And ʿAlī ibn ʿĀṣim said, “If the knowledge of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah were weighed against that of all the scholars of his age, his would come out heavier.”

Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth said, “Abū Ḥanīfah’s discourse in jurisprudence is finer than a strand of hair; only an ignoramus finds fault with it.”

It is reported from al-Aʿmash that when he was asked about a certain legal question he replied, “The one who excels in this matter is Nuʿmān ibn Thābit the silk-merchant, and I believe his knowledge has been blessed for him.”

Jarīr related that Mughīrah once told him, “Sit with Abū Ḥanīfah and you will gain understanding, for had Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī been alive he would have sat with him.”

Ibn al-Mubārak said, “Abū Ḥanīfah is the most learned of people.”

Al-Shāfiʿī said, “In fiqh, the people are dependents of Abū Ḥanīfah.”

The author remarks: Leadership in jurisprudence and its subtleties is unanimously conceded to this Imām, a point about which there is no doubt.

“No notion can stand as sound in the mind—when the brightness of day itself would need proof.”

His life is such that it could fill two separate volumes—may Allah have mercy on him.

He passed away—martyred, after being made to drink poison—in 150 AH at the age of seventy. Over his grave stands a large dome and a splendid shrine in Baghdad; Allah knows best.

His son, the jurist Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfah, was a man of knowledge, religiosity, uprightness, and complete piety.

When his father died, many trusts were in his keeping while their owners were absent. Ḥammād took them to the judge so that he might assume responsibility for them, but the judge said, “Rather, leave them with you, for you are trustworthy.”

Ḥammād replied, “Weigh them and take possession of them so that my father’s liability is cleared; after that do as you see fit.”

The judge did so and spent several days weighing and calculating the deposits. Meanwhile, Ḥammād kept out of sight and did not reappear until the judge had placed the goods in the custody of a reliable trustee.

Ḥammād died in 176 AH, still in the vigor of life. He transmitted narrations from his father and from others, and his own son—the Imām Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, judge of Basra—narrated from him.