Prophethood and the Angels

Al-Fiqh al-Akbar affirms belief in the prophets and messengers as an obligatory article of faith. Allah sent prophets to every people, beginning with Adam and concluding with Muhammad, upon all of them be peace. The prophets were sent with clear proofs and were supported by miracles that demonstrated the truth of their mission. Among the prophets, some were given scriptures and divine laws, and these are designated as messengers (rusul) in addition to being prophets (anbiya'). Imam Abu Hanifa affirms the obligation to believe in all of the prophets without exception, and that rejecting even one of them constitutes rejection of the message as a whole, since the prophetic mission is a unified divine project.

The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, is the seal of the prophets. No prophet will come after him, and his message abrogates the laws of previous revelations while confirming their foundational theological truths. Abu Hanifa's text affirms the prophethood of Muhammad in the strongest terms and makes clear that iman is incomplete without specific faith in him. The text also affirms the mi'raj, the night journey and ascension of the Prophet, as a bodily reality. Abu Hanifa did not allegorize this event or reduce it to a purely spiritual experience. The Prophet was taken in his body, awake, from Makkah to Jerusalem and then ascended to the heavens, and this is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah transmitted from the Companions.

Regarding the angels, Abu Hanifa affirms that they are real beings created from light, who worship Allah without ceasing and do not disobey His commands. Belief in the angels is one of the six articles of faith enumerated in the famous hadith of Jibril, and Al-Fiqh al-Akbar reflects this by including them explicitly in its doctrinal framework. The angels carry out roles assigned to them by Allah: Jibril brought revelation to the prophets, the noble scribes (kiram al-katibin) record human deeds, the angel of death takes souls at their appointed time, and numerous other angels are assigned to tasks that humans cannot perceive. Their existence is affirmed on the basis of revelation rather than rational demonstration.

The text also affirms belief in the revealed books. Allah sent scriptures to various prophets: the Tawrah to Musa, the Injil to Isa, the Zabur to Dawud, and the Quran to Muhammad, upon them all be peace. Earlier scriptures have been subject to alteration and are not preserved in their original form, whereas the Quran is protected by divine guarantee and remains exactly as it was revealed. For this reason, the Quran is the final and supreme authority in all matters of religion, and its preservation is itself a sign of the finality and completeness of the prophetic mission it accompanies. Abu Hanifa's enumeration of these articles of belief in Al-Fiqh al-Akbar ensures that the creed covers all the essential obligations of faith that are non-negotiable for a Muslim.