# Did Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa study under Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, and what did they learn from him?

*But Malik and Abu Hanifa were Imam Jafar's students: what did they learn from him?*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/phrss-nir30/s/2/
- Date: 2020-12-06 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Why don't sunni imams transmit from Imam Jafar? | Mufti Abu Layth (6:37–8:46)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhrSS-NiR30&t=397s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/phrss-nir30/

**Topics:** Hadith collections and their history; Sunni-Shia dialogue; Scholars and imams of the past

**Question as asked:** Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa learned from Imam Jafar and were his students; what are you on about?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Malik and Abu Hanifa kept Imam Jafar's company and attended his circles but transmitted nothing from him, which Mufti Abu Layth explains by their disagreement with teaching that largely reflected the Shia da'wah. He calls the claim that they took only 'spirituality' from him absurd.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth thinks Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa attended Imam Jafar's circles and kept his company but transmitted nothing from him to Sunni circles because the bulk of his teaching reflected the Shia da'wah, which they did not agree with, and he calls the explanation that they took only 'spirituality' from him absurd.

**Evidence, his words at 7:32:** “i think that they did used to attend their circles where they taught generally about islam but i feel the bulk of the da'wah of those imams of albeit would reflect to a great part the shia dawa” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhrSS-NiR30&t=452s)

## Longer summary

A comment read out at the end of the previous answer objects that Imam Malik and Abu Hanifa were students of Imam Jafar. Mufti Abu Layth answers that this is exactly his point: they transmit nothing from him, so the question is what they learned from him, and they do not tell us. He reports the view that they took 'spirituality' from him and says he finds that a blag: enjoying someone's company is fine, but taking spirituality from someone means nothing definite. His own view is that they were close to the imams and attended their circles, where the teaching was generally about Islam, but that the bulk of those imams' da'wah would to a great part have reflected the Shia da'wah; scholars such as Malik, not being Shia, would attend for the overall content and the company but would not teach it onward because they did not agree with it, which is why nothing is really transmitted from these imams into the broader Sunni circle. He concludes that the Sunni explanation that they learned only a spirituality that cannot be professed is absurd, and that the alternative explanation is that the teaching was Shia material.

## Sources and names cited

- Imam Jafar al-Sadiq
- Imam Malik
- Abu Hanifa
- Ahl al-Bayt
- Shia
- dawah

## Transcript (machine tier, 6:37–8:46)

[6:16] on it i don't know i don't know so somebody said imam malik and hanifa will learn its students from mom jaffa what are you on about you yeah i know i you see the question [Laughter] this is where i'm just blabbering on and nobody's gotten you see what do they transmit from them they don't transmit from them the question is what was it that they learned from them

[6:54] we don't know because they don't tell us so one view is okay one super mystical view is like saying that oh they used to take spirituality from them i mean i find that to be just like okay fair enough but you know it's a bit of a blag but okay you know they take some spirituality fair enough as in you like being in the company of that's fine but to say you know you take spirituality from someone i don't know what that even means okay so but i definitely feel it's a black so

[7:32] they were close to them i think that they did used to attend their circles where they taught generally about islam but i feel the bulk of the da'wah of those imams of albeit would reflect to a great part the shia dawa so because these scholars were not shi'a like malik and they would still maybe attend those circles for the overall kind of stuff that they're saying and the company keeping the company of the person and so on but they wouldn't would not teach that

[8:11] further because they didn't agree with it and they wouldn't because there's nothing they transmit really from these imams to other to their broader sunni circle so sunnis just say oh that's because they learned only spirituality which you can't profess which is an absurd argument the other thing is that it's because it was shia stuff so i don't know that's it's it is what it is so

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment PhrSS-NiR30/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/phrss-nir30/s/2/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.