Hazrat, I wanted to ask, all the narrations of Imam Abu Hanifa, how were they preserved? From my understanding, he didn’t compile a book like the other 3 Imams?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Kitāb al-Āthār is a book of hadīth compiled in Fiqh order by Imām Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him). This was compiled even before al-Muwatta of Imām Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) (D. 179AH) and Imām Mālik (may Allah have mercy on him) used to benefit from Kitāb al-Āthār of Imām Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him).
Besides Kitāb al-Āthār, approximately 20 muhaddithīn compiled musnads (narrations of Imām Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him)). Fifteen of these musnads have been gathered and organized by Abu al-Mu’ayyad al-Khāwrizmi (may Allah have mercy on him) by the name Jāmi` Masānīd al-Imām al-A’zam.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Huzaifah Deedat
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
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Introduction to Hadith by Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb-Page 38
درس ترمیذی- جلد1-ص96- مکتبہ دارالعلوم