1

A response to ‘Abd al-’Azīz Ahmad Al-Humaydī’s claims on

the attribution of the book/treatise Wasiyyah by Imam Abu
Hanīfah an-Nu’man

By Junaid Al-Kiyani

Wasiyyah is a short text attributed to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah which

he dictated before his death when he was hit by a fatal disease.
The reason for this dictation is as I quote from two of the three
famous manuscripts: When Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was hit with a
fatal illness, he gathered his companions and disciples around
him and they asked him to convey a testimony based on the way
of the Sunnah. So he ordered his servant to raise him. His
servant sat behind his back and he supported him against
himself. A lot of Salafi researchers raise the point that the book
has a weak attribution towards the Imām, out of the reason that
the chain of transmission is filled with unknown narrators.
Secondly, it is claimed that this was not the doctrine of Imām
Abū Ḥanīfah and it goes against "what is apparent from him"
which is of course a desperate lie and excuse.

Introduction

Before beginning with the study of the text, I want to note that the answers will
be made as objections to the writing of the senior Pseudo-Salafi scholar - 'Abdul
'Azīz bin Ahmad bin Muhsin al-Humaydi and his book - Barā'ah al-A'immah
al-Arba'ah min Masā'il Mutakallimīn al-Mubtadi'ah1. It should also be noted
that this is the scholar's doctors' study, however after this answer will be made,
it will become apparent that the 'doctors' labeled studies of Pseudo-Salafis are
nothing but titles.

I wish to first touch upon the chains of transmission of this text, as the first
objection made by Al-Humaydi is about the chain of transmission. From them is
one famous recorded chain in which the text has been specifically transmitted
(Khās), while there are many general transmissions of this book by other Hanafi
theologians (‘Aām).2 Although chains of transmissions aren’t from the priorities
1
Literally translates as: The innocence of the four Imams from the issues of the innovative Kalam theologians
2
There are two types of transmissions in this scenario; 1. Specific transmission, it is that transmission in which
the scholar specifically has given testimony to his student in narrating a specific text 2. General transmission; it
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in attributions of contents, I will still include commentary on them as they can

be used to strengthen attributions. I will then proceed to discuss the contents of
the treatise, as the researcher also claims the content does not agree with the
doctrine/creed of the author. I quote: “This was not the doctrine of Imām Abū
Ḥanīfah and it goes against what is known from him". Finally, I will discuss the
scholarly verdict on the attribution of this text and by the Will of Allah, we will
see how this treatise is attributed to the author.

Chains of transmission

There’s one famous chain of transmission for this treatise, it is recorded by

Shaykh Husām ad-Dīn as-Sighnāqī, and this is found in the manuscript of
Shaykh al-Islam Mustafā ‘Ashir, he quotes his chain up to Qawam ad-Din
Al-Itqani who is also known as Abu Hanifah, who transmitted this book from
Shaykh Husām ad-Dīn as-Sighnāqī.3 The other chain is found in the manuscript
of the ottoman scholar Al-Bayadhi, however, the chain meets up at Sighnāqī so
there is no need to comment on his chain as it is the same. This chain is also the
very same chain the researcher critiqued. I will quote the chain on the next page.

is that transmission in which the scholar gives testimony to his student in narrating everything the scholar has
narrated. These terms are known as Khās & ‘Aām. See Ibn Hajar’s Nukhbah al-Fikar.
3
This manuscript rests in the Holy city of Madinah at the Arif Hikmat library under the number 234.
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The chain:

As-Siqhnaqi (d. 710)

↓
Muhammad b. Nasr al-Bukhari (d. 693)
↓
Al-Kardari (d. 642)
↓
Al-Marghinani (d. 593)
↓
An-Nusukhi (d. 545)
↓
Abu Bakr as-Samarqandi4
↓
Abu al-Mu’in an-Nasafi (d. 508)
↓
Abu Tahir al-Husayni (born 483)
↓
Abu Ya’qub as-Sayyari5
↓
Abu al-Fadhl as-Sulaymani (d. 404)
↓
Ibn ‘Aqil al-Jawhari (d. 333)
↓
Muhammad b. Sama’ah (d. 233)6
↓
Abu Yusuf (d. 182)
↓
Abu Hanifah (d. 150)

4
The birth and death years are unknown
5
The birthyear and death year are unknown, however, it is known that his father who was his own
teacher and transmitter of books passed away in 461. Thus, there is also a gap between him and the
narrator before him, this is however not problematic as many scholars would narrate books and
contents like this from their previous elders, and this concept can also be found in some Hadith
narrations, however, there are different levels and conditions to this type of narration as some
scholars are trustworthy in doing so while others are not. Many books were also narrated in this
manner from the late second century Imam Muhammad bin al-Hassan ash-Shaybani.
6
There is a gap between Muhammad b. Sama’ah and Ibn ‘Aqil al-Jawhari but I commented on this
later in the article.
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The researcher's objection

He starts off by mentioning the chain of the book and comments:

"This chain has rows of unknown transmitters, for Muhammad

bin al-Mahdi al-Husayni, Ishaq al-Misyari, Ahmad
as-Sulaymani, and Hatim al-Jawhari, all four of them are
unknown and there is no biography to them in the books of
narrators, not even in the books of the Tabaqaat of the
Hanafiyyah. Therefore, this chains state is not possible to be
used in the attribution of this book to the Imam - may Allah
have mercy on him."

Answer:

Chains of transmission were never made a condition in the attribution of

authorship, rather there are other factors jurists have applied to establish the
authorship of a book, and non of the core factors relate to chains of transmission.
Were it the case of chains, then many books that have reached us from the earlier
generations would also necessitate weakness in their attribution, for example;
Naqdh 'Uthman ad-Darimi 'ala al-Marisi. Moreover, chains are only used to
support attribution, not to weaken it.

Furthermore, these scholars' biographies can be found, I heavily relied upon the
research of Dr. Hamzah Bakri and Dr. al’Ayidi who have done an excellent job
in finding the biographies of these scholars. Now for the first time, audiences
from a non-Arabic speaking background will be able to comprehend and read
into their excellence in research.

As for the claim of unknowns in relation to the four narrators stated, then this is
incorrect:

1. Muhammad bin al-Husayni

Full Name: Abu Tahir Muhammad bin al-Mahdi al-Husayni.