some friends asked me why do indian/pakistani Hanafi [mainly sunni] scholars wear these black caps - particularly those from UP and Bihar? --- from Dhahabi's manaqib abu Hanifah: Abdu'l Wahhab ibn Ziyad [1] says: 'I saw Abu Hanifah in Kufah and he was wearing a tall black cap.'[2] --- 1. zahid al-kawthari: in kitab ibn abi'l `awwam, it is written as Abdu'l WaHid, which is actually the correct one. 2. in the text, it is written 'Tawilah' and imam zahid al-kawthari comments: it is a cap [qalansuwah] which was the fashion in those days. abu `amr al-kindi has mentioned it in a couplet. also as it is mentioned in al-alusi's kashf at-Turrah [pg.284]. imam Abu Hanifah's shaykh Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman would also wear it.