THE COURSE RING OF ABU HANIFA AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIS UNFAMOUS STUDENTS IN FORMATION AND SPREAD OF THE HANAFI THOUGHT

Abstract

Although the idea of fiqh and method of founder Ebu Hanife is very important in the formation of the Hanefi sect, the works of the first-generation students also play an important role. As it is known, when Ebu Hanife was unable to answer a question in the fiqh area when he was interested in the subjects of the science of Kelam, He started the lessons of Hammad b. Ebu Suleyman. He continued his fiqh collection for nearly twenty years alongside his teacher. When his teacher passed away, he became the head of the class by the request of his classmates. Ebu Hanife, who wanted the lessons to pass efficiently, required at least ten of his classmates to attend the lessons. With this request, he prevented the dispersion of the course ring, also had the opportunity to realize the course teaching method he had built with these ten experienced students. Ebu Hanife grouped the students according to their levels and formed three different course rings. Ebu Hanife introduced methods such as lesson learning brainstorming, discussion, debate and negotiation in his lessons. Ebu Hanife successfully applied the case study method, also called practice in today's legal education. He developed the course method of his teacher and operated the course ring like a fiqh academy. Ebu Hanife provided a democratic educational environment for his students, and students were able to express their thoughts freely in this environment. Although the idea of fiqh and method of founder Ebu Hanife is very important in the formation of the Hanefi sect, the works of the first-generation students also play an important role. As it is known, when Ebu Hanife was unable to answer a question in the fiqh area when he was interested in the subjects of the science of Kelam, He started the lessons of Hammad b. Ebu Suleyman. He continued his fiqh collection for nearly twenty years alongside his teacher. When his teacher passed away, he became the head of the class by the request of his classmates. Ebu Hanife, who wanted the lessons to pass efficiently, required at least ten of his classmates to attend the lessons. With this request, he prevented the dispersion of the course ring, also had the opportunity to realize the course teaching method he had built with these ten experienced students. Ebu Hanife grouped the students according to their levels and formed three different course rings. Ebu Hanife introduced methods such as lesson learning brainstorming, discussion, debate and negotiation in his lessons. Ebu Hanife successfully applied the case study method, also called practice in today's legal education. He developed the course method of his teacher and operated the course ring like a fiqh academy. Ebu Hanife provided a democratic educational environment for his students, and students were able to express their thoughts freely in this environment. However, they did not exhibit an attitude of not accepting students who did not adopt their own thoughts and methods as the Ehl-i Hadis course rings did. Every student who wanted to learn fiqh could participate in the course rings of Ebu Hanife and first-generation students. As a result of this, those who adopted the thought and method of Ebu Hanife have been subjected to various accusations such as Cehmi and Murci. In his relations with the students, he went beyond the relationship of the regular teacher- student of his own time, valued his students' thoughts and gave them the opportunity to express themselves. He was interested in all kinds of financial and moral problems of his students and tried to solve the problems that prevent them from the lesson, besides putting the condition of attendance to ensure the attendance of the students whom he saw light. In the course ring Ebu Hanife chose a hypothetical lawsuit or one of the decisions made by the judges and asked if he knew a rumor (rivayet) from his students about this incident. Then he would like students to discuss the solution of this event. During this discussion, the voices of the students in the mosque were so loud that when a stranger saw this situation, he would be surprised and strange. After the students' discussions were over, Ebu Hanife was promising some of his students and listening to their solutions. At the end of the lesson, he would analyze the event and explain its solution. Ebu Hanife's greatest contribution to fiqh science is that he prints the results of the discussions and debates he had with his students. Ebu Hanife, who was not busy with collecting hadiths, which were common at that time, required the passage of the fiqh. He would write the issues decided in the lessons as a main for the discussions and debates after him. Each subject that was discussed and resolved was called asl. Ebu Hanife asked the writing team to write each subject to the relevant section among the usul. The task of this team, which was stated to be forty people, was to write down the issues related to the result. The course processing method of Ebu Hanife was successful, and many of his students undertook official duties such as judgeship. In fact, when it comes to judgeship, the first names that come to mind were the students of Ebu Hanife. In society, the perception that they do this job best and Ahl-i hadith do not know this work was generally accepted. Four famous students of Ebu Hanife, Zufer b. Huzeyl, Ebu Yusuf, Muhammed b. el-Hasan es-Seybani and Hasan b. Ziyad, they made very important contributions in the formation of the Hanafi sect. In addition to this, many of his unfamiliar students have made great efforts in the formation of the sect and to spread the method and fiqh idea of Ebu Hanife, especially in remote regions. These students have established lesson rings in the cities such as Belh, Merv, Samarkand, Bukhara, Nisabur, and processed the fiqh and theological views of Abu Hanifa in these lesson rings. In addition, these students struggled with formations such as Jehmiyye in where they went. In addition, they contributed to the literature by writing various books. Some of these students have reached the case-law level and their case-law has been used to determine the main view of the sect. In addition, these students undertook various official duties in the regions they visited, such as judgeship, shurta (police), and court membership. As a result of their studies, Kufe came to the course circle in Bagdat, and many students came from these regions and collected fiqh. This situation continued after the death of Ebu Hanife. As a result of their studies, many students came from these regions joined to the course rings in Kufe and Bagdat and collected fiqh. This situation continued after the death of Ebu Hanife. In a narration, Ebu Hanife stated that his students, were thirty-six. Although the exact identities of these students could not be determined, their students who collected fiqh from Ebu Hanife (as much as they could be determined in sources) were Said b. Ebu Arube, Afiye b. Yezid, Davud b. Nusayr et-Tai, Ismail b. Yesa` el-Kindi, Mindel b. Ali el-Anezi, Hammad b. Duleyl, Nasr b. Abdulkerim es-Sakil, Hibban b. Ali el-Anezi, Nuh b. Ebu Meryem, Kasim b. Main, Abdullah b. Ferruh el-Horasani, Hammad b. Ebu Hanife, Abdulmelik b. Muhammed el-A`rac, Hammad b. Zeyd, Serik b. Abdullah en-Nehai, Abdullah b. el-Mubarek, Nuh b. Derrac el-Kufi, Nasr/Nadr b. Muhammed el-Mervezi, Yahya b. Zekeriyya, Yusuf b. Halid esSemti, Ali b. Mushir, Cerir b. Abdulhamid er-Razi, Fudayl b. Iyaz, Suayb b. Ishak, Esed b. Amr el-Beceli, Ali b. Zibyan el-Absi, Ali b. Harmele et-Teymi, Hafs b. Giyas, Veki` b. el-Cerrah el-Kufi, Ebu Muti` Hakem b. Abdullah el-Belhi, Huseyin b. Hasan el-Avfi, Carud b. Yezid.