Did Imam Abū Ḥanīfah Not Know Ḥadīth?
Answer
The objection is raised that Imam Abū Ḥanīfah did not know ḥadīth. This claim — that Imam Abū Ḥanīfah did not know ḥadīth — spread from ʿAllāmah Ibn Khaldūn's Muqaddimah to his History. I once carried on a correspondence for two years with a person who does not follow taqlīd; he would cite as his reference that Ibn Khaldūn had written that Imam Abū Ḥanīfah had only seventeen…
Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya
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