It is said that Imam (Muhammad bin Idrees) Ash-Shafi’i said: “I do Tabarruk (seek blessings) with Abu Hanifah, and I go to his grave every day -meaning for visit- and when I have a need I pray two Rak’ah and I go to his grave and ask my need to Allah Ta’ala and I do not leave it until it is fulfilled” [Tareekh Al-Baghdad Volume 1 Page 123]
Shaikh Muhammad Nasiruddeen Al-Albani (Rahimahullah) said in his Silsilatul-Ahadith Ad-Daeefah wal-Mawdooah (Volume 1, page 78-79):
As for Al-Kawthari’s (Shaikh Muhammad Zahid Al-Kawthari, died Dhu al-Qi’dah 1371 AH / August 11, 1952) statement in his “Maqalaat” (p. 381) that Imam Ash-Shafi’i sought blessings through Abu Hanifa, which is mentioned in the beginning of Al-Khateeb’s “Tareekh” with a sound chain of transmission, it is one of his exaggerations, rather his mistakes.
For he refers to what Al-Khateeb reported (1/123) through the route of ‘Umar ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, who said: ‘Ali ibn Maimun informed us, saying: I heard Ash-Shafi’i say: “I seek blessings through Abu Hanifa, and I visit his grave every day – meaning, as a visitor. If a need arises for me, I perform two rak’ahs, then come to his grave and ask Allah, The Exalted, for my need through him. My need is not delayed from being fulfilled.”‘
This narration is weak, rather, it is false. For ‘Umar ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim is unknown, and he is not mentioned in any of the books of Rijal (biographical evaluations of narrators). It is possible that he is ‘Amr – with a fatha on the ‘Ain – ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hamid ibn As-Sakan Abu Muhammad At-Tunisi. Al-Khateeb (12/226) mentioned him, stating that he was a Bukhari (from the land of Bukhara) who came to Baghdad as a pilgrim in the year 341 AH, and he did not mention any criticism or praise of him. He is unknown in terms of his reliability, and it is unlikely that he is the one being referred to, as there is a gap of approximately one hundred years between their deaths. In any case, it is a weak narration that does not provide any evidence for its authenticity.
Sheikh Al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah) mentioned the meaning of this narration in “Iqtida’ As-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem”, then established its falsehood, saying (p. 165): “This is a known lie, which is false according to anyone who has knowledge of Hadith transmission. For when Ash-Shafa’i came to Baghdad, there was no grave in Baghdad that was visited for the purpose of supplication. Rather, this was not known during Ash-Shafi’i’s time. Ash-Shafi’i had seen in the Hijaz, Yemen, Sham, Iraq, and Egypt the graves of Prophets, the Sahabah, and the Tabain, whose occupants were more virtuous in his eyes and in the eyes of Muslims, than Abu Hanifa and his likes among the scholars. So why would he seek blessings only through him? Furthermore, Abu Hanifa’s companions, who knew him, such as Abu Yusuf, Muhammad, Zafar, Al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, and their likes, did not seek blessings through him, nor through anyone else. It has been established that Ash-Shafi’i disliked the veneration of the graves of created beings, fearing that it may lead to temptation. Only someone who lacks knowledge and religion would fabricate such stories, or perhaps what is reported from such stories is from an unknown narrator who is not recognized.” End quote.
(Translated by Mohammed bin Thajammul Hussain Manna.)
Saheehus-Seerah 