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he used to get angry and tell them not to ask about things that have not

happened yet. Those people were usually from Iraq where I mam Abu

Hanifa was, who supporte d this kind of questions.

As for Imam A bu Hanifa, his approach was based on inv enting situations

that have not happened. He invented 60 , 000 such situations.

In their meeting Imam Malik disapprov ed Imam Ab u Hanifas view. A bu

Hanifa replied that the c ircumstances in Iraq are different from Madinah.

Iraq is the capital of the Caliphate and everyday there are new things being

introduced and they should be prepared, while in Madinah problems are

fixed and limited.

Then, he gave an ex ample when he discussed with his students a situation of

a woman whose husband trav eled and was absent for so long that she

thought he was dead and hence she married anothe r man. Suddenly, the

man returned. What should be done then? Imam Malik wondered why the y

would ask about things that have not happened, b ut Abu Hanifa said that in

Iraq, where soldiers went on c onquests, this might occur and they should

be ready for such situation. Imam Malik was silent.

Imam A bu Hanifa reminded him of what the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa

sallam) said when a man came to him saying, Imagine if a man comes to

take my mo ney, what shall I do? The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa

sallam) told him not to give it to him. The man asked again, Imagine if he

fights me? The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) urged him t o fight

him too. The man asked, Imagine if he killed me? The Prophe t (salla Allahu

alayhi wa sallam) said that he would be a martyr . The man asked once mo re

Imagine if I killed him? The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said

that the man killed would go to the hellfire.

Abu Hanifa said that the Pro phet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked

by abo ut a hy pothetic al situation four times. When Malik said that this was

for a purpose, A bu Hanifa replied, In Iraq we do it for a purpose too.

Then, Al-Layth Ibn-Saad said, Glory to A llah. By A llah, you are enric hing

Islam. Imam Malik kept people away from indulging in trivial issues and

Imam Ab u Hanifa was questioning the future to protec t peop le. That was

what the Prophe t (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) did. He forbad asking
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about things that are hyp othetic al and replied to an important situation that

could happe n in the future.

Both Imams reached a conclusion of holding on to what they were doing,

but to then integrate both app roache s for the benefit of Islam.

The four principles previously mentioned certainly to this debate. Their

difference of opinion is a natural phenomenon bec ause the minds and

env ironment of Iraq are unlike those of Madinah. Their difference of

opinion resulted in an environment that enric hed Islam. The calm and

honest dialogue helped in prese nting the various op inions and truths from

all aspects. Meanwhile, the manner of conversation between both men was

civ ilized, polite and outstanding.

The issues they discussed were not petty . Nowadays some people leave the

obligatory issues related to the unity of the Muslims and dispute over trivial

matters. Both Imams differed on core issues, but there was love and

understanding between them.

The second issue which the imams disagreed on was that of the co nsensuses.In Islam, in order to re ach a solution for any questio n is look it up in the

Quran. If you did not find it, to look it up in ahadith, if not; then apply the

rule of the consensus of the scholars.

Imam Malik believed that the consensus should be that agreed by the

peop le of Madinah only bec ause the comp anions of the Prophet (salla

Allahu alayhi wa sallam) live d and died there and so did his nine wives who

saw all his actions and witnessed all his deeds. They are about 1 0,00 0

companions.

A man came t o Imam Malik and asked him about dispute d matters. The

Imam said, Search for the o pinion of the peop le of Madinah. When y ou find

it, be sure that it is the truth. He said to another one, Y ou can find

knowledge in Madinah, as Quran was not rev ealed in Euphrates (meaning

Iraq and A bu Hanifas school).

Imam Abu Hanifa was 13 years older than Imam Malik, yet he respected

him. He replied, Malik, the co nquests during the reign of Omar Ibnul-

Khattab distributed the Companions (RA) all over the world. You say that in


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Madinah there are 10,000 companions. In the last battle of the Prophet

(salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) there were about 120,000 companions, so

where are the re st? Yo u cannot deny that Omar Ibnul-Khattab sent the

companions particularly to teach people in different countries.

He started to numerate some c ompanions such as Moaz Ibn-Jabal whom

the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) describe d to be the mo st

knowledgeable and sent him to Yemen. Also, he mentioned Abdullah Ibn-

Masod whose way of reciting Quran was recommended by the Prophet

(salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) for the peo ple. He added the names of Ab u-

Dthar, Zobair Ibnul-Awam, and Saad Ibn-A bu-Waqqas in Egypt, Hudthayfa

Ibnul-Y aman, Abdullah Ibn-Masod, and Ali Ibn-Ab u-Talib in Iraq, Abu-

Ubayda I bnul-Jaraah, Bilal and Abul-Dardaa in Syria, etc.

Then, he narrated the hadith o f the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam)

where he said that his companions are like the stars any of which can guide

peop le. Imam A bu Hanifa went on to say that the brilliance o f Omar Ibnul-

Khattab is what led him to send the co mpanions all over wo rld and kept

some in Madinah to keep a balance. Thus, Imam A bu Hanifa showed Imam

Malik that the distribution o f the companions was for the sake of the

integration of the ummah.

Al-Layth ibn Sad said, By Allah, this also, is an integration of the ummah.

When you look from another angle you can see another aspect of the truth.

This is the virtue of differenc e; to help y ou see the tr uth from all its aspects.

If all people think alike, they will see only one side of the truth, but A llah

(TWT) whose name is the Truth wants yo u to see all the sides.

The third issue tackled in the meeting was about the schoo l of opinion and

hadith. Imam Ab u Hanifa expands the ex planation of the ahadith to the

extent that he concluded 100 lessons from one hadith. Imam Malik saw that

it as an exaggeration and ov erloading the hadith which the Prophet (salla

Allahu alayhi wa sallam) did not want.

Imam A bu Hanifa replied t hat in Iraq, Greek, Roman and Persian

philosophies and sciences are invading them, so he needs to keep people

fixed on the path of the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam). That is why


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he was searc hing in ahadith to c ounter the new ideas. On the other hand in

Madinah, there are no ne but the co mpanions and their followers, so t here is

no need for e xpansion in elaborating ahadith. Al-Lay th Ibn-Saad said, This

too is integration Both Imams comp lement one another in keeping Islam.

If you discuss your problems calmly and honestly with your wife of

husband, many prob lems will be solved. Similarly, if the politicians in Iraq,

Darfur, and Lebanon, the religious scho lars and the scientists do the same,

many problems will be solved.

After the two Imams left the meet ing, Al-Layth Ib n-Saad, an Egypt ian

Imam whose juristic sc hool of thought was just as superior as the othe r four

Imams but had no stude nts to spre ad it, was keen on knowing the

impression of both sides.

He went to Imam Malik and asked him. Malik wiped his swe at and said, By

Allah, Abu Hanifa made me sweat. By Allah, he is a true jurist. Iv e nev er

seen a man debating like that. By Allah, if he told y ou that this iron ro d is

made out of gold, he would convince y ou.

Al-Layth went to I mam Abu Hanifa who said, I debated hundreds of men,

but have nev er seen a man accep t the truth as fast as him.

We need to te ach the co ming generations these manners. This is important

for everyone; journalists, politicians, people working in the media, scholars,

husbands and wives, parents and children.

What happene d after that? First, I mam Ab u Hanifa sent his son Hammaad to

Madinah to learn the jurisprudential approac h of Malik and his book Al-

Muata. Then, Imam Malik asked for the bo oks of A bu-Hnifa to benefit fromthem.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ibn ul-Hasan, a student of A bu Hanifas, held a

session in Iraq to pre sent the appro ach of Malik.

Once, I mam Ab u Hanifa sent to Imam Malik consulting him on an issue

before announcing his opinion to the public. A bu Hanifa did not agree about

naming a sinful perso n a disbeliev er. I mam Malik agreed, so A bu Hanifa

announced it. This did not arise from one mee ting only, but there we re


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numerous correspondences which contributed more to their integration.

The Abb assid Caliph Al-Mansour once c ame to I mam Malik offering him to

cancel all other jurisprude ntial approaches, making Maliks approach

prev ail, and also writing his book in gold and keeping it inside the Kaba.

Imam Malik who once rejected all other approaches and asserted on the

opinion of the people o f Madinah told him not to do so because t he

comp anions of the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) are spread all

over the world. Those were Abu Hanifas words from their encounter.

Look at the supe rb manners and morals of differentiating with someone as

well as handling the truth.

The first principle indicates that difference is a unive rsal fact that needs to

be respected. Yo u have to respect that variation is a part of our existence.

The second principle sho ws that variation co mplements us; it is an

advantage and not a drawback. You have to look at this as an enriching

advantage. The third principle is that at the moment o f dispute, calm and

honest dialogue helps you see the truth from all perspectives. Truth is one,but it has many aspec ts and paradigms. The fourth and final principle is that

at the moment of conflict; never forget the proper manners of dialogue. You

must believe in those four principles as the basis of coexistence.

Source: Islamiology blog

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