النص المفهرس

· His gatherings were dominated by gravity, tranquillity, humility and calm.
There were no jokes or jesting, because jocularity on the whole is unfruitful
and because jests tend to be the chattering of the mind. His companions were
aware of his attitude and they never joked in his presence in a gathering of
knowledge or elsewhere. His shaykhs knew of that and they too did not jest
in his presence. Ibn Nu'aym related that Khalaf ibn Salim said, "We were in
the gathering of Yazid ibn Harun and Yazid joked with those to whom he
was dictating. Ahmad ibn Hanbal cleared his throat. He struck his brow with
his hand and asked, "Why didn't you tell me Ahmad was here! I would not
have joked."
· The second characteristic is that he did not give lessons unless asked. He
would be asked for the hadiths on a certain subject and then call for the books
written on those h a d i t h s. He would first discuss what had been asked
about, and if it was a h a d i t h of the Prophet he would only relate it from a
book out of the desire to have accurate transmission and as little suspicion of
error as possible. So rarely did he not consult a book that they could count the
times he transmitted without it.
Ibn al-Jawzi reported that Abu Hatim ar-Razi said, "I went to Ahmad ibn
Hanbal for the first time when I met him in 213. He brought with him the
Book of Drinks and the Book of Faith to the prayer. He prayed and no one
asked him about anything, so he returned to his house. I went to him another
day and he brought out two books. I thought that he expected Allah to reward
him or that he had brought them because the Book of Faith is the basis of the
deen and the Book of Drinks keeps people from evil: the root of every evil
comes from intoxication."
So we see that Ahmad took books with him to the mosque in case people
should ask about the h a d i t h s in them. It also shows that he transmitted
from the text. His son 'Abdullah said, "I only saw my father relate h a d i t h s
from his memory without a book less than a hundred times."
. The third characteristic of the lessons of Ahmad ibn Hanbal was that there
were two categories of subject matter. One was the transmission of hadiths.
This was dictated to his students from a book, as we said. The second was the
legal fat w a s which he had to deduce. He did not allow his students to
record them nor did he give them leave to transmit them from him, since he

would not permit anything to be recorded apart from the hadiths of the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He
considered the knowledge of the deen to consist of knowledge of the Book
and the Sunna and that it was an innovation to record people's opinions
alongside the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Messenger. The most
detestable thing in his view was to see a book in which his fat were recorded.
He detested his adherents transmitting his fatwas and attributing them to him.
He heard that one of his students had related fatwas from him and
disseminated them in Khurasan. He said, "Bear witness that I retract all of
them." A Khurasani man brought him books, and when he looked in the
books and found his views and words he was so angry that he threw the book
to the ground. That applied not only to his own opinions but also to those of
others. A man asked him whether he wrote books of opinion and he said,
"No." The man said, "Ibn al-Mubarak writes them." Ahmad said, "Ibn al-
Mubarak did not descend from heaven. We are commanded to take
knowledge from above." He forbade hadith scholars to write the books of
ashShafi'i and Abu Thawr even though ash-Shafi'i was his shaykh and he
had a high regard for him.
Before moving on, we should mention Ahmad's lifestyle during the time that
he was seeking h a di th s and fi q h and while he was teaching. He led a
pure Salafi life, in which he kept himself above the intellectual controversies
of the time as well as its political, social and military quarrels. He chose to
confine himself to the ambience of the Companions, the elite Ta bi ' un and
those after them, and to follow their path. So his knowledge and fiqh were the
Sunna and its figh. He did not investigate anything unless he knew that the
Companions had investigated it and even then he followed their opinion and
rejected that of others. If he did not know that the Companions had delved
into it, he refused to do so. He protected himself by exercising extreme
caution. Why did he follow that course? For the answer to this question we
must touch on his times to shed some light on the environment in which he
lived.
Ahmad's time was one in which Persian elements dominated the Arab
elements and Persian civilisation was in ascendance in general in Muslim
society. The Muslim cities were awash with differing nations and races, and
philosophical treatises were being translated from Syriac, Greek and other

languages so that cultures were mixed together. The nature of the time was
that there were many conflicts as different religions clashed with one another
and deviant views appeared. There was a great deal of intellectual deviation
so that the odd was frequent and the strange familiar.
These things appeared in the Abbasid era from the time that matters were
settled by Persian swords. Al-Mansur's reign had been energetic but not firm
and when al-Mahdi succeeded, there were armed insurrections but he was
able to curb them. Ar-Rashid wanted to suppress these conflicts and move to
an Islamic society. He brought f u q a h a ' and h a d i t h scholars close to
him and gave them a prominent position in his government. Then when
alMa'mun came to power, his supremacy over his brother al-Amin could
only be consolidated by means of Persian arms and so the non-Arab elements
became strong again. Philosophy and new sciences found a great proponent
in al-Ma'mun.
Villains and corrupters multiplied and there were many concealed saboteurs
in Islamic society as well as many strange views. Scholars took divergent
paths. Some followed the path of opposition and conflict, but Ahmad chose
to be far from disputes although he was in their milieu. He turned to the spirit
of the righteous Salaf so that some of his contemporaries described him as a
great Follower outside his proper time.
Ahmad cut himself off from those who delved into anything other than what
was transmitted from the Salaf and did not allow himself to waste time in
responding to such people. Such was his way until his death. A man wrote to
him to ask about debating with the people of k a l a m and Ahmad wrote back
to him, "May Allah make your end good. What we have heard is that our
forebears used to dislike k a l a m and sitting with members of deviant sects.
What is required of us is submission and stopping with what is in the Book of
Allah and not going beyond that. People dislike any innovator who writes a
book, and sitting with such people to reply to them may confuse us about our
deen."
Ahmad forbade people to study kalam, the science which discusses dogma
using philosophical means. He criticised those who involved themselves in
kalam, even if they were correct, and forbade detailed investigation of the
Names and Attributes of Allah. That was because it was not something which

the Salaf had done. It might be correct or might lead to misguidance because
the mind may become confused about such matters.
The Inquisition (Mihna): its causes and stages
The cause of the Inquisition, which was to play such a painful part in the life
of Imam Ahmad, was that al-Ma'mun called on the f u q a h a ' and ha dith
scholars to adopt the Mu'tazili position and declare that the Qur'an was
created. They were to state that the Qur'an was created and originated within
time, as the Mu'tazilites said. Al-Ma'mun chose the Mu'tazilite view and
supported its adherents. People disagree about Ahmad's position on this
question and we will deal with it in detail when we examine his opinions; but
scholars confirm that Ahmad did not agree with alMa'mun's opinion and
refused to make that statement and endured severe persecution on that
account. The Inquisition began in the time of al-Ma'mun but continued
through the reign of al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq on al-Ma'mun's instructions.
Al-Ma'mun wanted to compel Ahmad to state that the Qur'an was created.
The first to make this statement was al-Ja'd ibn Dirham in Umayyad times.
Khalid ibn 'Abdullah al-Qasri executed him on the 'Id al-Adha in Kufa. He
was brought in chains and Khalid said to the people, "Go and make your
sacrifices. They will be accepted, Allah willing. I want to slaughter al-Ja'd
ibn Dirham. He claims that Allah did not speak directly to Musa and that
Allah did not take Ibrahim as a Friend. Exalted is Allah above what He says!"
Something similar is also said about al-Jahm ibn Safwan who denied that
Allah had speech and stated that the Qur'an was created and not timeless.
Then the Mu'tazilites came on the scene and denied the reality of Allah's
Attributes. They denied that Allah Almighty speaks, saying that what is
related in the Qur'an about Allah speaking to Musa does not mean direct
speech but rather that the words were created in the Bush before Musa heard
them. They do not accept that Allah can be described as speaking but hold
that He creates all speech as He creates everything else. In the same way they
believe that the Qur'an is created. The Mu'tazilites went very deeply into the
concept of the createdness of the Qur'an in Abbasid times. A few fu q aha '
joined them in that, such as Bishr al-Marisi whom Abu Yusuf expelled from
his assembly when he refused to retract.

Their efforts began to intensify in the reign of ar-Rashid and they began to
call people to their position. Ar-Rashid was not so bold as to delve into
theological details and argue about them in philosophical terms, so the
Mu'tazilites were not endorsed by him and it is even related that he jailed a
group of them. But when alMa'mun came to power his entourage and the
men closest to him were Mu'tazilites; he honoured them to such an extent
that it is reported that when Abu Hisham al-Qawti, one of the Mu'tazilite
leaders, came to him, he rose to honour him - something which he did not do
for anyone else. The reason for this inclination was that al-Ma'mun had been
a student of Abu'l-Hudhayl al-'Allaf who was a leader of the Mu'tazilites.
When al-Ma'mun convened gatherings for the purpose of debating about
religious positions, the Mu'tazilites proved to be the most proficient in that
arena against their opponents owing to their extensive study of philosophy.
That had such a great influence on al-Ma'mun that he chose some of them as
his companions and officials, especially Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad. When the
Mu'tazilites became aware of this preference, they started to propagate
openly their view that the Qur'an was created. Al-Ma'mun agreed with it and
proclaimed it in 212 AH as his own position, having examined the evidence
and proofs presented for it. However, he left people free in respect of their
beliefs and did not impose it on those who did not believe it or, indeed, had
not even considered the matter.
But in 218 AH, the year he died, al-Ma'mun decided to use the power of the
authorities to force people to embrace the createdness of the Qur'an. While
he was in Raqqa, he sent letters to Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, his viceroy in Baghdad,
ordering him to question the f u q a h a' and h a d i t h scholars and compel
them to say that the Qur'an was created. It appears that he began to force
those in positions of authority, and all who were connected to the
government, to accept the Mu'tazili position by any means, even witnesses in
the courts. The first letter he sent to Baghdad ends as follows:
Assemble the qadis and read to them the letter of the Amir al-Mu'minin.
Begin by examining what they say and investigate their beliefs regarding the
creation and origination of the Qur'an. Inform them that with respect to
governmental posts the Amir al-Mu'minin will not seek the help of or rely on
or entrust his flock to anyone whose deen is not secure and whose tawhid and
certainty is not pure. If they affirm that and concur with the Amir alMu'minin

and follow the path of guidance and salvation, then command them to
provide a list of witnesses and to ask them about their view regarding the
Qur'an. Refuse the testimony of those who do not affirm that it is created and
forbid them from being registered. Write to the Amir al-Mu'minin listing the
qadis in your district who come to you regarding this question. Order them to
do the same, and then oversee them so that the judgements of Allah are only
carried out by the testimony of those with insight into the deen and sincerity
in tawhid." (at-Tabari)
We can see from this that at first the only punishment was removal from
government positions and the non-acceptance of testimony. The khalif's
governor, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, carried out these instructions in respect of the
qadis; he then summoned the hadith scholars and all of those who gave
fatwas and questioned them and sent their answers to al-Ma'mun. Al-
Ma'mun then sent his governor a second, much harsher, letter stating his
opinion of the foolishness of the answers, outlining the penalties for those
who did not accept his position and ordering him to send to him in chains
those who refused. He said, "Mention those whom you have named who have
denied idolatry (shirk) or refused to answer and did not state that the Qur'an
was created. Send them all, under guard and in chains, to the army of the
Amir al-Mu'minin. If they do not retract and repent, he will compel them all
at sword-point, Allah willing."
Ishaq hastened to fulfil his instructions and summoned the hadith scholars,
fuqaha' and muftis, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, threatening them with dire
punishment if they did not affirm what was asked of them and take the
position that al-Ma'mun demanded of them. All but four did so. The hearts of
those four remained firm, content with the decree of Allah, preferring the
everlasting to the ephemeral. They were Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muhammad ibn
Nuh, al-Qawariri and Sajjada. They were chained and fettered and spent the
night in chains. In the morning, Sajjada submitted and they let him go but the
rest remained.
The following day, they were questioned again and al-Qawariri faltered and
told them what they wanted and they let him go, so that now only two
remained. They were taken in chains to alMa'mun in Tartus. Ibn Nuh was
martyred on the way. Those who had done what was wanted of them went
unfettered to al-Ma'mun and were well-treated. On the way, news of the

death of alMa'mun arrived, but he had ordered his brother al-Mu'tasim to
hold to his position about the Qur'an and to compel all people to accept it by
force. He felt he had to do so. The Inquisition reached its apex in the reign of
al-Mu'tasim and that of al-Wathiq. Let us look briefly at the letters sent by al-
Ma'mun to investigate their tone.
The first letter of al-Ma'mun
"The right due to Allah from the Imams and Khalifs of the Muslims is to
strive to establish the d e e n of Allah, which they must preserve, and to
safeguard the legacy of the Prophet, which they have inherited. They must
prefer the knowledge which he entrusted to them, act by the Truth in respect
of their subjects, and obey Allah regarding them. Allah requires the Amir al-
Mu'minin to resolve on guidance and to be just in respect of what Allah has
entrusted to him by His mercy and grace.
"The Amir al-Mu'minin knows that the common people do not investigate or
deduce by the evidence and guidance of Allah or seek illumination by the
light of Allah and its proof in all areas. They are ignorant and blind to the
reality of His deen and tawhid ... They are unable to value Allah as He
should be valued; to recognise Him as He should be recognised, or to
distinguish between Him and His creation, because of their deficient
intelligence and inability to think logically. That is why they set forth an
equivalence between Allah and the Qur'an He has revealed, maintaining that
it is outside time, not created and originated by Allah.
"Allah Almighty says in His Book, which He has made a healing for the
breasts and a mercy and guidance for the believers, "We made it an Arabic
Qur'an." (43:3) 'Made' means created. He says, "Praise belongs to Allah
who created the heavens and the earth and appointed darkness and light."
(6:1) He says, "Thus do We give you news of what has gone before." (20:99)
So He reports the stories of things after they have happened. He says, "Alif
Lam Ra. A Book whose verses are perfectly constructed, and then d e m a
rcated, coming directly from One who is All-Wise, AllAw a re." ( 11:1)
Every 'constructed' and 'demarcated' thing must be created and originated.
"Then people presented a false argument, called people to their position and

claimed to be the upholders of the S u n n a while in every part of the Book of
Allah are stories whose very words invalidate their position and refute their
claim and position and their creed ... "
The rest of the letter, as already mentioned, orders to examine the position of
the qadis and witnesses and to inform the Khalif of their positions. The letter
is dated Rabi' al-Awwal, 218 AH.
The second letter
In the previous letter al-Ma'mun was writing to Ishaq ibn Ibrahim about
seven particular individuals, including Muhammad ibn Sa'd al-Waqidi and
others, instructing him to examine them and question them about the
createdness of the Qur'an. They all agreed that the Qur'an was created and so
he sent them to Madinat as-Salam (i.e. Baghdad) and Ishaq ibn Ibrahim
brought them to his house. They were famous among the f u q a h a ' and
shaykhs of hadith. They confirmed their previous reply and so were released
by Ishaq at the command of al-Ma'mun. Then al-Ma'mun wrote to Ishaq ibn
Ibrahim a second time:
"One of the rights due to Allah from His khalifs on the earth, and those
entrusted with authority over His slaves, whom He has been pleased to
appoint to establish His deen, preserve His creation, carry out His judgements
and sun n a s, and to lead with justice, is that they themselves should strive
for the sake of Allah to be faithful to Him in what they preserve and guide to
Him with the best knowledge with which He has entrusted them and the
recognition which He has placed in them ... "
(Then after citing people's views regarding the createdness of the Qur'an and
citing the reasons for his own position, he goes on:)
"Read to Ja'far ibn 'Isa and 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Ishaq, the Qadi, the letter of
the Amir al-Mu'minin which I have written to you and examine their
knowledge concerning the Qur'an. Inform them that the Amir al-Mu'minin w
i l l not seek help in the affairs of the Muslims from any except those whose
sincerity and tawhid he trusts, and that no one has true tawhid except those
who affirm that the Qur'an is created. If they take the position of the Amir

alMu'minin, then have them test those who attend their gatherings to bear
witness and ascertain their position about the Qur'an. Whoever does not say
that it is created, his testimony is invalid and judgement may not be given on
the strength of it. Do the same with all those you appoint to be q a d i s.
Investigate them so that Allah may increase your insight. Write to the Amir
al-Mu'minin about what transpires."
These are the two official letters which began the Inquisition. Ishaq began to
examine people receiving after the first letter and completed his examination
after the second. He transcribed the replies he received and then informed al-
Ma'mun or, more precisely, Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad. He summoned a group of
the fuqaha', judges and hadith scholars, including Bishr ibn al-Walid,
Sajjada, al-Qawariri, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Qutayba, Sa'dawayh al-Wa siti,
'Ali ibn Abi Muqatil and others. He began by reading out alMa'mun's letter
twice so that they understood and then he began to ask questions.
He said to Bishr ibn al-Walid, "What do you say about the Qur'an?"
"You know my earlier statement to the Amir al-Mu'minin."
"Reiterate for the Amir al-Mu'minin what you think."
"I say that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah."
"I am not asking about that. Is it created?"
"Allah creates everything," responded Bishr.
"Is the Qur'an a thing?" asked Ishaq.
"It is a thing," he replied.
"Then it is created."
"It is not a creator," replied Bishr.
"I am not asking you about that. Is it created?"
"Nothing good can be said on the subject beyond what I have said to you. I
made a contract with the Amir al-Mu'minin that I would not speak about it. I
have nothing further to add to what I have told you."
Ishaq took the paper before him and read it to him. Then Bishr said, "I testify
that there is no god but Allah, alone, unique. There was nothing before Him
and there is nothing after Him. He does not resemble any of His creation in
any way."
The governor told the scribe, "Record what he said." Then he said to 'Ali ibn
Abi Muqatil, "What do you say, 'Ali?"
"You have heard my reply to the Amir al-Mu'minin more than once. I have
nothing to add to what he heard from me."

He read what was in the document and then Ishaq asked him, "Is the Qur'an
created?"
"The Qur'an is the Word of Allah," answered 'Ali.
"I am not asking about that," responded Ishaq.
"It is the Word of Allah and the Amir al-Mu'minin has commanded
something and we obey."
He told the scribe, "Record what he said."
He had a similar exchange with adh-Dhayyal. Then he asked Abu Hasan az-
Ziyadi, "What do you say?"
"Ask what you like," said Abu Hasan.
Ishaq read him the document. Abu Hasan agreed with its contents and then
said, "Whoever does not say this is an unbeliever," adding, "The Qur'an is
the Word of Allah and Allah created everything and what is other than Allah
is created. The Amir alMu'minin ... We obey his command."
Then Ishaq turned to Ahmad ibn Hanbal and asked, "What do you say about
the Qur'an?"
"It is the Word of Allah."
"Is it created?"
"It is the Word of Allah. I add nothing to that."
He read to him what was in the letter and when he came to the words "He
does not resemble any of His creation in any way, " Ahmad said, "I say, ' T h
e re is nothing like Him and He is the Hearing, the Seeing."
Ibn al-Bakka' turned to him and said, "May Allah put you right. He means
hearing with an ear, seeing with an eye."
"What is the meaning of "Hearing, Seeing'?" Ishaq asked Ahmad.
"He is as He describes Himself," replied Ahmad.
"What does it mean?" He repeated.
"I do not know. He is as He describes Himself."
Then he called all of them man by man and took down their replies which he
sent to al-Ma'mun. Nine days later, after the letter of al-Ma'mun in reply to
that of Ishaq had arrived, he summoned them again.
The third letter
The Amir al-Mu'minin, replying to Ishaq's letter, said that he had reflected
on the replies of those named in the letter. He declared that Bishr al-Walid,
who had denied the resemblance of anything with Allah and said that what

kept him from saying that the Qur'an was created was that he had a contract
with him, lied and disbelieved. There had been no conversation with him on
the subject and no agreement: Bishr must actually state that the Qur'an is
created. Al-Ma'mun said about Ibn Hanbal, "As for Ahmad ibn Hanbal and
what you wrote about him, inform him that the Amir al-Mu'minin knows the
import of those words and his method in them and they are evidence of his
ignorance."
So much for the letters. Before moving on to the persecution and humiliation
involved in the Inquisition and the transportation of scholars in abasement
and chains and iron fetters so that one died a martyr on the road owing to the
weakness of his body, we should see what moved al-Ma'mun to undertake
that course of action which lifted Ahmad ibn Hanbal to the ranks of the
heroes so that it has been said, "If he had been one of the tribe of Israel, he
would have been a Prophet." We find that the reason for alMa'mun's action
is quite evident; history records it and these letters and style of writing clearly
indicate the perpetrator.
Al-Ma'mun appointed Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad al-Mu'tazili as his minister and
made him his scribe and agent in his government. He thought well of him and
so ordered his brother, who succeeded him, to maintain him in his position.
The letters which were written are clearly in the language of Ibn Abi Du'ad.
No khalif would have written at such length and in such detail. Furthermore
the expression is almost always in the third person, only occasionally slipping
into the first person. It descends to attacking the fatwas of an individual and
accuses another of allowing usury. Al-Ma'mun would never have sunk to that
level. So we can only suppose that these letters were written while al-
Ma'mun was ill in bed. If he had been strong and healthy, he would not have
allowed a letter to be sent in his name which contains attacks on specific
individuals and descends to trivialities.
We know that al-Ma'mun believed in the createdness of the Qur'an from the
time he came to power and even before that. He used to argue about it and
invite people to debate with him about it without ever investigating their
hearts, examining their intellects, or imposing any punishment. Why should
he suddenly change at the very end of his life? Why should he suddenly make
the issue a matter of violent persecution? There is no doubt that Ahmad ibn
Abi Du'ad wrote these letters and instigated the Inquisition, taking advantage

of al-Ma'mun's weakness to do so.
If that were not the case, why did al-Ma'mun not summon these scholars for
examination while he was in Baghdad and they were all there around him?
Why did he wait until he was absent from Baghdad to send these letters when
he was on the point of death? There is no doubt that it was Ahmad ibn Abi
Du'ad, using the authority of al-Ma'mun's name, who was responsible for
this.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of such a course of action, al-Ma'mun
died as Ahmad was being brought to him in chains, but his death did not stop
the Inquisition. Indeed, it began to move into a harsher and more wide-
ranging phase. The reason is that it was claimed that al-Ma'mun left two
instructions to his brother alMu'tasim on the subject: one was to continue to
question people about the createdness of the Qur'an, and the second was to
keep Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad in power. It was his idea that people should be
forced by using the power of the state to adopt the Mu'tazili position and that
punishment and imprisonment should be employed to that end.
Al-Mu'tasim was not a man of knowledge. He was a man of the sword,
which he never put down. He left the business of the createdness of the
Qur'an to Ibn Abi Du'ad to carry out. When alMa'mun died, Ibn Hanbal was
returned to prison in Baghdad until his case could be presented. Then he was
sent to al-Mu'tasim and subjected to threat and promise. When neither
enticement nor menace worked, they carried out the threat and began to flog
him time after time. Each time it continued until he lost consciousness and
was insensible to the prick of a sword. The torment was repeated throughout
Imam Ahmad's imprisonment, over a period of about twenty-eight months.
When they despaired of him they began to show some compassion and
released him, sending him home exhausted from wounds, continual flogging,
and imprisonment in dark dungeons.
Ahmad remained in his house after he returned to it, too weak to move.
Helped by his fear of Allah, he defeated others even though they were strong.
He remained unable to teach, perhaps owing to weakness resulting from his
injuries, but was able to go to the mosque. When Allah restored his health
and his body recovered, even though he was left with chronic effects and
pains in some parts, he continued to relate hadiths and teach in the mosque

until al-Mu'tasim died. When al-Wathiq came to power, he renewed the
Inquisition on Ahmad; but he did not flog him as alMu'tasim had done,
because he saw that that would increase Ahmad's reputation in the eyes of
the people and anger the masses. He forbade him to mix with people. Al-
Wathiq told him, "Do not meet with anyone and do not live in any city where
I am." So Imam Ahmad remained in hiding and did not go to the prayer or
anywhere else until al-Wathiq died.
The Inquisition was not confined to Ahmad, although he was the most
famous for his steadfastness under it. Others endured it as fugaha' were
brought from all cities to Baghdad to be examined about their faith; amongst
them was al-Buwayti, ash-Shafi'i's student, who died in chains.
Imam Ahmad's livelihood and environment
We have mentioned Imam Ahmad's scholarly life and that he sought
knowledge and hadiths in all parts of the Muslim world and became an Imam
to be followed. We have mentioned the hardships to which he was exposed in
his life. We have not as yet examined the sources of Ahmad's income and
whether it was ample or merely adequate. Did he accept the gifts of the
khalifs, as Malik, Abu Yusuf, and ash-Shaybani had done; or did he abstain
like Abu Hanifa; or was he in the middle like ash-Shafi'i? These questions
should be examined and we will briefly do that. We will mention his situation
and income and then his relations with the khalifs before and after the
Inquisition.
Ahmad was poor and his means were very limited. He preferred poverty to
wealth unless he could be certain that it was completely lawful and that it
would not incur obligation. He was often compelled to work with his hands
to earn or to hire himself out to work when he had no money. He preferred
that to accepting gifts in spite of his hardship. He lived off the income of an
estate which he inherited from his father. According to Ibn al-Jawzi, "Ahmad
inherited a weaving shop from his father and used to take the income from
that place which he rented out to people." It also appears that he had other
shops which he let out.
We read in Hilya al-Aw liy a ': "Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal

dropped some scissors into a well and the resident came and got them out for
him. When he got them out, Abu 'Abdullah gave him half a dirham. The man
said, "The scissors are worth a q i r a t. I will not take anything." He then left.
After some days Ahmad asked him, "How much do you owe for the shop
rent?" He replied, "The rent for three months," and its rent was three dirhams
a month. So he put it on his account and told him, 'You owe nothing."
This indicates that Ahmad did not bear a grudge and that he repaid acts of
kindness many times over. He had shops and income from them, but they did
not did provide him with an income adequate for his needs. There are
conflicting reports about its size. Ibn Kathir said, "The income from his
property was seventeen dirhams a month, which he spent on his family and
remained steadfast and patient." This is a small estate indeed and would
certainly not have been enough to support him. If anyone asked him for
something he gave it. Ibn al-Jawzi says, "A man asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal
about the estate which was the source of his income and the house in which
he lived. He said, 'This is something I inherited from my father. If a man
came to me and proved it was his, I would leave it and give it to him.""
He would not accept a gift or help from anyone. Sometimes he was in very
straitened circumstances because his income was not enough for his family's
expenses, and he experienced great hardship. But he was patient and endured
that as he had on his journeys when his provisions ran out. He refused gifts,
considering that being beholden to people was worse than hardship. He had
three ways of supplementing his income and making sure that his family's
needs were met.
The first means was collecting the gleanings of the crops after harvest, which
it is permitted. That great scholar carried his tools on his shoulder and went
and gathered the gleanings left on the ground. He was careful not to go onto
anyone's land without first asking permission and not to ruin anyone's crops.
It is reported that he said, "I went to the outlying fields on foot and collected
gleanings. I saw some people ruining people's crops. No one should enter a
person's field without their permission." (Ibn alJawzi, al-Manaqib, p. 224)
The second way he used was to hire himself out, for instance as a porter on
the road, when he could not find other income except wages. He also used to
act as a scribe for a wage if he needed money. Adh-Dhahabi says in his

History: "Ali ibn al-Jahm said, "We had a neighbour who sent a book to us.
He asked, 'Do you recognise this handwriting?' We replied, 'It is that of
Ahmad ibn Hanbal. How did he come to write this for you?' He replied, 'We
were staying in Makka with Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna and we missed Ahmad for
some days. So we went to ask after him and his door was shut. "What's up?"
I inquired. He replied, "My clothes have been stolen." I said, "I have some
dinars. If you wish, they are a gift. If you wish, a loan." He refused to accept
my offer so I said, "Then write something for me for a wage." He agreed, so I
paid him a dinar and he told me, "Buy me some cloth and cut it into two
pieces so I can use one as a waist-wrapper and the other as a cloak, then bring
me some paper. I did that and brought him paper and he wrote this for me."""
Adh-Dhahabi reported that Ishaq ibn Rahawayh said, "Ahmad and I were in
Yemen with 'Abdu'r-Razzaq. I was in the top room and he was below. Once
when I was going out to buy something I discovered that his funds were
exhausted and I offered him money, but he refused. I said, 'It can be a loan or
a gift.' He refused. He wove waistbands and then sold them."
The third way he solved the problem was by resorting to loans. It is clear that
he did not do that in all cases. He sometimes did it when his own income was
due and about to come and when he was certain that the lender did not intend
to turn his loan into a gift. Sometimes he took a loan and resolved to repay it
even when the lender did not want him to, for Ahmad would always insist on
repayment. He once borrowed 200 or 300 dirhams from a godfearing man,
knowing that his property was purely lawful. When he went to repay him the
man said, "Abu 'Abdullah, I did not give it intending to take it back from
you." He replied, "I took it only intending to repay it to you."
Ahmad's refusal of appointments and stipends from the
khalifs
You have seen how Ahmad refused to accept gifts and how scrupulous he
was about his deen. He only took good and lawful money about which there
was no doubt. In z a k a t he went to extremes in imposing it on himself,
choosing the most rigorous positions, so that he paid z a k a t on the estate
which provided his livelihood following the f a t w a of 'Umar at the
conquest of the Sawad1 of Iraq.

Such were Ahmad's abstinence and spending where the people of knowledge
and hadith were concerned; and he behaved in the same way where the
money of the khalifs was involved, it being wealth collected from the z a k a t
of the people. One of the duties imposed on them is to spend it for public
benefit, and there is no doubt that assisting scholars is one of the ways in
which it can lawfully be spent. Had he taken it, he would not have been
taking from the property of the khalifs but from the wealth of the
1. lit "the Black", the fertile agricultural area of southern Iraq. When it was conquered,
'Umar decided to levy the kharaj tax on it.
Community. But Ahmad shunned the khalifs and avoided them completely,
refusing to take money or appointments from them in any manner
whatsoever.
When ash-Shafi'i came to Baghdad for the second time and his school spread
there, Ahmad stayed in his assembly and did not leave it except to seek h a d
i th s on a journey or at home. AshShafi'i found out that Ahmad had gone to
Yemen to learn the hadiths of 'Abdu'r-Razzaq ibn Himam and was
experiencing great hardship because of his lack of money. He was asked to
choose a q a d i for Yemen and thought it would be a good idea to appoint
Ahmad so that he could listen to 'Abdu'r-Razzaq without hardship. The
position was offered to Ahmad but he refused. The offer was repeated and
Ahmad told his shaykh, ash-Shafi'i, for whom he had great esteem, "Abu
'Abdullah, if I hear this from you again you will not see me with you again."
He refused the generous offer because he wanted to be independent and to
have money that was free of any doubt. Besides, he believed that hardship
undergone for the sake of knowledge increased steadfastness.
What is very clear is when he had no funds he refused to have any recourse to
the money of the khalifs. The Imams fall into three groups in that regard. One
group firmly refused any money from rulers. Along with Ahmad, Abu Hanifa
and ath-Thawri were among them. Abu Hanifa knew that he was exposing
himself to punishment by his refusal because al-Mansur was testing him
through his offer, but he still refused.
The second group accepted stipends from the khalifs and used the money to
see to the needs of the poor among the people of knowledge, enabling them
to live in a manner befitting people of knowledge without extravagance. At

the head of this group are alHasan al-Basri and Malik. Malik did not refuse to
take from khalifs because it was the wealth of the Muslims and it was
acceptable that the people of knowledge who were teaching people their deen
and commanding them the correct and forbidding the wrong should share in
it. Their task was similar to that of the army in defending the frontiers of
Islam against the enemy so that they would not find a way to get at the
Community. What the army do outwardly the scholars do inwardly,
preventing misguidance and inroads being made into the hearts of the
Muslims. So Malik thought it proper to accept that help and to strive to
influence the ruler through admonition.
The third category is in the middle between the two. They agreed to work for
the khalifs and take stipends but to give them away as sadaqa. If there was an
allotted portion which was not a gift, they took it, as ash-Shafi'i did: he was
appointed to an official position by ar-Rashid and accepted payment.
There is no doubt that Ahmad chose the course of Abu Hanifa even though
his situation exposed him to more hardship because he was poor. He had to
work for a wage and copy out books for a fee, whereas Abu Hanifa was a
wealthy man and had more than adequate provision, which enabled him to
satisfy his own needs and those of the f u q a h a ' and h a d i t h scholars
connected to him. Ahmad refused to take anything at all from the khalifs.
AlMa'mun thought that money should be paid to all the shaykhs of hadith,
who could then dispense it to those who were needy. All took it except
Ahmad.
When the Inquisition was over and there was peace and tranquillity in the
reign of al-Mutawakkil, Ahmad underwent another test which is hard on the
self, when al-Mutawakkil offered him lot of money and wealth and wanted to
honour him. Ahmad sternly refused and did not take it or give it as sadaqa; he
would not have anything whatever to do with it.
Chapter Two the Erudition of Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad 's great learning was well-known and people spoke about it while
he was still alive. In fact his knowledge of hadiths and tradition was already
celebrated while he was still young and studying with his shaykhs, so that

Ahmad ibn Sa'id ar-Razi said about him when he was young, "I have never
seen anyone with black hair who had memorised more hadiths of the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or had more
knowledge of f i q h than Ahmad ibn Hanbal." His shaykh ashShafi'i told
him, "You have better knowledge of sound reports than we do. If it is a sound
report, inform me so that I can take it, be it Kufan, Egyptian or Syrian."
Al-Muzani reported that ash-Shafi'i observed, "Three of the wonders of the
time are Abu Thawr, an Arab who cannot decline a single word; al-Hasan az-
Za'farani, a Persian who does not err in a single word; and Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, a young person who is such that whenever he says anything, old
people accept what he says." Harmala ibn Yahya, the student of ash-Shafi'i,
reported that he said, "When I left Baghdad I did not leave behind anyone
more scrupulous or godfearing, or with more fi qh , than Ahmad ibn
Hanbal." Given what ash-Shafi'i, the great scholar, said about Ahmad as a
young man, there can be no doubt that as he grew older, with his constant
search for figh and hadiths, his knowledge and intellect increased and his
name and fame spread, especially after he endured affliction with
steadfastness.
Many of his contemporaries mentioned his knowledge. 'Ali ibn al-Madini
said, "There is no one among us who has a greater memory than Abu
'Abdullah ibn Hanbal." He said, "I have known Abu 'Abdullah for fifty years
and he is still increasing in good." Al-Qasim ibn Sallam said, "Knowledge
has reached four men: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, 'Ali ibn al-Madini, Yahya ibn
Ma'in and Abu Bakr ibn Shayba. Ahmad has the most fiqh among them." He
said, "I have not seen a man with more knowledge of the Sunna than he has."
Yahya ibn Ma'in said, "By Allah we were not strong in the way Ahmad was
strong nor could we follow the path of Ahmad." 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Mahdi
said, "This is the man with the most knowledge of the hadiths of Sufyan ath-
Thawri." He said, "I have never looked at Ahmad ibn Hanbal without being
reminded of Sufyan ath-Thawri." Sufyan was an ascetic faqih.
That is a small selection of what has been transmitted about the knowledge of
this Imam showing the esteem he enjoyed among his contemporaries. Now
we want to look briefly at his intellectual development. There are four factors
which govern a person's development. The first are a person's qualities of
character, whether innate or acquired; the second are the teachers who

directed him and influenced him; the third is the actual life of the individual
and his personal studies; and the fourth is the time in which he lives. We will
examine these factors one by one.
Qualities of character
Imam Ahmad possessed outstanding qualities of character, and this is one of
the reasons for the fame he acquired. One of them was the extensive
knowledge for which he was known. Some of them were gifts from Allah, the
Exalted and All-Powerful, who gives to whoever of His creatures He wills.
Some were acquired. We will now discuss these characteristics and the effect
they had on the formation of his knowledge.
The first quality was a strong retentive memory, which is an essential
attribute in any hadith scholar and particularly the leaders among them - and
one that was shared by Malik and ash-Shafi'i, who were among the fuqaha'
who left a legacy of fiqh, investigation and deduction. A good memory is the
basis for any kind of knowledge and investigation, and scholars must have it
in order to retain what they learn. One aspect of intelligence is the ability to
memorise information and then access it once it is stored in the memory.
Ahmad was gifted with a prodigious memory and we know that because he
said so himself. He recalled, "Once I was discussing the hadiths of ath-
Thawri with Waki'. After he prayed 'Isha', he would walk home from the
mosque and I used to talk with him then. Sometimes he gave nine or ten
hadiths, and I would memorise them. When he entered, the students of h a d i
t h would say to me, 'Dictate to us,' so I dictated them to them and they
wrote." His contemporaries also noted his excellent memory. Abu Zur'a was
asked, "Who has the best memory among the shaykhs and hadith scholars?"
"Ahmad ibn Hanbal," he replied.
Imam Ahmad did not merely have a good memory. He transmitted what he
received and not only memorised the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah and
the fatwas of the Companions and fatwas of the Ta b i ' u n who were famous
for scrupulousness, fi q h a n d fatwa, but also understood what a
knowledgeable deducer would understand. He was remarkable among the
hadith scholars of the time in that respect. They confined themselves to

transmission without figh and understanding, as if they were leaving
deduction to the f u q a h a ' whose speciality it was. To quote Abu Hanifa's
comparison, they were like the chemists who had the medicines while the f u
qa ha ' were the doctors who knew how to use them. Ahmad, on the other
hand, was both pharmacist and doctor, being concerned with grasping the f i
q h contained in the Traditions as well as simply memorising them and
passing them on.
Ishaq ibn Rahawayh said, "In Iraq I used to sit with Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
Yahya ibn Ma'in and their companions. We would discuss a hadith by one,
two and three paths of transmission. I would ask, "What does it mean? What
is its explanation? What is its fi q h? " They would all pause, except Ahmad
ibn Hanbal. He had knowledge of hadith, Sunna, the fatwas of the
Companions and derivation of judgements from them, which made him an
imam in hadiths and an imam in figh."
Ibrahim al-Harbi said of him: "I have met three men whose like I have not
seen and never will see. I saw Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam. He was a
rope into which a spirit had been breathed. I saw Bishr ibn al-Harith. He was
like a man who was intelligence personified from head to toe. I saw Ahmad
ibn Hanbal and it was as if Allah had gathered in him the knowledge of the
first and the last: that is the memory of h a d i th s , the traditions of the Salaf
and a grasp of their fiqh."
The second quality, the foremost of Ahmad's qualities and the one for which
he is most renowned, was his steadfastness, endurance, and patience. They
form the sum of noble qualities and their basis is strength of will, true resolve
and far-reaching aspiration, no matter how weary the body becomes. Ahmad
possessed such a temperament and through it had nobility in spite of poverty,
chasteness, self-reserve, and an immense capacity to endure injury. This
enabled him to bear all the hardships he had to face in his quest of knowledge
and prevented him from being content with little knowledge, enabling him to
travel extensively and cross wastelands and deserts, on foot if necessary, to
gain it.
We should mention the quality of steadfastness, for which Ahmad was
famous, which is mentioned by Allah in Qur'an where the Prophet Ya'qub
says, "but steadfast patience, that is beautiful." (12:18) This sort of patience