Scholars / Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH / 780–855) is the imam of the Hanbali school and one of the most cited authorities of the Athari creed. He grew up in Baghdad, travelled widely for hadith, and gathered a musnad that remains among the largest early collections.
About the Shaykh
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH / 780–855) is the imam of the Hanbali school and one of the most cited authorities of the Athari creed. He grew up in Baghdad, travelled widely for hadith, and gathered a musnad that remains among the largest early collections.
In the Mihna he refused to say that the Qur’an was created, and he was imprisoned and beaten under al-Ma’mun and al-Mu'tasim. Later Sunni writing treats that stand as a defence of the way of the salaf in Allah’s speech and attributes.
His fiqh was built from hadith, the statements of the Companions, and cautious analogy. Later Athari and Salafi teachers read his Usul al-Sunnah and his replies on the attributes as a plain affirmation without takyif or ta’til.
References
- Ibn al-Jawzi, Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad
- Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala
Timeline
- Born in Baghdad.
- Began seeking hadith in Iraq, then in the Hijaz, Yemen, and the east.
- The Mihna began; he refused to declare the Qur’an created.
- Died in Baghdad. رحمه الله.
Legacy
Later Hanbali and Athari scholars take him as the imam of creed and hadith together: affirm the attributes as they came, cling to the athar, and do not make kalam the judge of the texts.
Areas of knowledge
His series & major works
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