defines iman as affirmation by the heart (tasdiq bil-qalb) and attestation by the tongue (iqrar bil-lisan). This formulation distinguishes him from the Murji'a on one side, who reduced faith to inner belief alone, and from the Khawarij and some Mu'tazilites on the other, who made righteous action a constitutive part of faith itself. For Abu Hanifa, actions are not part of the definition of iman, though they are obligatory requirements and indicators of its strength. A person who commits a major sin does not thereby leave the fold of Islam, though they are a sinner deserving of rebuke and potentially divine punishment unless Allah pardons them.

Perhaps the most debated aspect of Abu Hanifa's doctrine of faith is his position that iman does not increase or decrease. This stands in contrast to a well-attested hadith tradition and to the position of many scholars of the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, who held that faith increases through acts of obedience and decreases through sin. Abu Hanifa's reasoning was that the core of faith, which is affirmation and attestation, is either present or absent. It cannot be partial. One either affirms the truth of Allah's message or one does not. What varies among believers is not faith itself but rather its fruits: works, states, and the experience of certainty. This position was developed further by Maturidi theologians, who distinguished between the root of faith (asl al-iman) and its perfection (kamal al-iman).

On the question of the Muslim community, Abu Hanifa insists on following the majority and avoiding the path of those who split the community through innovation or extremism. He affirms that it is impermissible to declare a Muslim an unbeliever (kafir) on account of major sin alone. This principle, known as the prohibition of takfir for major sins, was central to Sunni identity in the early period and was formulated precisely in response to the Kharijite movement, which had declared Muslim rulers and their followers apostates and used this declaration to justify violence. Abu Hanifa's firm stance on this question reflects the broader Sunni commitment to communal unity and the preservation of the bonds of brotherhood among Muslims.

Al-Fiqh al-Akbar also addresses the proper attitude toward the Companions of the Prophet. Abu Hanifa teaches that one must love all of the Companions and not speak ill of any of them, regardless of the disputes that occurred among them. The disputes of the Companions were matters of ijtihad, and they are answered for their intentions. The believer should speak well of all of them and refrain from entering into the controversies of the past. This position of restraint and respect (kaff) toward the Sahaba became a hallmark of Sunni orthodoxy across all four legal schools, and its articulation here by Abu Hanifa shows how creedal positions were closely connected to the question of how Muslims relate to their own history and to the authority of the early generations.