By chance, Abu Hanifah got nice opportunities to oppose the Imam of the time.

By chance, Abu Hanifah got nice opportunities to oppose the Imam of the time. It was due to the fact that Caliph Mansoor had deep enmity with Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and he was a mortal enemy of the Imam (a.s.). Finally, he had the Imam poisoned he passed away from the mortal to the heavenly world. Mansoor did not want the people to follow the jurisprudence of the Holy Imam (a.s.); that is why he used to assist in popularizing the verdicts of Abu Hanifah.

It was the common custom of this irreligious Caliph that he used to impose a fine of a gold coin on one who made an inquiry about the verdict of Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and rewarded with a gold coin whoever asked about a verdict of Abu Hanifah. Obviously, the religion of Abu Hanifah progressed greatly through royal patronage. Therefore, why he should have lost the opportunity; such chances do not come always in ones life? Thus, his constant opposition to the Imam (a.s.) was not unexpected.

It is a fact that Abu Hanifah could not derive any benefit from following the rightful Imam (a.s.), especially when the Caliph of the time was inimical to the Imam (a.s.). Abu Hanifah was an unexpected gift for Mansoor. He also, as opposed to the Imam, used to gladden the heart of the Caliph. The details regarding Abu Hanifah’s contact with the court of Mansoor is that when he entered, the Caliph asked him from whom he had obtained his knowledge.

Abu Hanifah replied: “From Umar bin Khattab, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and Abdullah bin Abbas, from their narrators; and lastly he said that during the reign of Ibn Abbas no one was alike him.” Since Mansoor himself was also from Bani Abbas, he greatly appreciated the last sentence. From that day onwards, they became very friendly and the religion of Abu Hanifah advanced by the day. This story shows that Abu Hanifah was a very clever man and what was wrong in his mention about Abdullah Ibn Abbas?

To make the Caliph his disciple in the first attempt, informs of his wisdom; no doubt, he possessed great acumen. He says that at first he wanted to obtain the knowledge of the Holy Quran and to learn the Holy Book by heart, but it did not seem beneficial, so he decided to learn the traditions, but this also seemed useless. After that he decided to become a grammarian but could not stand being a tutor. Later he decided to become a poet, but this profession was also unprofitable.