Answer

The Hanafi school of thought is not the only correct school of thought. There are four schools of thought in Islam according to the Ahl Al-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamaa'ah and they are all correct. They are Hanafi, Maaliki, Shafa'i and Hanbali. The consensus of the pious predecessors is as follows in the words of Imam Al-Shah Wali'-Allah Al-Dehelwi in his famous Hujjah-Allah Al-Baaligah,

"The Ummah or those from the Ummah who are considered as an authority, have unanimously agreed until this day, upon the following of these four preserved schools of thought. There is much wisdom in this which is apparent, especially in these days as people have become weak".

The principle that Imam Ab Haneefah (Allah is pleased with him) followed, is to firstly seek an answer from the book of Allah, secondly from the Sunnah of the most beloved messenger (peace be upon him), thirdly from the lives of the rightly guided Caliphs in order of their caliphate, fourthly from the rest of the knowledgeable companions, fifthly from the lives of the great scholars and their consensus and finally, if an answer is not found from the former means only then qiyas (analogy) was considered. Qiyas is to analyse (refer) something with the Qur'an and Hadith and not the intellect. This is in accordance to what Allah, the greatest, says in the Quran,

"O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger and those of you who are in authority; and if you have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger if you are (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more seemly in the end" (Surah Al-Nisa', Verse 59).

This was the way of the great Imam and thus he was praised by all his contemporaries such as Imam Maalik and by our pious predecessors such as Imam Al-shafa'i and many others. The great scholars of Hadith and Fiqh in his time were his students, like the chief justice of Persia, Imam Qadi Ab Yusuf and the great Muhaddith Imam Muhammad Ibn Mubarak. There are many quotes in his praise of great scholars and there are many great names in the list of his students and those who followed his school of thought. One should read about his eminence in Al-Khayraat Al-Hassaan by Imam Ibn Hajar Al-Makki.

In Bukhari, there is a Hadith that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him placed his blessed hand on Sayyiduna Salaman Al-Faarsi and said,

"When Islam moves away from the people to the sky, a man from Persia will bring it back to the people".

The scholars explain that there has been no greater Persian Scholar than Imam Ab Hanifah who benefited Islam in such a great way.

And verily Allah knows best.

Zahid Hussain Al-Qadri
(Beggar at the doorstep of scholars)