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.
The four Muslim imams, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi and
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal were all great Muslims and very important figures
in the history of Islam. Their teachings laid the foundat...
Hazrat Imam Shafi was born 150 AH (767 CE) in Gaza. His full name is
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idrees Ash-Shafi. Imam Shafi belonged to a
tribe called Quraish, this is the same tribe to which Hazr...
Imam Malik's full name is Abu Abdullah Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik and he
is also known as the Shaikh of Islam. He was born 93 AH (711 CE) in
Madina. His family was originally from the
Al-Asbahi tr...
Hazrat Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was a great Muslim Imam. His full name
is Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu Abdullah Al-Shaybani. He was born 164 AH
(780 CE)
in Baghdad. He belonged to the tribe of ...