Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman
Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman | |
|---|---|
حماد بن أبي سليمان | |
 Hammad's name rendered in Arabic calligraphy | |
| Died | 738 |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Muslim leader | |
Students | |
Influenced by | |
Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (Arabic: حماد بن أبي سليمان, romanized: Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān; died 737–8) was an early Kufan Muslim jurist who is best known for being the principal teacher of Abu Hanifa, the eponym of the Hanafi school of law.[1]
Biography
[edit]The extant biographical information about Hammad is limited. It is known that he was a mawla (client) of the family of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, a companion of Muhammad. His father was wealthy, allowing Hammad to dedicate himself solely to his legal studies.[2] He became the student of Ibrahim al-Nakha'i in Kufa, who appears to have been his sole mentor in fiqh,[3] although he also studied under al-Sha'bi and met Hasan al-Basri, Said ibn al-Musayyib and the companion Anas ibn Malik.[2] He began issuing legal verdicts during al-Nakha'i's lifetime and inherited his halaqa (study circle) following his death in 714.[2]
The jurisprudence of Hammad focused on ra'y and understanding the underlying causes ('illah) of rulings, following al-Nakha'i in this regard.[2] Various accounts describe crowds mocking Hammad for his use of legal analogy (qiyas).[4]
Abu Hanifa attended the halaqa of Hammad for eighteen to twenty years and eventually, due to his ability, was afforded the privilege of sitting directly in front of Hammad.[1] The isnad of Abu Hanifa – Hammad – al-Nakha'i is regarded as the "golden Kufan chain".[5] Hammad died in Kufa in 738.[2] Abu Hanifa led his halaqa thereafter,[1] and named his son Hammad in tribute to his teacher.[6]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c Yanagihashi, Hiroyuki, "Abū Ḥanīfa", Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online, Brill, retrieved 2024-12-21
- ^ a b c d e Aras, Mehmet Özgü. "HAMMÂD b. EBÛ SÜLEYMAN". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-12-21.
- ^ Hanif 2018, p. 187
- ^ Shahawy 2019, pp. 18-19
- ^ Shahawy 2019, p. 85
- ^ Shahawy 2019, p. 213
Sources
[edit]- Hanif, S. (2018). A Tale of Two Kufans: Abū Yūsuf’s Ikhtilāf Abī Ḥanīfa wa-Ibn Abī Laylā and Schacht’s Ancient Schools. Islamic Law and Society, 25(3), 173–211.
- Shahawy, H. (2019). How subjectivity became wrong: early Hanafism and the scandal of Istihsan in the formative period of Islamic law (750-1000 CE) [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.