The lives of the four Imams #01 – Imam Abu Haneefa

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala Rasulillah. Who are the early he was happy women who are your brothers and sisters if somebody was to ask the question what are the ways to preserve Iman from its downfalls and keeping ourselves firm upon the religion of Islam? In light of all of the tests around us? A typical answers that we will get to this question will be things like reciting the Quran studying the book of Allah having good companionship, visiting the masjid frequently to our visiting the graveyards, every one of these techniques is indispensable. However,

there has to be another item added to this list should this list even come near to completion and that is visiting the biographies of the righteous ones who came before us. Why is this technique so effective in restoring Emacs and keeping it up? How does it help? Count with me these reasons? Number one,

it strengthens a person's inner resolve to proceed as a practicing Muslim just by virtue of reading and understanding these white biographies. Look in the Quran when Allah subhanaw taala that details to the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the stories of seven consecutive prophets one after the other. And then in conclusion, Elijah ledger data who said to him what cooler knuckle swallow come in and your grocery Maddow said b2b He for adic and each of the stories of the messages before you we relate to you so that we may make your heart firm the stories the actually give steadfastness to the heart of a believer.

And then Junaid Baghdadi he would say that as a caveat to John don't mean, you know, the nahiN Yuka will be her Eman and worry, Dean.

Stories are one of the soldiers of Allah subhanaw taala, which he uses to give strength to the hearts of the believers. So, in essence, coming to grips with the lives of the people who preceded us and how they carried themselves in life allows one to then come to grips with himself and rethink matters in his or her own life. Going through their stories is a soul reviving experience. So this is number one.

Number two, going over their biographies plays a major role in purifying the heart from its many illnesses. Listen to the words of Imam Abdul Josie who summed it up so well when he said are you to an HDMI level filter he was Selma and Hadith ilaya Kodiak Fifi Salah Hill Country in LA anumita Jabir raka at one another if he CLM cre Salafi slander him he said I've come to realize that engrossing yourself in the study of fake the halal and haram and merely listening to Hadith, these on their own they're barely sufficient to rectify the heart he said the must be mixed with heart softeners and the study of the lives of those before us.

So this is number two, number three, going over the biographies of those before us is a very effective remedy and a cure to the arrogant sense of self importance that a lot of people have

imaginable Josie he said woman neither of you care Salafi mean. Hola Hola, Maui. El Amin is Coronavirus la mia taco bar, he said Whoever looks into the biographies of the active scholars of the past will automatically belittle himself, and he will never feel haughty again.

See, the lesser one knows of his predecessors achievements and their work ethic and how they carried themselves, the greater one will start thinking of himself because you've got no frame of reference to compare yourself to. But the opposite is true.

And I truly believe that so much of the infighting that is happening today. Within the Dow was seen amongst the Muslim circles is due to the sheer amount of gaping that people are doing into their own mirror reflections, their own achievements, their own followers, their own reach, causing them to grow in their eyes. So they start hating teamwork. They don't like sharing credit, we don't like to acknowledge virtue and the cure for this is what to gape into the mirror of the biographies of those before us and then see yourself in that reflection and what will be the outcome. The outcome will always be a refined and humble Muslim. So that's number three.

Number four going over the biographies of the righteous ones before

is a very effective technique and nurturing building love for these predecessors and honestly, honestly speaking, compare how you feel about any one of the greats before you've studied their biographies, and then after, how do you feel it's worlds apart? Now you may say, but why is it important to love them in the first place? In one of the most beautiful Hadith which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam narrated to us, he said, a lot, oh man, and I had

one will be on the Day of Judgment with those who he loves, did you think about the implication of this narration? So if we are unable to do what they did, at least, we can love them. And our hope is that Allah subhanaw taala through our love for them will allow us to stand side by side with them on the Day of Judgment. And our hope is that he will allow us to enter into the same high grades and gender that we hope you will give them.

Now we are ready to ask a more specific question. Why have we chosen the lives of the four Imams Abu Hanifa and Malik Shafi Ahmed, why them?

The same way that Allah subhanaw taala allowed certain events from the past to unfold for the preservation of the Quran. Like for example, what Osman or the Allahu Anhu did when he gathered the Muslim ummah upon one recitation of the Quran, and the same way that Allah allowed certain events to unfold for the preservation of the Sunnah, the prophetic weight by sending people with incredible minds who memorize the chains of transmission, and then formulate this amazing science to assess the veracity the authenticity of each chain of transmission. Similarly, Allah subhanho wa Taala decreed that certain events of the past would unfold for the preservation of the study of fiqh, Islamic

jurisprudence, the halal and haram and one of the most important happenings in our history which Allah allowed to happen to serve this purpose was the birth of four individuals who would become the founders of schools of thought that would be adhered to by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim owners who are these men. These exemplary human beings were Imams, Abu Hanifa

and Malik, a Shafi an ultimate and the earliest of the four of course being Imam Abu Hanifa.

At this point, I seek refuge in Allah subhanho wa taala. From allowing this work to stop mere admiration, and mere entertainment and mere storytelling. Doing that would not be a sign of success for me, or a success, a sign of success for you as a prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said in the venue sobre el la Halau Ku caso.

He said that when the children of Israel fell into ruins when they fell into destruction, what did they do? They, they told stories

Subhanallah In other words, when they abandoned the doing of good deeds that they weren't required to do, they turned to easy stuff like storytelling, and they relied upon it. We want to take a lesson from the mistakes of those before us. And that's why I have chosen a different model for this series that you are watching. The model of this series is one where the biographies of these remarkable men will be used as a platform to communicate key values relating to worship, and pristine manners and high aspirations and vision setting. And this by the way, will explain the many tangents that you will come across in these videos. The hope is that Allah subhanaw taala will

remove me and will remove you and remove the Muslim ummah from its state of slumber and make this series a means of reformation for myself and for others.

So let us begin. Imam, Abu Hanifa. His full name is take note of this, and not non son of savate, son of El Mirage Sudan, and his nickname is Abu Hanifa. So from the name El Mariachi band, it becomes clear that Abu Hanifa his origins were Persian. His origins were from Kabul, the capital of modern day Afghanistan,

and his grandfather and modern shabam he embraced Islam at the time of Ramadan hubbub before then moving to the city of Kufa in Iraq.

Abu Hanifa is the only one of the four Imams who was born during the era of the companions of Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam In fact, according to some Abu Hanifa saw with his own eyes and

Cebu, Malik the companion and servant of the messenger, some of my son. Others have argued that he saw another companion Abdullah, he ignored Hadith when he was 16 years old during Hajj, and others have argued other things as well.

What does that mean? It means that Abu Hanifa is, according to those who asserted that he sought some of the companions, he is from the who in the second generation Muslims. This makes him the only one of the four Imams who can potentially be considered from the tabula in Allahu Akbar. And therefore we can say at this point that this is a particular unique quality for Imam Abu Hanifa, from the four Imams and the remarkable privilege as well. And that is because the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu, Selim had praised the first three generations of Islam did he not? What did he say? He said, how you to nursing currently? So Medina? Yeah. Luna home from my Latina Yeah, Luna home. He

said the best of all people, my generation, then those who came after them, after the Companions, then those who came after them.

Allahu Akbar. What do we know about the birth and the upbringing of Imam Abu Hanifa Imam was the hubby he said was the euro to Tamil and to further FIM agenda de la the Allahu wa Hema he said that the biography of Imam Abu Hanifa can potentially fill two volumes of work. He said May Allah be pleased with him and have mercy upon him. So Hannah Imam Abu Hanifa

was born in the city of Kufa in Iraq in the year at age or 699, according to our Gregorian calendar, and he was raised in the midst of a practicing and honorable and a rich Muslim family seems that he was the only child as well. His father fair bit, had a closed shop in the city of Kufa, which Abu Hanifa would work in after his father passed away.

And on this note, I would like to say that this was the way of our predecessors they refuse to be reliant upon anyone for their risk for their money for their daily bread. But Allah subhana wa Tada. They're human beings, like everyone else, they needed income,

but their freedom to advocate the truth, with with minimal pressure from a financer. That to them was a greater requirement. The prophets of Allah Allah who sent him said in a remarkable Hadith he said, Monica I don't plan to hire Amin and yeah, cool. I mean, Anna Lee, we're in the nebula he that would kinda Yeah, cool. Can I ask him in harmony, Yeti he, he said nobody has ever eaten a better meal than the one that he has earned with the working of his own hands. He said and the Prophet of Allah David that he used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor from the earnings of his own hands.

Allahu Akbar, this financial independence is key for the shape of the student of knowledge for the active Muslim.

In fact, Ambassade able to use it and hurry up authored the book, where he lists around 400 different professions that belong to no less than 1500 scholars of Islam who said that you have to have no worldly profession to be a scholar of the religion. This is a life lesson brothers and sisters this desire to earn independently. We learn this life lesson by just looking at the nicknames of many of the scholars of our religion. What were their nicknames? Look, for example, you have as a judge the glassmaker offend the locksmith, and that jar, the carpenter and handed the blacksmith and pizzazz, meaning the Draper

will have power that perfume seller Kasab, the sugar cane worker will just last the plasterer alphabet as the baker. These are nicknames of scholars who we know and we read about and marvel over their biographies.

So this was always the case in our Islamic history, up until maybe quite recently, when Dawa and Islamic scholarship became a job title,

which one reaps a salary for like any other job. And in many cases, this would subsequently this would subsequently be abused by their finances, who would constantly threatened to cut off their wages if they don't comply or or carve out the fact why the Islamic position that suits them. So they're the Sheikh is now speaking on demand and remaining silent on demand. That is not appropriate. The scholars before us therefore sought to have the upper hand and to be financially independent relying only upon him.

Imam Abu Hanifa inherited 200,000 Durham's from his father, huge fortune, bearing in mind that

You could purchase a whole sheet for just three Dell homes or honey for an inherited 200,000 But he insisted to only keep for himself 4000

due to generation which I believed at the time used to say which Abu Hanifa cited from him. That 4000 Durham's is sufficient for a person. And then anything above 4000 dirhams is considered to be surplus. I will honey further for gave himself an allowance of two there comes a month. That's it, he lived a very minimal life. Although he would wear the finest clothes, this was his trade after all.

So he used to spend that extra money on the poor, as well as the students of knowledge. In fact, on Abu Yusuf alone, I will use we're going to hear a lot about him right a chief judge and one of the main students of Imam Abu Hanifa he set aside for his students will use of a sum of 100 Durham's a month to spend on himself and to spend on his family. That's how the shift should be right that's not to say you should be waiting for his students to spend on him you should be spending on them, enriching them empowering them.

Wherever possible, of course, Imam Abu Hanifa is beginning to do two words of encouragement that he had simple words of encouragement. Abu Hanifa said I once passed by a shabby we know a shabby right scholar of Hadith and fiqh. A contemporary of Imam Abu Hanifa, a sham you said to me, 11 Doctor, who do you visit? I said, I'm going to the marketplace. He said no, I don't mean that. I mean, who are the scholars whom you visit?

I said, I don't visit them much. He said to me that often. Don't behave. thoughtlessly.

While he could be another refill, Hey, me. What medalla certina Halima for me Rafi kya, Cava Wahaca. He set up Hanifa. Don't behave thoughtlessly, please.

And I want you to turn to knowledge and the circles of the scholars, because I see in you alertness. And I see that you have energy. Allahu Akbar, these words fell heavy on the heart of Abu Hanifa. And he left them. Abu Hanifa said, for what you call beaming commonly, for talk to Alex De La for Illa Suki will occur to fill me for another Anila, who told me he said the love of what shall be said just fell into my heart. So I abandoned the market marketplaces. And I turned to knowledge. And Allah Almighty benefited me so much by the words of shabby.

See, brothers and sisters, let's be honest here. Even if we were so young at the time, those moments where we were humiliated, or made to feel insignificant in a gathering of some sort, that moment, everybody leaves us does it. At the same token, those moments of inspiration and empowerment, and those words of encouragement that you heard, they also never, they also never leave you.

And therefore, during every gathering of yours, whether you're with family around the dinner table, whether you would friends in the restaurant, whether it's something you spot online, ensure that you identify the talent, and then instantly offer the words of encouragement. And, more importantly, direct that skill, that talent that you see in him or her directed to Allah directed to the home of the Hereafter, just like a shabby did with Abu Hanifa

in the lives of so many great people before us. And in our time, and after us. It was just a single statement that they heard. And it ended up turning around their lives forever.

And I'll give you just two examples. Look at the man with the hubby.

What started him off passing comment within a particular gathering that encouraged him to pursue the path of knowledge. And that was when he shaped and bizarrely said to other heavy in the Hatanaka you should be who happened, the thing

he said you know your handwriting. It resembles the handwriting of the scholars of Hadith.

So as a hobby, he said for hyperbola who Ilya Hamel hottie so from that day onwards, Allah subhanaw taala placed the love of Hadith within my heart, and then even with the hubby would become Imam with the hubby and he would excel in many of the Islamic sciences. And he would author texts that are just indispensable to our Islamic library today, and we are quoting him time and time again in this lecture series. It started with a statement of encouragement he heard

similarly, Imam Al Bukhari what started him off, it was just a passing comment within a gathering that launched Imam Al Bukhari into the skies of Hadith and famous and now he has collected for us as we know, the book that is considered to be the most authentic in existence after the Quran, his Sahaba

He's Algeria. And Buhari, he said, telling us about where it all started. He said, We were sat in a gathering with our teacher is hachimura Hawa, who said logimat don't get up and move around Lisa here he saw nothing.

He said, Why does it any one of you think about gathering a summarize book containing all of the authentic narrations of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu wasallam

Imam Al Bukhari he said for the early Caffee, Albee for AQa to V Jama. And so he said to instantly the love of doing this, fell into my heart, and I began to compile the book, your Allah.

Bearing in mind that imamo Buhari was only 16 years of age when he heard that and because of that one passing statement, and Buhari decided to dedicate the next 16 years of his life in compilation of this book that every one of us has on his bookshelf, or has benefited from or has heard of it.

You know, Allah, identify the talents. Look at the words of the bed redeem a blue Jana who said Kanye era if you Sabine Abba, Allah he she back and salah, doula Alamin. Whenever we saw a young man who was exhibiting signs of intelligence, we would throw our nets over him, figuratively speaking right, we would throw our nets over him. And he would only leave after he had become a squatter.

So please don't allow the talents to go to waste. The potential reformers that we are craving for today as Muslims, they exist in huge numbers they exist today, the same way they existed in the past. The only difference is that those before us were blessed with parents with with, with friends with passers by who identified those talents in them, they guided those talents, they nurtured them, encourage them, finance them. And it could be just a passing comment of encouragement that you offer someone in the gathering. But to him, those words make him feel or her feel that they were just given born, they were born on that very day. And it changes the course of their lives, and the

purpose for which they live for and then every bit of good that this person does later on in their lives. A copy of it is documented to your skills as well.

And after the passage, Allahu Akbar on 1300 years, imagine the reward. We hope that Allah has given a shabby because of the path that he set Abu Hanifa upon. We are still benefiting from Abu Hanifa today and most likely till the Day of Judgment in sha Allah so start with the closest to you can branch out your words of encouragement, they're not going to cost you anything, but to others. It may be an afterlife defining moment. Brothers and sisters stay with us. We're going to continue in part to the biography of Imam Abu Hanifa Oh