About Abu Hanifah...

About Abu Hanifah, it is said that he narrated 17 traditions, and Malik approved of those traditions he recorded in his Muwatta’ which numbered about 300 ones, while Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported in his Musnad 50 thousand traditions. 739 Those who narrated less among them have done so for evading the attacks that they faced on this way, and the defects they encountered, particularly the sarcasm that was launched by the majority of people.

So this led them to abandon adopting the traditions and ways of isnad that causing them to face such campaigns, which when increasing would lead to diminish their narrations due to weakness in ways of transmission.

The narrations of al-Imam Ahmad were only decreased when he became strict in the provisions of (accepting) the riwayah, tolerance, and weakness in the narration of the positive hadith when it be opposed by the psychological reaction, 740 as a result of which he started to diminish his narrations. That should not be…