أحمد بن حنبل

Imam Ahmad (RH)

Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Also known as: Ibn Hanbal, Imam Hanbali

164–241 AH · 780–855 CE

Fiqh Hanbali Hadith

Founder of the Hanbali school, master of hadith, and a model of steadfastness during the Mihna.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal spent his youth travelling in search of hadith, studying in Iraq, the Hijaz and Yemen, where he learned from 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani. In Baghdad he studied with al-Shafi'i, who held him in high regard.

During the Mihna, when the caliphs al-Ma'mun, al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq required scholars to affirm that the Quran was created, Ahmad refused. He was imprisoned and flogged. His steadfastness made him a symbol of Sunni orthodoxy. His al-Musnad gathers tens of thousands of narrations arranged by Companion, and his legal answers recorded by his students became the basis of the Hanbali school.

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Life journey

780 CE Baghdad بغداد
Died 855 CE · 241 AH
Travelled widely for hadith (Kufa, Basra, the Hijaz, Yemen, Syria) but Baghdad remained his home.

Teachers

Abu Yusuf (RH) 731–798 CE
Ahmad said the first person he wrote hadith from was Abu Yusuf.
'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani (RH) 744–827 CE
Ahmad travelled to Yemen to hear hadith from 'Abd al-Razzaq.
Imam al-Shafi'i (RH) 767–820 CE
Ahmad attended al-Shafi'i's lessons in Baghdad and esteemed him highly.

Students

Imam al-Bukhari (RH) 810–870 CE
Al-Bukhari met Ahmad in Baghdad and narrated from him.
Abu Dawud (RH) 817–889 CE
Abu Dawud was a close student of Ahmad and recorded his answers in Masa'il al-Imam Ahmad.
Imam Muslim (RH) c. 821–875 CE
Muslim heard hadith from Ahmad and narrates from him in his Sahih.

Key works

al-Musnad المسند
The Musnad
One of the largest hadith collections, arranged by the Companion who narrated each hadith.

Places in their life

Sources

al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
Ibn al-Jawzi, Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad
al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad

Draft, awaiting scholarly review.