With Love to the Muslims of the World — Page 14
14 scholars and saintly men, who were branded as apostates and heretics. Imam Ab u H an i fah, the founder of the Hanafite School of Jurisprudence, was branded as an apostate and an infidel. He was arrested, imprisoned, tortured and poisoned. He died in prison when he was praying. 3 rd Century Hijra The great Imam Bukh a r i whose S a hih Bukh ari is regarded as next only to the Holy Qur’an, was also branded as an apostate: 3,000 ulema and mullahs gave evidence of apostasy against the Imam. He was exiled from Bukhara to Khartang. Even there he did not have peace from his persecutors and he prayed in anguish to Allah for refuge. He was soon gathered to his Creator. Another great scholar and a savant was Imam Ahmad Bin H anbal. He was imprisoned and shackled and made to walk from Tarsus to Baghdad where during Ramadan he was lashed in the burning sun. 4 th Century Hijra Man su r A1- H all a j was the famous Sufi of his time. He was arrested, imprisoned, lashed. His limbs were severed and he was eventually hanged. 5 th Century Hijra Even the famous and renowned Imam Al-Ghaz a l i did not escape from the bigoted mullahs. They branded him as an atheist, a free thinker and an apostate whose books were declared unorthodox and un-Islamic. His books were ordered to be burnt and Muslims were forbidden to speak