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Is it true that the reason Imam Abu Hanifa sat to give fatwas was that he saw himself in a dream digging up the grave of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

What has been mentioned about Abu Hanifa concerning his dream of excavating the Prophet’s grave and its connection to his taking up teaching has two parts: The first is the authenticity of the narration about the dream. It has been narrated through several chains, and what is authentic among them is what Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi transmitted in "Tarikh Baghdad" with a good chain of narration, that Abu Hanifa dreamt as if he was excavating the grave of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him. He then asked Muhammad ibn Sirin, who said: "This is a man who will excavate the traditions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him." As for the second part, regarding the connection of this dream to his taking up issuing fatwas and teaching, it is not authentic, because Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi transmitted in "Tarikh Baghdad" through a chain of unknown narrators that Muhammad ibn Sirin interpreted the dream as its owner "will stir up knowledge that no one preceded him in."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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