The Kitab al-Athar of Imam Abu Hanifah In the narration of Imam Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani Arabic text with English translation. Explanatory footnotes in English. The Kitab al-Athar was the first book composed in Islam after the generation of the Companions. Al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifah Numan ibn Thabit wrote it. It comprises Ahadith that connect directly back to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam (marfu), those which stop short at a Companion or one of the Followers (mawquf) and those which are attributed to the Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam directly by one of the Followers or Followers of the Followers without attribution to a Companion (mursal). His companions Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Zufar, Imam Muhammad, Imam al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, Imam Hammad ibn Abi Hanifah the Imams son, Hafs ibn Ghiyath and others narrated it from him. In the version before us, Imam Muhammad, himself a mujtahid, narrated each tradition from Imam Abu Hanifah and then followed each with some explanatory material, sometimes confirming and occasionally differing with his Imam. Imam Abu Hanifah Imam Abu Hanifah was from Kufa and was one of the Followers (taabioon). He was born in 80 AH in a family of Persian ancestry. Imam Abu Hanifah was a trader in fabrics. He studied with the great scholars of Kufa who transmitted the schools of Ibn Masud and Ali ibn Abi Talib in particular, but he also travelled further afield in search of hadith and fiqh. He was noted for his exceptional grasp of fiqh, and is said to have laid its foundations. He died in 150 AH in Baghdad. His list of teachers is very extensive, and his list of pupils a roll-call of honour. Sahl ibn Muzahim said, Abu Hanifahs knowledge was universal knowledge. Ash-Shafiee said, In fiqh people are the needy dependents of Abu Hanifah. Imam Muhammad He is Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Farqad ash-Shaybani. Muhammad was born in Wasit in 132 AH, and grew up in Kufa. He was a pupil of Abu Hanifah. Ash-Shafiee said, I have not seen anyone more eloquent than him. I used to think when I saw him reciting the Quran that it was as if the Quran had been revealed in his language. He also said, I have not seen anyone more intelligent than Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. He died in Ray in 189 AH. Hafiz Riyad Ahmad al-Multani The explanatory footnotes to this text are the work of the contemporary scholar Hafiz Riyad Ahmad from Multan in Pakistan. Translated by Abdussamad Clarke Edited by: Mufti ‘Abdur Rahman Ibn Yusuf, Shaykh Muhammad Akram (Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies), Safira Batha (English editing)

Imam Abu Hanifah-commonly referred to as the Great Imam (al-Imam al-A'zam)-occupies a commanding position in the history of Muslim Jurisprudence. Those who follow the school of Islamic Law associated with his name outnumber adherents of other schools. Iqbal in his "Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam" paid a high tribute to Imam Abu Hanīfah's "keeninsight into the universal character of Islam" and, while dealing with the question of application of Islamic Law to modern conditions, expressed the view that "the school of Abu Hanifah ... possesses much greater power of creative adaptation thanany other school of Mohammadan Law". This valuable book on Imam Abu Hanīfah was originally written in Urdu under the title Sirat-i Nu'man by the celebrated historian and Islamic scholar Shibli Nomani, giving us his biography and an analysis of the salient characteristics of theHanafi school of Law.

Abu Hanifah Nu'man ibn Thabit was one of the greatest pioneers in the history of Islamic Law, particularly in legal reasoning. The Hanafi Legal School that he founded has become the most widely followed among the world's Muslims. Based on primary sources, this study of the life and legacy of Abu Hanifah also surveys the evolution of Hanafi legal reasoning (fiqh) in different regions of the Islamic world and assesses its historical distinctiveness. Mohammed Akram Nadwi is a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and is the author of several works including al-Muhaddithat: the Women Scholars in Islam (2007).

Table of contents: I. The fall of the Dutch empire. II. The Pacific war and the Japanese yoke. III. The struggle for freedom. IV. Free and independent.

A revised and updated edition of Waines' wide-ranging account of the history and theology of Islam.

Each volume of the Dictionary of World Biography contains 250 entries on the lives of the individuals who shaped their times and left their mark on world history. This is not a who's who. Instead, each entry provides an in-depth essay on the life and career of the individual concerned. Essays commence with a quick reference section that provides basic facts on the individual's life and achievements. The extended biography places the life and works of the individual within an historical context, and the summary at the end of each essay provides a synopsis of the individual's place in history. All entries conclude with a fully annotated bibliography.