Nu'man ibn Thabit, known as Imam Abu Hanifa, was born in Kufa and became the eponym of the Hanafi school — today the largest school of Sunni law. He emphasized careful reasoning (ra'y) within boundaries set by revelation and the practice of the early Muslim community.
His students systematized his positions into the Hanafi corpus that shaped Ottoman, Mughal, and much of South and Central Asian Islam. Sunni tradition honors him as al-Imam al-A'zam (the Greatest Imam) for the breadth and influence of his methodology.
Following a madhhab
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Why Sunni scholarship has historically worked through the four schools.