Imaam Abu Yusuf Yaqoob ibn Ibrahim
By Mufti Moin Moeeni
Name/ Titles: Al-Imam Al-Mujtahid, Al-Allamah, Al-Muhaddith, Qadhi-ul-Qudhaat, Abu Yusuf Yaqoob ibn Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Hubaish ibn Sa’d ibn Bujair ibn Muawiyah Al-Ansari Al-Kufi t [1]
D.O.B: He was born in 113 A.H.
D.O.D: He passed away on the 5th of Rabiul Awwal 182 A.H.
Region: he was born in Kufa Iraq. His forefather Hazrat Sa’d ibn Jubair also known as Sa’d ibn Habtah was one of the companions of the Prophet.
Synopsis: Amongst the stars in the galaxy of the Islamic universe a distinct light emanates from the erudite Faqih of the Hanafi school of thought known as Qadhi Qudhaat al-Dunya[2] al-Imām al-Mujtahid al-Muhaddith Abu Yusuf Y’aqūb ibn Ibrahim . His grasp on the Islamic subjects was such that he became one of the most influential students of Imam al-Aimma Imam Abu Hanifa and also one of the co-developers of Hanafi Fiqh. He was primarily tutored by Imam Abu Hanifa . Imam Abu Yusuf states; I studied by Abu Hanifa for seventeen years.[3] The importance of Imam Abu Yusuf in Hanafi Fiqh is like that of salt in a meal. His prowess and knowledge was such that his teacher Imam Abu Hanifa would say that ‘he is the most knowledgeable of his students’.[4] Allamah Ibn Abdul Barr writes in al-Istiaab, ‘that during the battle of Khandaq Rasulullah noticed a man fighting very bravely and ferociously despite his young age. Nabi was impressed by his valiant bravery and called him close to himself. The Prophet r politely asked him, ‘oh beloved youngster who are you?’ he at once replied saying, ‘I am Sa’d the son of Habtah’. Nabi then said, ‘may Allah U make you pious, come close to me, and then Rasulullah passed his blessed hand over his head’[5]. Imam Abu Yusuf would often say, ‘I continuously feel the blessing of the hand of Nabi which was passed over my grandfather’s head.’ Imam Abu Yusuf’s father was a very poor man who earned his livelihood through hard work labour. From a very young age the Imam showed a lot of enthusiasm towards education and learning, however his father wanted him to learn a profession so that he can help with the daily expenses of the house. Whenever he had an opportunity he would attend the gatherings of the Ulama and learn from them. Qadhi Saheb himself says, ‘that I used to attend the gatherings of Ibn Abi Laila and he used to display great admiration towards me. However, when Ibn Abi Laila was unable to solve a matter he would seek assistance from Imam Abu Hanifa and because of this I always had a burning desire to benefit from him. But out of consideration of Ibn Abi Laila I did not attended his gatherings. Nonetheless, after some time I started attending the classes of Imam Abu Hanifa . Once whilst I was in attendance of Imam Abu Hanifa’s gathering my father took me out of the gathering and brought me at home and told me to concentrate on revenues to run the expenses of the house instead of trying to emulate Abu Hanifa who was already a wealthy man. Imam Abu Yusuf says that I quit studying and joined my father in earning a livelihood. After a few days, Imam Abu Hanifa asked his students about my whereabouts, I then came to the gathering of the Imam and informed him of the challenges I was facing. The Imam quietly handed over a bag to me, upon opening the bag at home I was amazed to see that the bag had hundred Dirhams in it. The Imam also told me to inform him when the Dirhams were finished, Alhamdulillah there was never a need for me to inform the Imam as he would always hand me a bag of Dirhams before the previous one finished.[6]
Muhammad bin Sama’a narrates that in spite of being the Qadhi al-Qudhat Imam Abu Yusuf would perform two hundred Nafl Salah daily, do his Qadha work during the day and teach Hadith and Fiqh during the night[7].
Teachers:
- Imam Azam Abu Hanifa
- Hisham ibn Urwah
- Yahya ibn Saeed Al-Ansari
- Ataa
- Al-A’amash
Students:
- Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan Shaibaani
- Yahya ibn Ma’een
- Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal
Books Authored:
- Kitaab-ul-Khiraaj
- Usul al-Fiqh
- Kitaab-ul-Aathaar
- Kitaab Ikhtilaaf Abi Hanifa wa Ibn Abi Layla
Location of Demise: Imam Abu Yusuf passed away in Baghdad.
[1] Siyaru A’alaamin Nubala Vol 7 Pg. 469 Published by Darul Hadith Cairo
[2] He was the first person to be accorded this title.
[3] Siyaru A’alaamin Nubala Vol 7 Pg. 471 Published by Darul Hadith Cairo
[4] Siyaru A’alaamin Nubala Vol 7 Pg. 470 Published by Darul Hadith Cairo
[5] al-Istiāb Vol 2 pg. 584 published by Darul kotob Beirut
[6] Siyaru A’alaamin Nubala Vol 7 Pg. 470 Pblished by Darul Hadith Cairo
[7] Siyaru A’alaamin Nubala Vol 7 Pg. 471 Pblished by Darul Hadith Cairo
