Abstract:

The relationship between faith and deed can be considered one of the most intensely debated theological questions in early Islamic history. Just as there was disagreement surrounding this question between Sunnis and other non-sunni theological schools, like the Khawārij and the Mu’tazila, there was also internal disagreement among the Sunnis regarding the topic. The ḥadīth scholars and most of the fuqahā’ held the opinion that deed was a part of faith, whereas some of the fuqahā’ of Kufa, Imam Abu Ḥanīfa being one of them, disagreed. Imam Abu Ḥanīfa’s statements concerning this question left many of the other fuqahā’ of his era perplexed by his position and led to him and his position being criticized by ḥadīth scholars of that era. This all occurred under the backdrop of an intense disagreement between ḥadīth scholars of that era and the Murji’a in which they heavily criticized ‘irjā’. This can be counted as one of the most important reasons why ḥadīth scholars criticized and impugned Imam Abu Ḥanīfa. This study will focus on comparing the statements of Abu Ḥanīfa and the ḥadīth scholars concerning the question of faith and deed as well as its various related branches. It sheds light on the disagreement in its various forms, whether it is deserving of the level of disagreement it received, and seeks to address whether the disagreement was real and substantive in nature or merely linguistic and terminological. Furthermore, it seeks to uncover where the roots of the disagreement lie as well as its various dimensions.

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