He went on to say, “The Commander of the Believers hands a man over to me and tells me, ‘Kill him, or amputate him, or strike him,’ while I know nothing of the man’s case. What am I supposed to do?”
Abū Ḥanīfah answered, “Does the Commander of the Believers command you concerning a matter whose sentence is already obligatory, or one whose sentence has not yet become obligatory?”
He replied, “Rather, one whose sentence is already obligatory.”
Abū Ḥanīfah said, “Then carry out what is obligatory without delay.”
Mughīth ibn Budayl related: Al-Manṣūr summoned Abū Ḥanīfah to assume the judgeship, but he refused. Al-Manṣūr asked, “Are you averse to what we are engaged in?” He replied, “I am not fit for it.” Al-Manṣūr retorted, “You are lying!” Abū Ḥanīfah said, “Then the Commander of the Believers has judged me unfit. If I am lying, I am unfit; and if I am telling the truth, I have already informed you that I am unfit.” So he imprisoned him.
A similar account is transmitted by Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Uways from al-Rabīʿ the chamberlain, in which Abū Ḥanīfah says, “By Allah, I cannot be sure of myself when I am pleased—how then can I be trusted when I am angry? I am therefore unfit for this post.” Al-Manṣūr said, “You lie; rather, you are fit.” Abū Ḥanīfah replied, “How can it be lawful for you to appoint someone who lies?”
It is also said that Abū Ḥanīfah accepted the office for him, issued a single ruling, remained in the post for two days, then fell ill for six days and passed away.
The jurist Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Ṣaymarī said: He never accepted the judicial commission; he was beaten, imprisoned, and died in prison.
Ḥayyān ibn Mūsā al-Marwazī narrated: Ibn al-Mubārak was asked, “Who is the more knowledgeable in fiqh, Mālik or Abū Ḥanīfah?” He replied, “Abū Ḥanīfah.”
Al-Khuraybī said, “No one speaks ill of Abū Ḥanīfah except a jealous person (1) or an ignoramus.”
Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān said, “We would not lie about Allah; we have never heard an opinion better than Abū Ḥanīfah’s, and we have adopted most of his views.”