Question:
Assalamualaikum,
I have asked a Sheikh and he told me that Abu Hanifah has not have a own written Hadith collection, however he told me that there are at least 15 Musnads attributed to him with his own chain of narration which Imam Abu al Muayyad al Khawarzami has collected together in his Jaami’ul Masaaneed.
Does you know maybe now the number of Hadith in this Jaami’ul Masaaneed?
Or can you name those 15 or more musnads with their authors?
Also I did read on sunnipath that Imam Abu Hanifah’s Musnad was more than the Musnad of Imam Shafi’ee is this right and can give somebody the exact numbers?
Besides I have also Musnad of Imam Abu Hanifah on my hard drive (Turkish translation) it is the one where Ali ul Qari has made Sharh I don’t know if this is the Jaami’ul Masaaneed? But in this Musnad every thing is from Abu Hanifah with his own chain. There are about 520 Hadiths according to he numbering of this copy I have.
was salaam
Answer:
Allaamah Muhammad Abdur Rashid Nu’maani wrote some facts regarding Imam Abu Haneefah’s Kitaab, Kitaabul Aathaar, in his Kitaab, Ibn Majah and Ilm e Hadith. The summary of it is as follows:
Imam Abu Hanifah chose Sahih and Ma’mool Bihi narrations, with regards to Ahkaam, from 40 thousand Sanads and in a separate compilation arranged them into Fiqhi Abwaabs. The name of this book was Kitaabul Aathaar. It is also called Musnad and Sunan. This is the first Kitaab, with Sahih Ahaadith, to be arranged in accordance to the Fiqhi sequence, which came into existence in the second quarter of the second century. Imam Maalik also benefited from this Kitaab. Kitaabul Aathaar was not the narrations of the people of Kufa only but the narrations of the great scholars of Hijaaz, Shaam and other Islamic cities. Imam Saab took narrations from more than 130 Sahabahs. Some of these Sahabahs were fatwa giving Sahabahs.
Many students narrated Kitaabul Aathaar from Imam Abu Hanifah. From among them are Imam Zufar, Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, Hasan Bin Ziyaad, the son of Imam Saab Hammaad Bin Abi Hanifah, Muhammad Bin Khalid Wahbi and many more. The largest compilation is that of Imam Hasan Bin Ziyaad. He mentioned that the number of Imam Abu Haneefah’s Ahaadith is 4000, 2000 from Hammaad Bin Abi Suleiman and 2000 from other great scholars. Allaamah Khwaarzami’s Jaami’ul Masaaneed, this compilation is from the name of Musnad Abi Hanifah Lil Hasan Bin Ziyaad.
N. B. Qadhi Abul Abbas, in his Kitaab Akhbaar Abu Hanifah narrates with a Muttasil Sanad that Imam Maalik use to read Imam Saab’s Kitaabs and benefit from it. Allaamah Suyooti writes that imam Saab was the first person to compile Ilm Shari at and put it into sequence, and imam Maalik followed this very sequence for his Mu’attah. Nobody did this before Imam Saab.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentions that it is not proven that imam Abu Hanifah narrated from Imam Maalik.
Sufyaan Thowri, Sha’bah, Yahya Bin Sa’eed, Abdur Rahmaan Bin Mahdi and Ahmad Bin Hambal mentions that all the Sahih Ahaadith which Sanads reach Nabi SAW amount to 4400. According to the quote of Imam Abu Yusuf 1100 are to do with Ahkaam (Ibn Majah and Ilm Hadith pg 158 to 176).
N. B. We do not possess the Kitaab Jaami’ul Masaaneed therefore we can not comment on the amount of narrations in it.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
Mufti Muhammad Ashraf
Darul Iftaa
Jameah Mahmoodiyah
Springs
08 March 2006
05 Safar 1427