Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Biography

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (780-855 CE) was the founder of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence and one of the greatest hadith scholars (muhaddithun) in Islamic history. Born in Baghdad, he was raised by his mother after his father died during his infancy. His devotion to knowledge led him on extensive travels to learn hadith from scholars in the Hijaz, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and other regions.

The Mihna (Inquisition)

Ahmad ibn Hanbal is most famously remembered for his steadfastness during the Mihna, the theological inquisition imposed by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun and continued by his successors. The caliphs demanded scholars affirm the Mu'tazili position that the Quran was a created entity rather than the eternal, uncreated word of Allah. Ahmad alone among the major scholars of Baghdad refused to comply, enduring imprisonment, flogging, and years of persecution rather than compromise his theological convictions. His courage earned him the title 'Imam of Ahl us-Sunnah.'

The Musnad

His Musnad is one of the largest hadith collections, containing approximately 28,000 hadiths. He reportedly memorized over one million hadiths with their chains of transmission. His son Salih and his student Abu Bakr al-Athram transmitted his legal opinions, which form the basis of the Hanbali school.

Legacy

Ahmad ibn Hanbal's insistence on adhering to the Quran and Sunnah over rational theology profoundly shaped Sunni orthodoxy. His methodology influenced all subsequent Sunni scholarship, and his personal courage during the Mihna established the principle that scholars must not compromise their convictions under political pressure. The Hanbali school he founded, though the smallest of the four in followers, has had outsized intellectual influence, particularly through later scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim.