Argument with Abuhanifa

Abu Hanifa was once giving lessons to his disciples and disclosed to them his disagreement on three things which Imam Jafar Sadiq (A.S) had been teaching.

Firstly: Satan would go to hell. How could this happen when Satan himself was created from fire and how could fire burn fire?

Secondly: God is not to be seen. Why could we not see God when everything in existence can be seen?

Thirdly: Every person is responsible for his action and not Allah. Experience shows the opposite that every action of man is caused by God; man has no control over it.

When Bahlool heard of this, he picked up a lump of mud and threw it at the forehead of Abu Hanifa. He then tried to run away quickly from there but the disciples of Abu Hanifa managed to arrest him. They dragged him before the Caliph and lodged their complaint of what he had done.

Before the case was to be convened before the Caliph, Bahlool requested that Abu Hanifa should also be present in the court. When he arrived, Bahlool put forward to him the following questions:

"What inquiry did you receive from me?" "My head pains as a result of the lump of mtid you threw at me" said Abu Hanifa.

"Show me the pain", asked Bahlool.

"How could the pain, which is an invisible, be shown" replied Abu Hanifa. "But you yourself had argued before your disciples that what is in existence is possible to be seen with naked eyes" retorted Bahlool and added:

"That the lump of mud had injured you is also untrue. According to your belief, how could something made of earth and mud injure and cause pain to man who is made of earth?"

"You had also argued that whatever actions committed by man are caused by Allah. Therefore why complain against me for hitting you?" concluded Bahlool. On hearing these words from Bahlool, Abu Hanifa was ashamed and dumbfounded. He had no choice but to withdraw from the court.

In this way, by stricking with a lump of mud, Bahlool adequately replied and solved the three objections raised by Abu Hanifa before his disciples.

The practical lesson taught by Bahlool to Abu Hanifa was so profoundly logic that it made him dumbfounded. Indeed it was a lesson of Pure TAWHID as expounded by Ahl-ul-Bayt of the Prophet but presented in a practical form by Bahlool.

In his farewell sermon, the Prophet of Islam reminded his followers that they would never go astray should they follow what he was leaving behind.for them:

Taken from the book “The Moral Stories (Part 2)”‌‌

Author: Ahmed .H. Sheriff

Other links:

Bahlool Outstanding Wisdom