Abu Hanifa

About Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa (698–767 CE) was a pivotal early Islamic jurist and theologian whose work fundamentally shaped Sunni Islamic law. He is credited with establishing the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, one of the four major *madhhabs*, focusing on rational analogy (*ra'y*) and juristic discretion (*ijtihad*) alongside textual sources. His lasting influence within the Islamic world solidifies his high standing in historical importance, reflected in his Pantheon HPI Rank of #625.

In the context of 2025 internet attention, Abu Hanifa exhibits a notable attention gap. He garners approximately 298K annualized Wikipedia views, resulting in an Attention Gap ratio of about 1x, suggesting his online visibility is currently proportional to his historical weight relative to the comparison pool. However, this average attention is significantly less than that of figures like Catherine of Aragon (2.0M views) or Babur (1.1M views), both from the general medieval era. Compared specifically to Mahavira (#943 importance), Abu Hanifa is ranked more highly yet receives fewer views (298K vs. 515K).

This modest attention is further tempered by current trends; the year-over-year change shows a 17.6% decline in Wikipedia traffic, and Q1-to-Q3 momentum dropped by 36%, indicating a recent decrease in digital engagement with his legacy.