1. Imam AbuHanifa
Born
September5,702 (80 Hijri)
Kufa,UmayyadFlag.svgUmayyadCaliphate
Died
June 14, 772 (aged69) (150 Hijri)
Imam Shafi‘i
Born
767 CE/150 AH
Gaza, Palestine
Died
20 January,820 CE/30 Rajab,204 AH (aged52-53)
al-Fustat,Egypt
Imam Malik
Born
711 CE/93 AH
Medina
Died
795 CE/179 AH (aged83-84)
Medina
2. IMAM ABU HANIFA (ra)
1.Nu'manbinThabit ibnZauti,- well knowninIslamicHistoryas'ImamAbuHanifa' and 'ImamAzam' -
was the sonof a Persianmerchant.
He wasborn inKufa,Iraq - inthe Year 80 A.H.
2.His father- Thabit - was privilegedtomeetHazratAli (ra) whohad at the time,made Kufahiscapital.
3.Kufawas foundedin17 A.H.by Hazrat Umar ibnKhattab(ra) the 2nd Khalif.
Kufahad become the 3rd mostimportantcentre of learningduringHazratUmar's (ra) Khilafat.
A large numberof Sahaba (ra) were senttothisnew city to settle here byUmar (ra).These included
Hazrat AbdullaibnMa'sood,Sa'd ibnAbi Waqqas,Ammar,Huzaifa& Abu Moosa etc.(ra).
Recordsindicate the presence of 1050 Sahabain Kufaof whom24 were the participantsof Badr.
4.At the age of 20, Imam AbuHanifaturnedhisattentiontowardsthe pursuitof advancinghisIslamic
knowledge.
5.Amonghis1st andthe mostimportanttutorswas ImamHammad (Died120 A.H.) whose educational
lineage islinkedwithHazratAbdullaIbnMas'ood(ra).
6.Imam AbuHanifaisalso a Tabi'ee = One whosaw and benefitedfromatleastone Sahabi.
3. 7.Imam AbuHanifabenefitedfromnearly 4,000 Shaikhs.
In those days,the Hajj seasonwasthe bestmeansof spreadingandderivingIslamicknowledge as
Muslimsfromeverycornerof the IslamicworldassembledinMakka.
In hislifetime ImamAbuHanifaisreputedtohave performedfiftyHajj.
8.Imam AbuHanifa(ra) had joinedhisfather'sbusinesswhereinhe showedscrupuloushonestyand
fairness.
Once hisagent hadsolda consignmentof silkclothonhisbehalf butforgottomentionaslightdefectto
the customers.WhenAbuHanifalearntof this,he was greatlydistressedbecause he hadnomeansof
the refundingthe customers;sohe immediatelyorderedthe entire proceedsof the sale ( 30,000
Dirhams) to be givenincharity.
9.The Imamwas alsokeenlyinterestedineducation.
He establishedaschool atKufa,whichlaterbecame a famousCollege of Theology.Here he delivered
lecturesonIslamicLawand relatedsubjects.
10.Fiqahor IslamicLawwas systematicallystudiedbyhisstudentsunderhisexpertguidance.
A large numberof his devotedandhighlyintelligentstudentsworkedunderhimfor30 years,and itis
the labourof these studentsthatgave usthe Hanafi School of thought.
11.Imam AbuHanifa(ra) wasthe 1st of the Imamsto advocate the use of "reason"inthe consideration
of religiousquestionsbasedonthe Qur'an andSunnah.
12.He was alsothe 1st Imamto arrange all the subjectsof IslamicLaw systematically.
13.His most importantworkisthe Kitab-ul-Aasaarwhichwascompiledbyhisstudents - ImamAbuYusuf
and ImamMuhammad.
4. 14.In {164 A.H.} 763 A.C.Al-Mansoor- the BanuAbbasKhalifaof the MuslimEmpire at Baghdadwhose
capital was Baghdad - offeredImamSahibthe postof Chief Qazi of the state,butthe Imamdeclinedto
accept the postand chose to remainindependent.InhisreplytoAl-Mansoor,the Imamexcusedhimself
by sayingthathe didnotregard himself fitforthe postoffered.Al-Mansoor,whohadhisownideasand
reasonsforofferingthe post,losthistemperandaccusedthe Imamof lying.
"If I am lying,"the Imamsaid,"thenmystatementisdoublycorrect.
"How can youappointa liarto the exaltedpostof a Chief Qazi?"
Incensedbythisreply,Al-Mansoorchargedthe Imamwithcontempt,hadhimarrestedandlockedin
prison.
15.Even inprison,the Imamcontinuedtoteachthose whowere permittedtocome tohim.
16.It washere inprisonthat the Imam wasadministeredadose of poisonin150 A.H.
Realizingthatthe endwasnear,the Imam prostratedinprayerand passedawayinthis conditioninthe
monthof Rajab,150 A.H.
The newsof hisdeathsoonspreadthroughoutBaghdad
17.17. The whole towncame outto pay theirlasthomage to the greatestImamof IslamicLaw.
More than 50,000 people participatedinthe firstJanazaSalaat.
People continuedtoflockandbefore the Janazacouldbe finallytakenforburial,the Salaatul Janazawas
offered6timesinall.
For days,people came inlarge numberstopaytheirrespectsat the grave side.
5. 18.Amongthe fourImams,AbuHanifa has the largestnumberof followerseventodayinall partsof the
world{M.A.R.K.}.
IMAM MAALIKIBN ANAS(ra)
1.AbuAbdullahMalikibnAnasibnMalikibnAbi Aamir(ra) was bornin Madina inthe year 93 A.H.(714
A.C)
He came from a respectable family.
2.His ancestral home wasinYemen,buthisgreat grandfather - Aamir- settledinMadinaafter
embracingIslam.
3.His grandfather- Maalik- was an importantTaabi-ee andafamousreporterof Ahadith.
4.He wasgreatlyattracted tothe studyof IslamicLaw and devotedhisentireinteresttothe subject
aftercompletinghisprimaryeducation.
5.Madina wasthe mostimportantseatof Islamiclearningasthe immediate descendantsof the Sahaba-
e-Kiraamwere inhabitantsof the City.
6.For the purpose of hisstudy,he soughtout over300 "Tabi'een"=those whosaw the
Sahaba/Companionsof the HolyProphet(saw),andacquiredfromthemthe knowledgeof the Holy
Prophet's(saw) AhadithandSunnah.
7.He spenthisentire life inMadinawhere he studiedFiqahfrom95Shaikhs.Itis these Shaikhsfrom
whomhe recordedthe AhadithinhisKitab-ul-Muatta.
ThisKitabcontains1725 Ahadithof Rasulullah(saw).
6. 8.He studiedQira'at& Hadithfor nearlytenyearsunder Hazrat Naafe'the slave of Hazrat Abdullahibn
Umar (ra).Hazrat Naafe'had servedhismasterfornearly30 years.
Naafe'wasonce sentbyUmar ibnAbdul Aziz(ra) toimpart knowledgeinEgypt.
9.Althoughhe isthe author of numerousbooks,hismostimportantworkisthe Kitab-ul-Muatta,which
dealswiththe subjectof IslamicLawbasedonAhadithandSunnah.The Kitab-ul-Muattaisthe earliest
survivingbookof itskind - writtenaround150 A.H. - and it isusedinall Islamicinstitutionsasone of the
textbooksinthe final yearstudiesbygraduatingUlama.
10.Imam Malikhad the highestregardforthe HolyProphet(saw) aswell asforhis Ahadith.He never
toleratedindiscipline whilstHadith-e-Rasul wasunderdiscussion.
He evenrebukedAl-Mansoorfortalkingloudlywhensome Ahadithwere beingdiscussed.
11.The Imam alwaysmade Wuduor Ghusal,wore freshcleanattire andappliedperfumebefore
conductinglessonsonAhadith.
12.He deliveredlecturesonIslamicLaw,andissuedfatwas(Islamic Rulings)fornearly62 years.Approx.
1,300 people have reportedAhadithfromhim.
13.He had the honourof occupyingthe home of Hazrat AbdullahibnMas'ud(ra) andconductinglessons
fromthe same spotwhere Rasulullah(saw) spenthistime forI'tikaaf,inthe Masjid-un-Nabi.
14.Imam Malikwas famousforhispietyandintegrity,andcourageouslystooduppreparedtosufferfor
hisconviction.
For example,in135 A.H.,Whenthe governorof Madina demandedandforcedpeopletotake the oath
of allegianceinfavourof KhalifaAl-Mansoor,the ImamissuedaFatwathat suchan oath was not
bindingbecause itwasgivenunderduress.
15.Since thisfatwa wasnot inthe interestof the ruler,the governorarrestedthe Imamandhad him
publiclyfloggedforthe "crime".
7. Al-Mansoor,learningof thisoutrage,apologizedtothe Imamanddismissedthe errantgovernor.
16.Imam Malik(ra),was offered3,000 goldcoins(dinars) byMansoor,as travellingexpensestoBaghdad
and subsequentresidence inthe Capital,butthe Imampolitelyrefusedthe offersayingthathe prefered
to live inMadinanear Rasulullah(saw).
17.Imam Malikneverintendedthe formationof aschool of thoughtbearinghisname.It washis
disciples&followerswholaterdevelopedaFiqahSchool basedonImamMalik's rulings.
18.Malikisare foundmostlyinNorth& WestAfrica - Tunis,Algeria,Morroccoand Egypt.
19.This Great Leaderof IslamicLaw diedinMadinaon the 11th Rabi-ul-Akhir179 A.H. at the age 86
years.He liesburiedinthe Jannatul Baqi inMadina.(M.A.R.K.)
IMAM MALIKIBN ANAS(ra) - ADDITIONALFACTS
1.Madina wasthe mostimportantcentre of knowledge as scholarsflockedtothe Cityto paytheir
respectstoRasulullah(saw).
2.The home of ImamMalik toowas a centre of Ilm-e-Nabawi.
3.Amonghisfirsttutors wasImam-ush-Shua'raaHazratNaafe'binAbdurRahman(died - 169 A.H.) from
whomhe masteredthe Qur'an.
4.Later, whilststill ayoungsterhe joinedthe Hadithclassesof Naafe'.
5.Physical description:Tall,heavilybuilt,fairbutreddish,wideeyes,beautiful nose,verylittlehairon
the forehead,heavylongbeardwhichreachedhischest.trimmedmoustache above/edgeof the lip.
8. He consideredthe shaverof moustache asMakroohand a Mussla(disfigurer).
6.He wore expensive clothingandusedmuchIttar.
7.He wore a silverringwitha stone andengravedwas'Hasbun'AllahuwaNe'mal Wakeel'.
8.On hisdoor waswritten'Maa ShaAllah'.Thishouse originallybelongedtoAbdullaibnMas'ood(ra).
9.He startedteachingat the age of 17.
10.It wasonlyafterseventyUlamacertifiedhimasan authority,didhe commence issuingFatwa.
11.His seatin the Masjid-e-Nabawi wasthe same seatthatwasoccupiedbyHazrat Umar (ra).
12.He neveransweredthe call of nature withinthe perimeterof the Haram, exceptduringillnessor
some Uzar.
13.He neverrode duringhisentire life onananimal inMadina.
He usedto say,"Howcan I ride an animal whose feettramplesthe groundinwhichliesrestingof the
Master (saw).
14.During hisadvancingyears,he neverwentoutof Madina - hopingto be buriedtherein.
15.During Hadithlessonsif anyone raisedhisvoice,he wouldreprimandhimandquote the Qura'nic
verse ...addingthatthe commandwasapplicable evennow.
9. IMAM MAALIKIBN ANAS(ra) - POLITICALERA
1.Duringthe Khilafatof MansoorAbbasi,oppressionwasonthe increase.
MuhammadZun-Nafsaz-ZakiyahinMadinaandhisbrotherIbrahiminBasra were compelledtoraise
the flagof rebellionagainstthe the injustice directedmostlytowardsthe Sayeds.
ImamMalik issuedafatwain favourof these twoand againstthe government.
2.2. Thisledto hisarrestby the governorof Madina and subsequentflogging - seventylashes.
Later whenMansoorlearntof this,he expressedregretandsentanapologytothe Imamand requested
the Imam to come to Baghdad,but the Imamrefused.
WhenMansoor came forHajj,he visitedMadinaaswell andtreatedthe Imamwithgreatrespect.
3.Haroon ar-Rasheed
Haroon ar-Rasheedwasapatron of the Ulama.He had greatregard for ImamMalik.He personally,with
histwo sons,journeyedtoMadinatolistentothe Muatta. He invitedthe Imamtocome to hiscamp in
orderto give lessonsbutthe Imamrefused.SoHaroonbroughthissonsto the Imam.
4.His death
ImamMalik was86 yearsandhad become quite weak,buthe still continuedtogive lessonandissue
fatwas.
It was Sundaywhenhe became ill andforthe next22 odddays itgot worse.He passedawayon the 11
th Rabi-ul-Akhir,179 A.H.
He had taughtand issuedfatwasfor62 years.
10. IMAM MAALIKIBN ANAS(ra) - ORIGIN OF MALIKI FIQAH
The Fuqaha-e-Saba'of Madinaare:
1.SaeedibnMusayyib,Died94 A.H.
2.UbaidullahibnUttbaibnMas'ud, Died98 A.H.
3.Urwa, Died94 A.H.
4.QasimibnMuhammad ibnAbi Bakr, Died108 A.H.
5.AbuBakr bin Abdur-RahmanbinHarisibnHisham, Died94 A.H.
6.SulaimanibnYasaar,Died109 A.H.
7.KharijaZaid,Died109 A.H.
These 7 were the centre of Ilm-e-FiqahandHadithinMadina.
Theirunanimousrulingwasthe basisof anyverdictinthe court of Madina inmattersof Fiqah.
The basisof ImamMalik's FiqahandFatwa originatesfromthisFiqahof Madina.
AllamaibnQayyim(ra) statesthatthe promotionof Deen,Fiqah,andIlminthe Ummah is due to the
studentsof IbnMas'ud, ZaidbinThabit,Ibn Umar and IbnAbbas(ra).
IbnMas'ud stayedinMadina but was laterorderedtoreside inKufa.
Therefore the above 7were instrumental inthe promotionof IlminMadina.
11. Andit isfrom these personsthatthe Shaikhsof ImamMalikbenefitted,inparticularHazratRabi'atur
Raai whoisthe mostimportantShaikhof ImamMalik(ra).
ImamMalik basedhisrulingsinhisFatwasfromthe Fiqahof the above andthis eventuallybecamethe
"Maliki Fiqah.
IMAM SHAFI'EE(ra)
1.AbuAbdullahMuhammadIbnIdreesShafi'ee(ra) wasa descendantfromthe Quraishtribe.
He isthe OnlyImam whoisrelatedtoRasulullah(saw).
2.Imam Shafi'ee (RAH) wasborninGhazza,Syriain 150 A.H. (765 A.C.)
He losthisfatherduringinfancyandwasraisedby hismotherunderverypoorcircumstances.
3.He completedHifz of the Qur'anat the tenderage of 7 years,andat the age of 13 memorizedthe
Kitabul-Muattaof ImamMalik(ra).
4.He spentsome time amongthe BeduinsoutsideMakka,toacquire a good knowledgeof the Arabic
language.
5.At the age of 20, (170 A.H./785 A.C.) he wentto Madina andbecame a studentof Imam Malik(ra) who
was greatlyimpressedwiththe youngstudentwhohadmemorizedthe Muatta.
6.He stayedwithImamMalikfor some time;thereafterhe returnedtoMakka.
7.He alsocame intocontact withotherlearnedmen(81Shaikhs) fromall of whomhe acquiredthe
knowledge of the Qur'an,HadithandSunnah.
12. 8.In 184 A.H./799 A.C.,ImamShafi'ee wasarrestedandtakentoBaghdad to appearbefore HaroonAr-
Rasheedon"trumpedup"chargesof treason. Itwas due to the recommendationof ImamMuhammad
(the state Qazi and studentof ImamAbu Hanifa) thatImam Shafi'ee wasdischarged.He wasthen34
yearsold.
9.Imam Shafi'ee remainedinBaghdadasa studentof ImamMuhammad foroverthree yearsto add
furtherto hisknowledgeof IslamicLaw.
10.He returnedto Makka where he stayedfor9 years deliveringlecturesonIslamicLaw.Itwas during
thisperiodthatImam AhmadibnHambal came intocontact withImamShafi'ee.
11.In 199 A.H.,he wentto Egypt where he wasreceivedwithmuchhonourandrespect.He remained
here until hisdeath.
12.Imam Shafi'ee wasthe authorof over 100 books,the mostimportantof whichis the Kitab-ul-Umm.It
containsthe rulingsof the Imamon all subjectsof IslamicLaw.
13.He leftbehindalarge numberof dedicatedstudentsinMakka,BaghdadandEgypt.
14.The Shafi'ee School of Thoughtemergedfromthesestudentswhopropagatedthe viewsandrulings
of the Imamthroughtheirwritingsandpreachings.
15.Imam Shafi'ee (ra) nevercommittedamajorsinnor spoke a lie,nordidhe swallow anunlawful
morsel of foodinhisentire life.
He neveratany time performedJummawithoutGhusal.
16.He was an extremelygenerouspersonalitywhoonnumerousoccasionsgave awayall he possessed
to the poor and needy.
17.He diedinCairo,Egypt, onFridayeveningafterMaghrib,29th Rajab,204 A.H.(20th Jan, 820 A.C.)
aftera shortillness,atthe age of 53-54 years.{ M.A.R.K.}
13. IMAM SHAFI'EE(ra) - ADDITIONALFACTS
1.AbuAbdullaMuhammadibnIdrisibnAl-AbbasbinUsmanbinShafi'.
2.His ancestryjoinsthe ProphetatAbdManaaf.
3.His title is'NaasirunSunnah'.He washonouredasAl-Imaamul Mujaddidinthathe isthe Mujaddidof
the 2nd century.
4.His birthplace is Ghazza/Asqalaan - a place twostagesfrom Jeruselam.He wasborninRajab 150 A.H.
5.He wastwo yearsoldwhenhisparentsmovedtoMakka and made it theirhome.
6.His motherwasa Yemeni of the famousBani Azd tribe.
7.His ancestor- Shafi'- wasthe flagbearerof the BanuHashimin Badr.
He wastakenprisonerandreleasedafterransom.Thereafterhe embracedIslam.
Anotherreportstatesthathe metthe Prophet(saw) asa youngsterandbecame a Muslim.
Howeverhisfather- Saa'ib- was the flagbearer.....
8.Imam Shafi'ee completedHifzat7 andmemorisedMuattaat 10 years.
14. 9.At 15 withthe permissionof hisSHAIKH - MuslimbinKhalidZanji (the Mufti of Makka) - he started
issuingfatwas.
10.Earlierhe spenthistime inArabicliterature andpoetry.
One day at Mina, he hearda voice behindsaying:"Aliakabil Fiqah" - (GRASPTHE FIQAH).
11.MuslimbinKhalidwhohad noticedhisremarkable intelligence,etc.,advisedhimtostudyFiqah.
He spentthree yearswiththe Shaikh,until the age of 13.
12.Later he wenttoMadina to studyunderImam Malik.
BesidesImamMalik,he studiedHadithunder81Shaikhs.
In Makka histutor wasSufyanbinAiniyyah.
ImamShafi'ee saidaboutthese two:"Hadit not beenforImamMalik and Sufyan,thenIlmWouldnot
have remainedinHidjaz."
13.He spent8 monthswithImamMalik,thenreturnedtoMakka.
14.He came intocontact in184 A.H.withImam Muhammad - state Qazi - at Baghdadand stayedwith
himfor over3 years.Takingintoaccountfuture visitstothe Imam, he spent10 yearswithImam
Muhammad.
Comments:"Inevercame across a greaterAlimof KitabullahthanImamMuhammad(ra).
15.Imam Muhammad made thiscomment:
[a] The doorof Fiqah wasshut to the people,Allahopeneditbecause of Shafi'ee.
15. [b] Imam Shafi'ee isthe Mujaddidof Deen.
16.Imam Malikmade thiscomment:
No Scholarmore brilliantthanMuhammadibnIdrisShafi'ee evercame tome as a pupil.
17.FiqahShafi'ee
The Imam had masteredbothMaliki andHanafi Fiqah.Keepingbothbefore him, he formulatedthe basis
of the Shafi'ee Fiqah.
His pupilscompiledhisworks,Fatwas,teachings,etc.,andpromotedthe Shafi'eeSchool of Fiqah.
IMAM AHMAD IBN MUHAMMAD HAMBAL (ra)
1.AbuAbdullahAhmadibnMuhammadibnHambal Shaibani Al-Maruzi wasof pure Arabdescentwhose
ancesteryjoinsHazratEbrahim(as).
2.He wasborn inBaghdad inthe month of Rabi-ul-Awwal,164 A.H.He losthisfatherwhenhe wasonly
three years old.
3.Baghdad beingthe Capital of the MuslimState wasan importantcentre of learningduringthe Banu
AbbasEra.
4.Imam AhmadHambal (ra) completedHifzof the Qur'anat an earlyage.
16. 5.In 180 A.H., whenhe was16 yearsold,he beganto persue the knowledgeof Ahadithunderthe Imam
AbuYusuf (the mostimportantpupil of ImamAbuHanifa(ra)).
6.He stayedwithhimfor3 years,duringwhichtime he recordedsomuchinformation,thatthe volumes
filled3bookshelves.
7.Later he also attendedthe classesof ImamMuhammad(anotherprominentpupil of ImamAbuHanifa
(ra)).
8.Afteraccumlatingknowledge fromnumerousscholarsinBaghdad,he journeyedtoKufa,Basra,
Makka, Madina,Yemen,Syria,Jazirainorderto increase hisknowledge of Ahadith.
9.AftermeetingwithoverahundredShaikhs,he isreputedtohave made acollectionof overamillion
Ahadith.
10.It wasin187 A.H.that he metImamShafi'ee (ra) inMakka for the firsttime.LaterwhenImam
Shafi'ee came toBaghdad,Imam Hambal alsojoinedhimduringthe Imam'sresidencehere and
masteredfromhimFiqah.
11.Imam Shafi'ee (ra) tooonthe otherhandreliedverymuchonthe knowledge of AhadithandSunnah
whichImamAhmadHambal (ra) possessed.
12.It wasin204 A.H.,onlyafterhe had reachedthe age of 40, that ImamAhmadHambal (ra) started
conductinglessonsanddeliveringlectures.
13.Beinga prominentfigure,hislecturesattractedahuge gatheringof at least5,000 studentsamong
whomnearly500 tookdown notesdaily.
14.Imam Bukhari,ImamMuslim,andImam Tirmizi (ra) were alsoamongsthisnoteworthystudents.
15.The Mu'tazilacontroversyregardingthe "immortalityandcreationof the Qur'an"was the cause of
much trial inthe life of the Imam,whosufferedmuchovera periodof nearly15 years.
17. 16.The Banu Abbasrulers - Al-Ma'moonandAl-Mu'tasimwhowere influencedbythe Mu'tazila - triedto
force the Ulama to accept the Mu'taziladoctrine.
17.Beinga devotee of the Sunnah,andanopposerof Bid'atit fell uponthe shouldersof ImamHambal
(ra) to oppose thisdoctrine vigorously.
18.Al-Mu'tasimevenorderedthe floggingandimprisonmentof the Imamforseveral months.
ImamHambal succumbedtothe sufferingsratherthandeviate fromthe beliefsandpracticesof the
Sunnah.
19.The sufferingsof ImamHambal endedwhenAl-Mutawakkiltookoverasruler,restoredthe
traditional teachingsof Islamandaccordedthe Imamthe honourbefittingthe greatscholar.
20.Amonghis several worksisthe Encyclopaediaof AhadithcalledMasnad,compiledbyhissonAbdulla
fromhis lectures,andamplifiedbyreferencestoover28,000 Ahadith.
21.His otherimportantworksinclude acollectionof hisfatwas(Islamicrulingsonreligiousmatters) -
coveringover20 volumes.
These fatwasformthe basisof the Hambali School of Thought.
22.The Hambalisrepresentthe smallestgroupinthe fourSunni Schoolsof Fiqah.
23.Imam Hambal (ra) diedaftera shortillnessinBaghdad,onFridayevening,12Rabi-ul-Awwal,241 A.H.
(855 A.C.) at the age of 77 years.
24.His Janaza Salaatwas attendedbynearly1,000,000 people whocame to paytheirrespectstothis
great scholarof Islam.{M.A.R.K.}
