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Fatwa CenterA famous story about Abu Haneefah's father
Question
Salam 'alaykum... Is this incident authentic? Thaabit , may Allaah have mercy upon him, once passed by a garden while he was almost dying of hunger. He found an apple that had fallen in the garden and when he ate part of it, he remembered that it was not lawful for him because it did not belong to him. Accordingly, he entered the garden where he found a man and said, "Forgive me for the half of the apple I ate and take the second half." The man replied, "I do not have the authority to forgive you, but go to my master who is the owner of the garden." "Where is he?", asked Thaabit. He replied, "You have to travel for one day and night to reach him." Thaabit said, "I will go to him no matter how far he is, because the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: 'All flesh nourished unlawfully will be cast into Hell.'" He reached the owner of the garden, and when he told him the story, the owner of the garden said, "By Allaah, I will not forgive you except on one condition." Thaabit told him to put whatever conditions he liked. The man said, "My condition is to marry my daughter who is deaf, blind, dumb and crippled." Thaabit said, "I agree to marry her, and I will seek reward from Allaah for serving her." The marriage contract was concluded, and when Thaabit entered upon her, he was not sure whether he should extend Salaam to her or keep silent. He decided to extend Salaam, so that the angels would reply to him. Having extended Salaam, he heard the woman reply. Moreover, she stood up and shook his hand. He realized that she was not as described by her father. When he asked her about the matter, she said, "My father told you that I was blind, and I am blind to what is unlawful, so my eyes do not look at what Allaah prohibited; I am deaf to hearing what displeases Allaah; I am dumb because my tongue only remembers Allaah; and I am crippled because my feet do not carry me to what angers Allaah."
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We have not come across the story that is mentioned in the question about Thaabit ibn An-Nu’maan, the father of Imaam Abu Haneefah, in the history or biography literature that we have been acquainted with.
However, this does not mean that it is not true. Also, the fact that this story is popular does not mean that it is true.
The contemporary author of Mawsoo’at Al-Akhlaaq waz-Zuhd war-Raqaa'iq mentioned it but did not attribute it to a reliable source.
Allaah Knows best.
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