Imam Abu Hanifa's name is Numan bin Thabit and is also known as Imam-e-Azam. He was born in 80 AH (699 CE) in Kufa, Iraq in the reign of Abdul Malik bin Marwan. His family was of Persian origins. He was a Tabieen (a person who has seen a sahabi, a companion of Hazrat Muhammad ). He collected ahadith (plural of hadith) from Anas bin Malik .

During his early years, Imam Abu Hanifa did not get the opportunity and was also not interested much in education. He was happy following in the footsteps of his father as a businessman. Hajjaj bin Yufus was Banu Umayya's (Umayyad) governor of Iraq. Hajjaj was a tyrant and persecuted the Muslim scholars and religious figures of his time.

After the deaths of Hajjaj bin Yusuf and Waleed bin Abdul Malik (son of Abdul Malik bin Marwan) the circumstances changed for the better and Imam Abu Hanifa also became interested in learning religious education. Due to his dedication and intelligence, soon he became an expert in jurisprudence and wrote many books on the subject.

According to some sources, the Banu Abbas (Abbasid) Khalifa offered Imam Abu Hanifa the post of Chief Justice of the State but was imprisoned after he rejected. In 148 AH (765 CE) Imam Abu Hanifa died in prison. It is said that so many people attended his Janaza (funeral) that the Janaza Salah was performed six times before he was buried.