Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī

Al-Haytham ibn ʿAdī said: One day Abū Ḥanīfa told his companions: “Rise and visit so-and-so; he is ill.” They went, including Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī. The sick man lived far away. On arriving, a companion said: “We are hungry; perhaps we shall get lunch here.” After entering and sitting awhile, a companion recited: “We shall certainly test you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth, lives and fruits” [Qurʾan 2:155]. The poor man recited: “Give good news to the patient” [2:155], then: “There is no blame upon the weak, the sick, or those who cannot find anything to spend” [9:91]. Abū Ḥanīfa smiled and said: “Rise: your companion has nothing to offer.” Then he gave them dirhams for their lunch.

Ḥammād's companions included Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, Abū Burda al-ʿUtbī and Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī—or, in another version, al-Juʿfī. When Ḥammād died, his son did not take his teaching seat because he was not a jurist. Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī did not take it because he was easily wearied, and Abū Burda did not take it. Abū Ḥanīfa therefore took the seat to teach jurisprudence, and Ḥammād's companions gathered around him.

Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Sufyān al-Thawrī and al-Aʿmash opposed him. He continued until his position became established, without becoming weary. His companions gathered around him: Abū Yūsuf, Zufar, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, al-Walīd, al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī, Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī, Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, Nūḥ ibn Abī Maryam, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, al-Mughīra ibn Ḥamza and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. Forty men among Abū Ḥanīfa's companions composed books on jurisprudence, including the men just mentioned.