In this pioneering study of the founder of the Hanafi madhhab (doctrine, or school), Mohammed Akram Nadwi reviews the life and legacy of this great legalist and thinker, and surveys the evolution of the Hanafi school in different regions of the Islamic world. The author reveals a man who was exemplary in personal discipline and piety, esteemed by his neighbors, and deeply revered by his scholarly peers.

Mohammed Akram Nadwi is the author of Al- Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam.