ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās

The teacher Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: I heard Ḥāmid ibn Ādam say: I mentioned this to Yaʿlā ibn ʿUbayd al-Ṭanāfisī, who laughed and said: “This is well known among us.” Such was Sufyān’s initial condition; later he acknowledged Abū Ḥanīfa’s merit. Abū Saʿd al-Ṣaghānī, whose name was Muḥammad ibn Muntashir, said: I used to visit Abū Ḥanīfa. He asked: “Where have you come from?” I said: “I was with Sufyān.” Abū Ḥanīfa said: “You have come from a man whose like al-Aswad and ʿAlqama would have needed, had they been alive.” I then visited Sufyān, who asked where I had come from. I said: “From Abū Ḥanīfa.” He said: “You have come from a man with whom you find abundant knowledge and jurisprudence.” Sufyān then transmitted from Abū Ḥanīfa, from ʿUthmān ibn Rāshid, from ʿĀʾisha bint ʿAjrad, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning someone in major ritual impurity who omits rinsing the mouth and nose and prays: He repeats the prayer.

The teacher Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: I heard Ḥāmid ibn Ādam say: I heard Asad ibn ʿAmr say: Abū Ḥanīfa used to tell us: “When I tell you something for which I have not found a transmitted report, seek one: there may be a report concerning it.” One day he said: “If a man tells his wife, ‘By God, I shall not approach you for three months,’ he does not enter īlāʾ until he swears for four months.” He cited no report but told us to seek one. Later Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūba visited us; at that time he was foremost because of his extensive learning and visits to scholars. We asked him and he related, from ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās: If a man swears not to approach his wife for three months and leaves her for four months, he has not entered īlāʾ. We brought Abū Ḥanīfa this good news, and he rejoiced. We asked his evidence. He answered: “God’s Book: ‘For those who swear abstention from their wives, a waiting period of four months’ [Qurʾan 2:226]. I disliked venturing upon interpretation by my own opinion.”

Abū Ḥanīfa related through his chain, from ʿIkrima, from Ibn ʿAbbās—God be pleased with them—that the Messenger of God said: “The foremost of the martyrs is Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, and a man who stands before an unjust ruler, commands him to do right and forbids him to do wrong, and is killed by that ruler.” Ibrāhīm al-Ṣāʾigh heard this hadith and went to the ruler, commanding and forbidding him. The ruler ordered his killing. They struck him with a sword, but his throat was not completely severed. He was then thrown into a well, and his groaning could be heard for three days.

It is related that Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, author of the military campaigns, envied Abū Ḥanīfa because he saw al-Manṣūr favour him above other scholars. In the caliph's presence, he asked Abū Ḥanīfa: “What do you say about someone who swears an oath, falls silent, then says ‘if God wills’ after finishing?” He replied: “The exception has no effect because it is disconnected; it helps only when connected.” Ibn Isḥāq objected: “How can it fail when the caliph's ancestor, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, said it has effect even after a year, according to ‘Remember your Lord when you forget’ (Qurʾān 18:24)?” The caliph asked whether this was his ancestor's position. Told yes, he angrily asked: “Do you oppose my ancestor, Abū Ḥanīfa?” He replied: “Ibn ʿAbbās's statement has an interpretation that makes it correct.” Then he said: “Commander of the Faithful, this man and his companions do not consider you fit for the caliphate. They pledge allegiance, then leave and say ‘if God wills,’ releasing themselves from their pledge without breaking an oath.” The caliph told his attendants, “Seize this man”—meaning Ibn Isḥāq. They seized him, placed his leg against his neck and imprisoned him.