Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas, the founders of two of the major schools of thought were among his close students. The long list of scholars who studied under him also includes Sufyan ath-Tawri, Yahya ibn Saeed, AbdulMalik ibn Juraij, Sufyan ibn Unainah, Muhammad ibn Ishaq and Shubah ibn al-Hajjaj, most of whom were scholars of high attainment in Fiqh, Hadith and History. Many of his students were either of his own age, some even older, which says much about his own achievements.
'Abu Hanifah! People are so infatuated with Ja'far ibn Muhammad that they have placed him far too highly in their esteem. Therefore, I want you to prepare some very difficult questions that you will put to him in my presence and in front of other scholars.' Such were the instructions to Imam Abu Hanifah by Al-Mansoor, the second Abbasid Caliph. Much as he loved Ja'far Al-Sadiq, and respected his scholarly achievement, Abu Hanifah had no choice but to put him to the test.
On a call from the Caliph, Imam Abu Hanifah went with his list of 40 questions. There in the court was Ja'far Al-Sadiq in the presence of Al-Mansoor and many other people. As he looked at Al-Sadiq, Abu Hanifah was in much more awe of him than of the Caliph. Asked to put the questions by the Caliph, Abu Hanifah did, one by one, and Al-Sadiq answered them all in detail. The questions were on issues on which there was much controversy among scholars.
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