NUTGRAPH

Hamza Yusuf and Abu Hanifa

I attended a book launch a few days ago at Friends House. Amal Press had just put out one of the most important manuals of the Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence, Al-Hidayah (The Guidance), completely translated into English for the first time. “Containing over 800 years of an unbroken chain of knowledge,” say the British Muslim publishers, “this is arguably the most popular of all classical works in the genre.”

American Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson was invited to speak on the occasion.

As usual, Yusuf’s gripping and charming eloquence kept the almost 700-strong audience listening intently.

He began with a story about how one day Abu Hanifa was set to debate an atheist about the existence of God. He arrived late, which angered his adversary. But Abu Hanifa had an excuse: “I’m sorry,” he said. “When I arrived at the river bank there was no boat. So I waited. All of a sudden a tree fell, turned into a boat, and right before my eyes I saw ores coming out of the log. Only then was I able to row the boat to get here.” The man was livid, sensing that Abu Hanifa was insulting his intelligence. To that, Abu Hanifa replied: “You refuse to believe the story I just told, yet you think that the earth, the sky, sun and moon just “happened.” If a boat cannot be built without a boatman, what of this whole universe?”

Yusuf concluded the story saying, “There are two kinds of people in this world, those who see meaning and reason in life and those who don’t. It’s a choice.” He also points out that logic (derived from logos, the word) is a double-edged sword. The problem with logic, he says, is that using it, you can both prove or disprove anything.

Dubbed the father of ilm ul kalam (the science of words) Abu Hanifa began a scholastic tradition of interpreting the Quran and sayings of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to build an Islamic legal system (fiqh) now followed by nearly two-thirds of the Muslim world.

His integrity, however, led to his tragic death when he refused an appointment by the 'Abbasid Khalifa Abu Jafar Mansur, to become the chief of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 150 A.H. [767 A.D.]. The scholar was wary of the Khalifa's ulterior motives. He was jailed and whipped; ten more whips each day. When the lashes reached one hundred, he was martyred.

He died defending his right to think freely and independently. Yet many people who claim to be Muslims today have no appreciation for such rights, believing instead that their version of the truth is the only one. They commit a dire injustice to the memory of our spiritual and intellectual ancestors, as well as to the present and future of the Muslim ummah; which I think is a spiritual not a geographical entity.

Diversity in interpretation is a sign of mercy. It’s absurd how some people believe they can take away what god had mercifully given; while He shows grace, lenience, and forgiveness, they show cruelty and rancor.

posted by anguishedmuslim @ 4/14/2006 06:34:00 PM