Awali Abi Hanifa
- Author died
- 648 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Farfūr
Awali Abi Hanifa (The Elevated Transmissions of Abu Hanifa) is a short hadith monograph (juz') compiled by the Damascene traditionist Ibn Khalil (Shams al-Din Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf ibn Khalil al-Dimashqi, 555–648 AH / 1160–1250 CE), collecting narrations transmitted through elevated chains of narration (asānīd ‘āliyah) back to Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH) .
Content and Structure
The work comprises twenty-two numbered narrations, consisting of prophetic traditions (marfū‘) and legal opinions and statements of the Companions and Successors (āthār) . Ibn Khalil gathered these narrations from his teachers across various cities, including Damascus, Baghdad, and Isfahan .
The chains of transmission in the booklet connect through earlier masters—including Abu Nu'aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Muqri', Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani, and al-Tabarani—to Abu Hanifa . Abu Hanifa's immediate authorities featured across the work include:
- Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman
- Ata' ibn Abi Rabah
- Ata' ibn al-Sa'ib
- Hisham ibn Urwa
- Abu al-Zubayr
- Al-Haytham
The narrations touch upon various legal and doctrinal themes, such as the blood money (diyah) for accidental homicide, zakat on work animals, rules of prayer in a single garment, wiping over leather socks (al-masḥ ‘alā al-khuffayn), divine decree (qadar), and the eclipse prayer .
Transmission and Context
The compilation forms part of a broader practice among late traditionists who assembled dedicated hadith collections featuring elevated chains from specific early scholars . Al-Dhahabi noted that Ibn Khalil compiled several similar awālī tracts, including those dedicated to Hisham ibn Urwa, al-A'mash, and Abu Asim al-Nabil .
The text was transmitted by Ibn Khalil's students and later scholars; for instance, the traditionist Ishaq ibn Abi Bakr ibn Ibrahim al-Nahhas related it by audition from Ibn Khalil in Jumada al-Akhira 646 AH, and subsequently taught it in Damascus at the Qulayjiyyah Madrasa in Rabi' al-Akhir 707 AH . Another recorded line of transmission comes through Jamal al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Zahiri al-Halabi al-Hanafi .
Manuscript and Publication
Manuscript copies of Awali Abi Hanifa are preserved in library collections, including Damascus's Zahiriyyah library (no. 3744), the Manuscripts Library in Kuwait, and the Central Library in Mecca . The text was edited by Khalid al-Awwad and published in Damascus by Dar al-Farfur (1422 AH / 2001 CE) together with Ibn al-Mibrad's (Yusuf ibn Abd al-Hadi) Kitab al-Arba'in al-Mukhtara min Hadith al-Imam Abi Hanifa .
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