Imam Abu Hanifa (Nuʿman ibn Sabit) is historically recorded as having been born in the city of Kufa in the year 80 AH, or 699 CE. He lived from 699 to 767 AD, or 80 to 150 AH, and gave his name to the Hanafi school, the oldest and most popular of the four major schools of law, or madhabs, of Sunni Islam. Born in Kufa, Iraq, of Persian descent, he first made his mark as a successful silk merchant.