---
title: "Abu Hanifa: Founding Jurist of Ḥanafī School"
description: "Abu Hanifa was the founder of the Ḥanafī school, the earliest and most widely followed Sunnī school of Islamic law, influential across many regions."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/abu-hanifa"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit (c.
- 699–767 CE) was the founding jurist of the Ḥanafī school, the earliest and most widely followed Sunnī school of Islamic law.
- Why is Abū Ḥanīfa associated with the ahl al-raʾy?
- What is istiḥsān and how did Abū Ḥanīfa use it?
- Who transmitted Abū Ḥanīfa's doctrine since he wrote no law book?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit (c. 699–767 CE) was the founding jurist of the Ḥanafī school, the earliest and most widely followed Sunnī school of Islamic law.

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In 1667 the Mughal emperor Awrangzeb ʿĀlamgīr commissioned a panel of jurists to compile the Fatāwā-i ʿĀlamgīrī, codifying Abū Ḥanīfa's Ḥanafī doctrine as the imperial law of the Mughal state.

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