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Ahmad ibn Hanbal

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Abu `Abdillah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal al-Shaybani
Born164 AH [2]
Baghdad, Iraq[3] or Merv, Khorasan (now Turkmenistan)[4]
Died241 AH [2]
Baghdad, Iraq [1]
EraIslamic golden age
RegionMuslim scholar
SchoolSunni
Main interests
Fiqh, Hadith, and Aqeedah [1]

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani (Arabic: احمد بن محمد بن حنبل ابو عبد الله الشيباني) was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. He is considered the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Imam Ahmad is one of the most celebrated Sunni theologians, often referred to as the "Sheikh ul-Islam"[8] or the "Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah," the leading authority on the Orthodox doctrine. Imam Ahmad personified the theological views of the early orthodox scholars, and in particular, the founders of the three juristic schools before him, Hanafi, Maliki and al-Shafi’i. This proved to be historically significant, since the Hanbali doctrine remained the only school representing the views of the founders of the other three juristic schools, that later became dominated by Asharites or the Maturidis.[9]

Biography

Early life and family

Legal writings, produced October 879.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal was born in Iraq.[3] His family were of Arab[10] origin. Ahmad's father was a soldier from Baghdad who died when Ahmad was a youth.[11]

Ahmad had two wives and according to Imam Ahmad, and his older son later became a judge in Isfahan.[8] Ahmad a very close relationship with his sons, particularly his older son, Salih. It was said that Ahmad would recite the Quranic chapter Al-Kahf often, and he would recite the chapter over a bowl of water and direct his son to drink from it whenever his son felt ill.[11]

Pursuit of knowledge

Ahmad moved to Iraq and study extensively in Baghdad, and later used his travels to further his education. He was chiefly interested in acquiring knowledge of the hadith and travelled extensively through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia studying religion and collecting traditions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. His travels lasted several years. Upon returning home, he studied under Imam Shafi on Islamic law.[12][13] This and the fact that he was a scholar of hadith, were responsible for his deep devotion to the textual views on Islam, and his opposition to innovation of any kind.[14] Imam Shafi, who was a scholarly giant in his own right, stated:

"I left Baghdad, and I did not leave behind me a man better, having more knowledge, or greater fiqh (understanding), nor having greater taqwa (piety) than Ahmad Ibn Hanbal."[11]

Ibn Hanbal spent 40 years of his life in the pursuit of knowledge, and only thereafter did he assume the position of a mufti. By this time, he had mastered six or seven Islamic disciplines, according to al-Shafi'i. He became a leading authority in hadith and left a colossal hadith encyclopaedia, al-Musnad, as a living proof of his proficiency and devotion to this science. He is also remembered as a leading and the most balanced critic of hadith his time. He established himself as the Imam in the sciences of Quran, authoring works in exegesis (Tafsir), science of abrogation (al-Nasikh wal-Mansukh), as well as the different modes recitations (Qira’at), preferring some modes of recitation over others, and even expressing dislike for the recitation of Hamza due to its exaggerated elongation of vowels. Ibn Hanbal became a principal specialist in jurisprudence, since he had the advantage of benefiting from some of the famous early jurists and their heritage, such as Abu Hanifah, Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i, and many others. His learning, piety and unswerving faithfulness to traditions gathered a host of disciples and admirers around him. He further improvised and developed upon previous schools, becoming the founder of a new independent school of jurisprudence, known as the Hanbali school. Some scholars, such as Qutaiba b. Sa’id, noted that if Ibn Hanbal had witnessed the age of Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik, al-Awza’i and Laith b. Sa’d, he would have surpassed them all. Despite being bilingual, he became an expert in the Arabic language, poetry, and grammar.[15][9]

Death

After Imam Ahmad turned 77, he was struck with severe illness and fever, and became very weak, yet never complaining about his infirmity and pain until he died. In spite of his debilitation, he would urge his son, Salih b. Ahmad, to help him stand up for prayer. When he was unable to stand, he would pray sitting, or sometimes lying on his side. After hearing of his illness, the masses flocked to his door. The ruling family also showed the desire to pay him a visit, and to this end sought his permission. However, due to his desire to remain independent of any influence from the authority, Ahmad denied them access. On Friday, the 12 of Rabi' al-Awwal 241 AH, the legendary Imam breathed his last. The news of his death quickly spread far and wide in the city and the people flooded the streets to attend Ahmad’s funeral.[9] When he died, he was accompanied to his resting place by a funeral procession of eight hundred thousand men (800,000) to One million and three hundred thousands men (1,300,000) or arround two million people (2,000,000) as was estimated by few scholars attending the funeral [16] and sixty thousand women (60,000), marking the departure of the last of the four great mujtahid Imams of Islam.[1][14][15][9]

The Mihna

Main article: Mihna

Ibn Hanbal was famously called before the Inquisition of the Abassid Caliph al-Ma'mun - known as the mihna. Al-Ma'mun wanted to assert the religious authority of the Caliph by forcing the top scholars of the time to admit that the Qur'an was created rather than uncreated. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was one of the few scholars to refuse to back down to the Caliph, setting the train in motion for the increasing power of the ulama in deciding questions of law and theology.

Works

The following books are found in Ibn al-Nadim's Fihrist:

  • Kitab al-`Ilal wa Ma‘rifat al-Rijal: "The Book of Narrations Containing Hidden Flaws and of Knowledge of the Men (of Hadeeth)" Riyad: Al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah
  • Kitab al-Manasik: "The Book of the Rites of Hajj"
  • Kitab al-Zuhd: "The Book of Abstinence" ed. Muhammad Zaghlul, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabi, 1994
  • Kitab al-Iman: "The Book of Faith"
  • Kitab al-Masa'il "Issues in Fiqh"
  • Kitab al-Ashribah: "The Book of Drinks"
  • Kitab al-Fada'il Sahaba: "Virtues of the Companions"
  • Kitab Tha'ah al-Rasul : "The Book of Obedience to the Messenger"
  • Kitab Mansukh: "The Book of Abrogation"
  • Kitab al-Fara'id: "The Book of Obligatory Duties"
  • Kitab al-Radd `ala al-Zanadiqa wa'l-Jahmiyya "Refutations of the Heretics and the Jahmites" (Cairo: 1973)
  • Tafsir : "Exegesis"
  • the Musnad

Quotes

  • It is said that, when told that it was religiously permissible to say what pleases his persecuters without believing in it at the time of mihna, Ahmad said "If I remained silent and you remained silent, then who will teach the ignorant?".
  • With regard to innovation within religion, Ahmad said “The graves of sinners from People of Sunnah is a garden, while the graves of the pious ascetics from the People of Innovation is a barren pit. The sinners among Ahlus Sunnah are the Friends of Allah, while the pious among Ahlul-Bidah are the Enemies of Allah.”[17]

Historical views

  • Imam Abu Dawood, who was a collector of prophetic hadith stated:

    "The lectures of Ahmad were sittings of the Hereafter. He would not mention in them anything of the worldly affairs; and I never saw him mention this world."

  • The Hanafi scholar Yahya ibn Ma'in stated:

    “I have not seen the like of Ahmad, we have accompanied him for fifty years, and he never boasted about anything from the good which he was characterized with.”[8]

  • When Abdul-Qadir Gilani was asked whether there existed a person who was a wali of Allah who was upon a creed other than the creed of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Gilani answered:

    "That has not occurred and will never occur.”[8]

See also

References

Arabic Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ a b c d A Literary History of Persia from the Earliest Times Until Firdawsh by Edward Granville Browne – Page 295
  2. ^ a b "مناهج أئمة الجرح والتعديل". Ibnamin.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  3. ^ a b Roy Jackson, "Fifty key figures in Islam", Taylor & Francis, 2006. p 44: "Abu Abdallah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ibn Hilal al-Shaybani was born in Baghdad in Iraq in 780"
  4. ^ The History of Persia by John Malcolm – Page 245
  5. ^ Explanation of the Creed, pg. 8
  6. ^ "CLASSICAL BOOKS \ Hadeeth \ Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (al-Jaami' as-Saheeh)". Fatwa-online.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  7. ^ Al-Bastawī, ʻAbd al-ʻAlīm ʻAbd al-ʻAẓīm (1990). Al-Imām al-Jūzajānī wa-manhajuhu fi al-jarḥ wa-al-taʻdīl. Maktabat Dār al-Ṭaḥāwī. p. 9.
  8. ^ a b c d Foundations of the Sunnah, by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, pg 51-173
  9. ^ a b c d http://www.islamicboard.com/islamic-history-biographies/34070-imaam-ahmad-ibn-hanbal.html
  10. ^ "Aḥmad B. Ḥanbal". Encylopaedia of Islam. A-B. Vol. 1 (New ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. 1986. p. 272. ISBN 90-04-08114-3. Aḥmad B. Ḥanbal was an Arab, belonging to the Banū Shaybān, of Rabī'a,... {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c The Creed of the Four Imaams, Section 7, by Muhammad Ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan al-Khumayyis
  12. ^ http://www.islamawareness.net/Madhab/Hanbali/ahmad_ibn_hanbal.html
  13. ^ al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ 9:434-547 #1876 and Tadhkira al-Huffaz 2:431 #438
  14. ^ a b http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62851
  15. ^ a b http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/236905
  16. ^ http://www.islamlife.com/religion2/component/content/article/69-later-scholars/567-biography-of-ibn-qayyim-al-jawaziyyah
  17. ^ Tabaqaat al-Hanaabilah (1/184)

Further reading

  • Ibn al-Jawzi, Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad
  • Nadwi, S. A. H. A., Saviors of Islamic Spirit (Vol. 1), translated by Mohiuddin Ahmad, Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, Lucknow, 1971.
  • Melchert, Christopher, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Makers of the Muslim World), Oneworld, 2006.

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