Part of a series on Sunni Islam
Schools of Fiqh Hanafi • Shafi`i • Maliki • Hanbali
Beliefs Tawhid • Nabi and Rusul Kutub • Malā'ikah Qiyama • Qadr
Caliphs Abu Bakr • Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman • Ali ibn Abu Talib
Texts Sahih Bukhari • Sahih Muslim Al-Sunan al-Sughra Sunan Abi Dawood Sunan al-Tirmidhi Sunan ibn Maja • Al-Muwatta Sunan al-Darami The Hanafi (Arabic حنفي) school is the oldest of the four schools of thought (Madhhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after its founder, Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man ibn Thābit (Arabic: النعمان بن ثابت‎) (699 - 767).

Overview
Despite these differences, there is little or no animosity between the four schools of religious law within Sunni Islam. Instead there is a cross-pollination of ideas and debate that serves to refine each school's understanding of Islam.

Abu Hanifah held that "wine" (the fermented juice of dates or grapes) was absolutely prohibited. But he thought it was permissible to drink small non-intoxicating amounts of other alcoholic beverages (e.g. made from honey or grains). Later Hanafi scholars tend to rule that all alcoholic beverages are prohibited regardless of source.
It is prohibited or disliked to eat some forms of non-fish seafood based on the hadith of the prophet Muhammad: "Two types of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for your consumption: fish and locust, liver and spleen". (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Majah,)
Except during Hajj every salah needs to be made in its regular time. It is not valid to combine prayers, even when travelling.
A sixth daily Witr prayer is wajib or "required".
Abu Hanifah held that "the Quran" consists of the meaning of the text and so in the daily prayers it was permissible to recite "the Quran" in any language unconditionally. Later Hanafis only held that this was permissible if the person praying was unable to recite the Quran in Arabic.
Bleeding can break one's wudu.