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An Embodiment of ‘Ilm and ‘Amal
Ahmed bin Basheer (rahimahullah) and Hafs bin Ghiyaath (rahimahullah) have both mentioned the following:
At times, we would see a person who exerted himself in Nafl ‘Ibaadah, however we found him lacking in his knowledge of Halaal and Haraam. Similarly, at times, we would find a person to be an expert in Halaal and Haraam, however he was deficient in his Nafl ‘Ibaadah and extra devotional practices. The only exception that we had seen was Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah), as he was an embodiment of both ‘Ilm and ‘Amal. According to our estimate, in just the place where he passed away, besides other places, he recited the Qur’aan Majeed seven thousand times. During every month of Ramadhaan, he would recite the Qur’aan Majeed sixty times.
(Seerat Imaam A’zam Abu Hanifah by Ml Fazl-ur-Rahmaan A’zami pg. 144)