[8] Some Extraordinary Personalities of The First Three Generations

In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam Abu Yusuf, may Allāh have mercy upon him

He, may Allāh have mercy upon him, was one of the senior companions of Imam Abu Haneefah, may Allāh have mercy upon him. He narrated hadith from Al-A’mash, Hammaam Bin Urwah, Muhammad Bin Ishaaq, Yahyah Bin Sa’eed and other than them, may Allāh have mercy upon them. And those who narrated from him include Imam Muhammad Ibn Al-Hasan Ash-Shaybaanee, Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal and Imam Yahyah Bin Ma’een, may Allāh have mercy upon them.

Imam Abu Haneefah said, “Abu Yusuf is the most knowledgeable amongst my companions”. Al-Muzanee, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Abu Yusuf used to seek knowledge of hadith more than us”. Ibn Al-Madeenee, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Abu Yusuf was a very truthful person”. Ibn Ma’een, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said: “He was trustworthy”. 

Abu Zur’ah, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Abu Yusuf was free from the beliefs of the Jahmiyyah”. Bash’shaar Al-Khaffaaf, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Abu Yusuf used to say, ‘Unlawful is the speech of the one who says that the Qur’an is created. It is obligatory to oppose him and it is neither permissible to give him salam nor reply to his salam”. He also said, “Whoever seeks knowledge through theological rhetoric will become a heretic”.

He used to sit in the gatherings of the scholars despite their different levels in knowledge, because he even used to attend the gatherings of Imam Ahmad,  who was a youth at the time, engaging in discussion and research.

He said, “I was appointed as judge and I hope that Allaah will not ask me about oppressing anyone or favouring anyone, except that one day a man came to me and said that he has an orchard that was in the possession of Amir Al-Mumineen [i.e. the Muslim ruler]. So, I went to Amir Al-Mumineen and made that known to him, but he said, ‘The orchard is mine and Al-Mahdee bought it for me’. I said, ‘Would the Amir Al-Mumineen allow that I bring the person so that you hear his claim?’. I brought the man and he claimed that the orchard belongs to him. So, I said to Amir Al-Mumineen, ‘What does Amir  Al-Mumineen say?’ He said, ‘It is my orchard’. I said to the man, ‘Indeed, you have heard what his response is’. The man said, ‘Let him swear by Allah’. I said, ‘O Amir Al-Mumineen! Will you swear by Allaah?’ He said, ‘No’. I said, ‘I will ask you three times to swear by Allah, otherwise I will pass judgement on you O Amir Al-Mumineen’. So, I asked him three times to swear by Allah, but he refused. So, I judged that the orchard is for the claimant. At the end or close to the end of the dispute Imam Abu Yusuf was not able to sit together with the man and the Khaleefah, so he decided that the orchard be given to the man”. [An Excerpt from Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 10. Pages 180-181] [End of quote]

Amazing people indeed. May Allāh have mercy upon Imam Abu Yusuf and his teachers, as well as the Amir Al-Mumineen Amin.