Who is unacquainted with the name of Imam Muhammad (R.A)? It is his books that codified the Hanafi Fiqh, collected the evidences for various issues, mentioned the differing opinions, and achieved the blessed honor of presenting the Hanafi Fiqh, which is prevalent in most regions of the world, in a written compilation before the Muslim Ummah. Study had become his second nature; knowledge was his everything, and he remained deeply engrossed in it. He would be surrounded by piles of books and would not sleep at night. A vessel of water was kept ready; whenever sleep approached, he would dispel it with water. If he got tired of one subject, he would start another. (1) The darkness of the space cannot frighten me, Purity and radiance are in my very nature. So, O traveler of the night! Become your own lamp, Illumine your night with the scar of your heart. When people asked him the reason for this remaining awake at night, he would say: "How can I sleep when the common Muslims are sleeping while trusting us that we will guide them?" (2) He had instructed his family members not to speak to him regarding worldly needs. "Speak to my attorney about this, so that there is no disturbance in the concentration of my knowledge and study." (4) He made every possible effort to ensure that nothing interfered with the concentration of his knowledge and study. In his house, there was a rooster whose crowing was not bound by any specific time; it would start crying whenever it pleased. One day, the Imam caught and slaughtered it, saying, "This has unnecessarily become an obstacle in my knowledge and study." He used to say: Ladhdhāt al-afkār khayrun min ladhdhāt al-abkār (5) "The pleasures of thought and reflection are nothing compared to the pleasures of virgins." Imam Muhammad (R.A) wrote nine hundred and ninety-nine books. (6) Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (R.A) was asked, "From where did you obtain these intricate rulings?" He replied, "From the books of Muhammad bin Hasan." (7) The number of rulings derived by Imam Muhammad (R.A) from the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Ijma (consensus) is stated to be one million seventy thousand one hundred. (8) He went towards "Ray" with Harun al-Rashid and passed away there. On the same day, the famous grammarian Imam Kisa'i also passed away. After burying them, Harun al-Rashid said: 'Dafanna al-yawm al-lughata wal-fiqh' - "Today we have buried both linguistics and jurisprudence." Your demise occurred in 189 AH. You were blessed to see 58 springs of your precious life. (10) ------------------------------------------------------- (1) Miftah al-Sa'adah, Vol 1, Page 23 (2) Manaqib Kurdi, Page 436 (4) See Tarikh Baghdad, Vol 4, Page 176 (5) Hada'iq al-Hanafiyyah, Page 76 (6) Al-Jawahir al-Mudiyyah, Vol 1, Page 76 (7) See Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, Vol 9, Page 136 (8) Hada'iq al-Hanafiyyah, Vol 4, Page 130 (10) See Tarikh Baghdad, Vol 2, Page 181, also Al-A'lam by Zirikli, Vol 6, Page 80 ------------------------------------------------------- Book: Mata'-e-Waqt aur Karwan-e-Ilm (Page No. 156 to 158) Author: Ibn al-Hasan Abbasi (R.A) Narrator: Islamic Tube Pro App Follow our WhatsApp channel for more valuable articles.