View source for Ahmad ibn Hanbal

{{Short description|Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian (780–855)}}
{{Redirect|Imam Ahmed|the imam of Adal from 1527–1543|Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific_prefix   = [[Imam]]
| name               = Ahmad ibn Hanbal
| native_name        = أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل
| native_name_lang   = ar
| title              = [[Shaykh al-Islam]] ('Shaykh of Islam')
| birth_date         = November 780 CE (Rabi' al-Awwal 164 AH)<ref name=amin>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibnamin.com/Manhaj/scholars.htm|title=مناهج أئمة الجرح والتعديل|publisher=Ibnamin.com|access-date=2010-03-21|archive-date=2019-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107075834/http://www.ibnamin.com/Manhaj/scholars.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Baghdad]], Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day [[Iraq]])<ref name="jackson">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"</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>''The History of Persia'' by John Malcolm, p. 245</ref>
| death_date         = 2 August 855 CE (12 Rabi' al-Awwal 241 AH; aged 74–75)<ref name=amin/>
| death_place        = Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Iraq)<ref name=autogenerated2>''A Literary History of Persia from the Earliest Times Until Firdawsh'' by Edward Granville Browne. p. 295</ref>
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| children           = {{plainlist|
* Abd Allah
* Salih
}}
| era                = [[Islamic Golden Age]] (early [[Abbasid]])
| region             = Abbasid Caliphate
| denomination       = [[Sunni]]
| creed              = [[Athari]]<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7">H. Laoust, "Ahmad b. Hanbal," in ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', Vol. I, pp. 272–77</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Holtzman, Livnat, "Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three'', Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson.{{page?|date=October 2024}}</ref><ref name=ref1>{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Wesley|date=August 2002|title=Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=34|issue=3|pages=441–63|doi=10.1017/S0020743802003021|jstor=3879671|s2cid=162455371|quote="He chose to treat the anthropomorphic descriptions of God found in the scriptures as muhkamat, admitting to only the apparent meaning,.."|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107172824/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ref2>{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Wesley|date=August 2002|title=Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=34|issue=3|pages=441–463|doi=10.1017/S0020743802003021|jstor=3879671|s2cid=162455371|quote="Scholars are almost unanimous in attributing to Ibn Hanbal the use of the ancient balkafa formula. Goldziher, Wensinck, Halkin, Laoust, Makdisi, Abrahamov, and Watt all find in the Imam an advocate of this mediating principle (balkafa), which reportedly allowed the traditionalists to deny the Mu'tazilite ta'wil or figurative interpretation of the Qur'anic anthropomorphisms while concomitantly affirming the doctrine of the "incorporeal, transcendent deity"... although he argued for the acceptance of the apparent (dhahir) meaning of the Qur'anic and prophetic statements about God, he was no fideist.' The imam was quite willing to engage in hermeneutical exercise.. The rise of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal during the Mihna resulted in the empowering and centering of corporealist ideas within the Sunni movement. When his ideas became the criterion of traditionalist orthodoxy..."|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107172824/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Krawietz|last2=Tamer|first1=Birgit|first2=Georges|last3=Holtzman|first3=Livnatz|title=Islamic Theology, Philosophy and Law: Debating Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya|publisher=Walter De Gruyter|year=2013|isbn=978-3-11-028534-5|location=Berlin, Germany|page=63|chapter=Debating the Doctrine of jabr (Compulsion): Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya Reads Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī| quote= "The prominent traditionalists, such as Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī (d.157/774) and Ahmad b. Ḥanbal (d.241/855).." }}</ref>
| jurisprudence      = [[Mujtahid|Independent]] (eponym of the [[Hanbali school]])
| main_interests     = {{flatlist|
* [[Fiqh|Jurisprudence]]
* [[aqidah|theology]]
* [[hadith]]<ref name=autogenerated2/>
* [[asceticism#Islam|asceticism]]
}}
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* [[Ulama|Scholar]]
* [[faqīh|jurist]]
* [[theologian]]
* [[muhaddith|traditionist]]
}}
| notable_ideas      = Hanbali school
| works              = {{flatlist|
* ''Usul al-Sunna''
* ''al-Asami wa-l-Kuna''
* ''al-Ashriba''
* ''al-Zuhd''
* ''Fada'il al-Sahaba''
* ''[[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal|al-Musnad]]''
* ''Risala fi al-Salah li-Ahl al-Qibla''
}}
| module1            = {{infobox Arabic name|embed=yes
|ism=Aḥmad
|ism-ar=أَحْمَد
|nasab=Ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal ibn Hilāl ibn Asad ibn Idrīs ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥayyān
|nasab-ar=ٱبْن مُحَمَّد بْن حَنْبَل بْن هِلَال بْن أَسَد بْن إِدْرِيس بْن عَبْد ٱللَّٰه بْن حَيَّان
|kunya=Abū ʿAbd Allāh
|kunya-ar=أَبُو عَبْد ٱللَّٰه
|nisba=Al-Shaybānī al-Dhuhlī
|nisba-ar=ٱلشَّيْبَانيّ ٱلذُّهْلِيّ
}}
| influences         = {{flatlist|
* [[Sufyan ibn Uyaynah|Sufyan ibn Uyayna]]
* [[Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak]]
* [[Abd al-Razzaq al-Sana'ani]]
* [[Abu Thawr]]
* [[al-Shafi'i]]<ref name=autogenerated2/>
* [[Ishaq ibn Rahuyah]]
}}
| influenced         = {{flatlist|
*All Hanbalis
*[[Ibn Qudamah]]
*[[Ibn Taymiyyah]]
*[[Ibn al Qayyim]]
*[[Abu Bakr al-Khallal]]
*[[Ibn Khuzaymah]]
*[[Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari]]
*[[Abdul Qadir Gilani]]
*[[Ibn Rajab]]
*[[Ibn Battah al-Ukbari]]
*[[Ibn Manda]] 
*[[Ibn Muflih]]
*[[Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi]]
*[[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]]
*[[Diya' al-Din al-Maqdisi]]
*[[Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymin]]
}}
}}

'''Ahmad ibn Hanbal'''{{efn|Full name '''Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal ibn Hilāl ibn Asad ibn Idrīs ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥayyān al-Shaybānī al-Dhuhlī''' ({{langx|ar| أَبُو عَبْد ٱللَّٰه أَحْمَد بْن مُحَمَّد بْن حَنْبَل بْن هِلَال بْن أَسَد بْن إِدْرِيس بْن عَبْد ٱللَّٰه بْن حَيَّان ٱلشَّيْبَانيّ ٱلذُّهْلِيّ}}); he is known by the title '''Shaykh al-Islam'''.}} ({{langx|ar|أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل|translit=Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal}}; November 780 – 2 August 855) was a Muslim [[ulama|scholar]], [[faqīh|jurist]], [[theologian]], [[muhaddith|traditionist]], [[asceticism#Islam|ascetic]] and eponym of the [[Hanbali school]] of [[Islamic jurisprudence]]—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of [[Sunni]] Islam.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/>
The most highly influential and active scholar during his lifetime,<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> Ibn Hanbal went on to become "one of the most venerated" intellectual figures in Islamic history,<ref>Mohammed M. I. Ghaly, "Writings on Disability in Islam: The 16th Century Polemic on Ibn Fahd's "al-Nukat al-Ziraf"," ''The Arab Studies Journal'', Vol. 13/14, No. 2/1 (Fall 2005/Spring 2006), p. 26, note 98</ref> who has had a "profound influence affecting almost every area" of the [[Athari|traditionalist]] perspective within Sunni Islam.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> One of the foremost classical proponents of relying on scriptural sources as the basis for Sunni Islamic law and way of life, Ibn Hanbal compiled one of the most significant Sunni hadith collections, ''[[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal|al-Musnad]]'',<ref>1st ed., Cairo 1311; new edition by Aḥmad S̲h̲ākir in publ. since 1368/1948</ref> which has continued to exercise considerable influence on the field of [[hadith studies]] up to the present time.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/>

Having studied jurisprudence and hadith under many teachers during his youth,<ref>''Manāḳib'', pp. 33–36; ''Tard̲j̲ama'', pp. 13–24</ref> Ibn Hanbal became famous in his later life for the crucial role he played in the [[Mihna]] instituted by the [[Abbasid]] caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] toward the end of his reign, in which the ruler gave official state support to the [[Mu'tazili]] doctrine of the [[Quranic createdness|Quran being created]], a view that contradicted the orthodox position of the [[Quran]] being the eternal, uncreated word of God.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> Living in poverty throughout his lifetime working as a baker, and suffering physical persecution under the caliphs for his unflinching adherence to the traditional doctrine, Ibn Hanbal's fortitude in this particular event only bolstered his "resounding reputation"<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> in the annals of Sunni history.

Ibn Hanbal later came to be venerated as an exemplary figure in all traditional schools of Sunni thought,<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> both by the exoteric scholars and ascetic [[Sufis]], with the latter often designating him as a [[wali|saint]] in their hagiographies.<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356">Christopher Melchert, ''The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis, Arabica'', T. 48, Fasc. 3 (Brill, 2001), p. 356</ref> The 12th-century jurist and theologian [[Ibn al-Jawzi]] relates he "was the foremost in collecting the [[sunnah|prophetic way]] and adhering to it."<ref>{{cite book|last=Ibn al-Jawzi|first=Abd ar-Rahman|author-link=Ibn al-Jawzi|title=''Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad''|page=192}}</ref> He was further praised by the 14th-century historian and traditionist [[al-Dhahabi]], who referred to Ibn Hanbal as "the true shaykh of Islam and imam of the Muslims in his time; the traditionist and proof of the religion'."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 301">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 301</ref>

In the modern era, Ibn Hanbal's name has become controversial in certain quarters of the Islamic world, as the Hanbali reform movement known as [[Wahhabism]] has cited him as a principal influence along with the 13th-century Hanbali reformer [[Ibn Taymiyya]]. However, it has been argued by certain scholars that Ibn Hanbal's own beliefs actually played "no real part in the establishment of the central doctrines of Wahhabism,"<ref name="Michael Cook 1992 p. 198">Michael Cook, "On the Origins of Wahhābism," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Jul., 1992), p. 198</ref> as there is evidence, according to the same authors, "the older Hanbali authorities had doctrinal concerns very different from those of the Wahhabis,"<ref name="Michael Cook 1992 p. 198"/> due to medieval Hanbali literature being rich in references to saints, grave visitation, miracles, and relics.<ref>Christopher Melchert, ''The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis, Arabica'', T. 48, Fasc. 3 (Brill, 2001); cf. Ibn al-Jawzī, ''Manāqib al-imām Aḥmad, ed. ʿĀdil Nuwayhiḍ'', Beirut 1393/1973</ref> In this connection, scholars have cited Ibn Hanbal's own support for the use of relics as one of several important points on which the theologian's positions diverged from those adhering to Wahhabism.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 390">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 390</ref> Other scholars maintain he was "the distant progenitor of Wahhabism", who also immensely inspired the similar conservative reform movement of [[Salafism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bearman, Bianquis, Bosworth, van Donzel, Heinrichs|first=P. , Th. , C.E. , E. , W.P.|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/ahmad-b-hanbal-COM_0027|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam|edition=2nd|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004161214|editor-last=Laoust|editor-first=Henri|chapter=Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal|year=1960|quote=Founder of one of the four major Sunnī schools, the Ḥanbalī, he was, through his disciple Ibn Taymiyya [q.v.], the distant progenitor of Wahhābism, and has inspired also in a certain degree the conservative reform movement of the Salafiyya.|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105150206/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/ahmad-b-hanbal-COM_0027|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Biography==

=== His Birth ===
Ahmad ibn Hanbal was born in the month of [[Rabi' al-Awwal]] in the year 164 AH/ November 780 CE. This was mentioned by his son Abdullah. Abdullah reported: "I heard my father say: I was born in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 164 AH".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Muhammad Abu Zahra |title=Ibn Hanbal – his life and his era – his jurisprudential opinions |pages=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ibn al-Jawzi |title=The Virtues of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal |pages=12–13}}</ref> Ibn Hanbal's family was originally from [[Basra]], and belonged to the Arab [[Banu Dhuhl]] tribe. His father was an officer in the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] army in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and later settled with his family in [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| edition = New| publisher = Brill Academic Publishers| isbn = 90-04-08114-3| volume = 1| page = 272| editor = H. A. R. Gibb |display-editors=et al.| title = Aḥmad B. Ḥanbal| encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia of Islam| series = A–B| year = 1986| quote=Aḥmad B. Ḥanbal was an Arab, belonging to the Banū Shaybān, of Rabī'a,...}}</ref>

Historians differ about his place of birth. Some say he was said that he was born in [[Merv]], located in [[Mary, Turkmenistan]] today, where his father and grandfather had also previously worked. While according to others he was born in Baghdad after his mother came pregnant with him from the city of Merv, where his father was. The latter opinion is the most accepted one.<ref name=":1" /><ref>''The Virtues of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal by Ibn al-Jawzi,'' p. 14</ref>

=== His upbringing ===
Ibn Hanbal lost his father when he was a young child. His father died young at the age of thirty only. Then his mother raised him under the care of those who remained from his father's family. His father had left him a property in Baghdad in which he lived, and another which yielded him a small rental income sufficient for his living.<ref>Ibn Hanbal – his life and his era – his jurisprudential opinions by Abu Zahra, pp. 17–18</ref><ref>The Four Imams by Mustafa al-Shaka'a, Vol. 4, pp. 7–8.</ref> The reports are conflicting about whether it was large or small. [[Ibn Kathir]] mentioned its amount, saying: "His income from his property was seventeen [[dirham]]s each month, which he spent on his family, and he was content with that, seeking the mercy of Allah, patiently and seeking reward." It is also narrated that a man asked Imam Ahmad about the property he was using on which he made a house on. He replied: "This is something I inherited from my father. If a man comes to me and confirms that this is his, I will get rid of it and give it to him".<ref>Ibn Hanbal – his life and his era – his jurisprudential opinions by Abu Zahra, pp. 75–77</ref>

=== His Wives and Children ===
Ahmad ibn Hanbal did not marry until he reached the age of forty. It is said that this was because he was busy with knowledge, or because he traveled a lot and was away from his country for a long time. When he reached the age of forty and became closer to settling down than before, and he thought about marriage. [[Ibn al-Jawzi]] said about this: "He, may God be pleased with him, was very keen on knowledge. He traveled far in search of it, and spend a long time on obtaining it. He did not occupy himself with earning or marriage until he achieved what he wanted from it."<ref>The Virtues of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal by Ibn al-Jawzi, p. 72</ref>

His first wife was "Abbasah bintul Fadl", an [[Arabs|Arab]] girl from the suburbs of Baghdad, and she lived with Ahmad ibn Hanbal for thirty years(or twenty years according to some reports), and bore him their son "Salih", and hence her she was known by her title Ummu Salih([[Literal translation|lit]]: mother of Salih). Ibn Hanbal remarked about her: "In the 30 (or 20) years we were together, we never had a disagreement." After her demise, Ahmad married his second wife, "Ummu 'Abdillah Rayhana bintu 'Uma" known simply as "Rayhana", and she bore him one son, "Abdullah". She known for having only one eye, and Ibn Hanbal married her because he was impressed by her religious commitment. Reports suggest that they were together for seven years. He also had a [[concubine]] named "Husn", who bore him a female girl "Zainab", then twins, "Al-Hasan" and "Al-Hussein", who died after their birth. Then she bore "Al-Hasan" and "Muhammad", and then she bored him "Saeed". Among his sons, Salih and Abdullah excelled in [[jurisprudence]], while Saeed later became the judge of [[Kufa]].<ref name="hadithanswers">{{cite web |title=The wives of Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal (rahimahullah) |url=https://hadithanswers.com/the-wives-of-imam-ahmad-ibn-hambal-rahimahullah-2/ |access-date=January 15, 2024 |publisher=HadithAnswers.com}}</ref><ref>The Four Imams by Mustafa Al-Shakaa, Vol. 4, pp. 89–90</ref><ref>Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal by Ibn al-Jawzi, Chapter Sixty-Two: Mentions the Number of His Wives, pp. 402–05, Chapter Sixty-Three Mantions His Concubines, pp. 406–08, and Chapter Sixty-Four Mentions the Number of His Children, pp. 409–10.</ref>

===Education and work===
[[Image:Ibnhanbal.jpg|thumb|A manuscript of Ibn Hanbal's legal writings, produced October 879]]Ibn Hanbal studied extensively in Baghdad, and later traveled to further his education. He started learning jurisprudence under the celebrated judge of [[Hanafi]] jurisprudence, [[Abu Yusuf]], who was the student and companion of [[Abu Hanifa]]. After completing his studies with him, Ibn Hanbal began traveling throughout Arabia to collect narrations of Muhammad. Ibn al-Jawzi stated Ibn Hanbal had 414 traditionists whom he narrated from. With this knowledge, he became a leading authority in the field, leaving behind an immense encyclopedia of narrations, ''al-Musnad''. After several years of travel, he returned to Baghdad to study Islamic law under al-Shafi'i, with whom he formed a close bond with.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IslamicFinder |title=Biography of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal |url=https://www.islamicfinder.org/knowledge/biography/story-of-imam-ahmad-bin-hanbal/ |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=IslamicFinder |language=en}}</ref>

Ibn Hanbal became a judge in his old age. Through his students, the Hanbali school of jurisprudence was established, which is now most dominant in [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Qatar]].<ref>Daryl Champion (2002), The Paradoxical Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the Momentum of Reform, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-231-12814-8}}, p. 23 footnote 7</ref><ref>[http://veil.unc.edu/religions/islam/law/ Jurisprudence and Law – Islam] Reorienting the Veil, University of North Carolina (2009)</ref> Unlike the other three schools—Hanafi, [[Maliki]], and [[Shafi'i]]—the Hanbali school remained largely [[Athari]] in its theology.<ref name="Halverson-34">{{cite book|last=Halverson|first=Jeffry R.|title=Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism|date=2010|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=34|isbn=9780230106581|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYzGAAAAQBAJ&q=osama&pg=PA80|quote="The Hanbalite madhhab, in contrast, largely maintained the traditionalist of Athari position."|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602235044/https://books.google.com/books?id=IYzGAAAAQBAJ&q=osama&pg=PA80|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to his scholastic enterprises, Ibn Hanbal was a soldier in the war frontiers and performed [[hajj|pilgrimage]] five times in his life, twice on foot.<ref name=islam>{{cite web|url=http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1193 |title=Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516185823/http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1193 |archive-date=May 16, 2007 }}</ref>

===Inquisition===
{{Main|Mihna}}
Ibn Hanbal is known to have been called before the Mihna of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, who wanted to assert his religious authority by pressuring scholars to adopt the Mu'tazili doctrine of the Quran being created, rather than uncreated. According to Sunni tradition, Ibn Hanbal was one of the foremost scholars in resisting the caliph's interference and his imposed doctrine. Ibn Hanbal's stance led to the Hanbali school establishing itself firmly as not only a school of jurisprudence, but theology as well.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=W. Wesley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1iE34g6UalMC&q=hanbalism|title=Tajalli Wa-Ru'ya: A Study of Anthropomorphic Theophany and Visio Dei in the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an and early Sunni Islam|date=2008|isbn=978-0549816881|page=229|publisher=University of Michigan }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Because of Ibn Hanbal's refusal to accept the Mu'tazili doctrine, he was imprisoned in Baghdad throughout the reign of al-Ma'mun. In an incident during the rule of al-Ma'mun's successor, [[al-Mu'tasim]], Ibn Hanbal was flogged to unconsciousness; however, this caused great upheaval in Baghdad and forced al-Mu'tasim to release him.<ref name="islam"/>{{dead link|date=May 2016}} After al-Mu'tasim's death, [[al-Wathiq]] became caliph and continued his predecessors' policies of enforcing the Mu'tazili doctrine and, in this pursuit, banished Ibn Hanbal from Baghdad. It was only after al-Wathiq's death and the ascent of his brother [[al-Mutawakkil]], who was much more tolerating of the traditional Sunni beliefs, that Ibn Hanbal was welcomed back to Baghdad.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

=== His appearance ===
His appearance according to [[Siyar A'lam al-Nubala']] is:

Ibn Dharih al-'Ukbari said: ''"I requested to see Ahmad bin Hanbal. So, I greeted him, and he was an old man who dyed his hair. He was tall and extremely dark."''

Muhammad bin 'Abbas an-Nahwi said: ''"I saw Ahmad bin Hanbal with a handsome face, well-formed, and he dyed his hair with [[henna]] that was not too dark. He had black hairs in his beard, and I saw his clothes extremely white. When I saw him, he was wearing a [[turban]] and an [[Izaar|izar]]".''<ref>''Siyar A'lam al-Nubala''  [9/438]</ref>

'Abd al-Malik al-Maymuni said: ''"I do not know that I have ever seen anyone who wore cleaner clothes, was more attentive to trimming his moustache and grooming the hair on his head and body, or wore purer and whiter garments than Ahmad bin Hanbal".''<ref>''Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' [9/454]''</ref>

=== His illness and Death ===
{{Infobox saint
|name=Ahmad ibn Hanbal
|venerated_in=Sunni Islam
|birth_place=Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate<ref name="jackson" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
|titles={{flatlist|
* Jurist
* traditionist
* theologian
* founder of the Hanbali school
* Defender of Orthodoxy
* True Shaykh of Islam
* Proof of the Religion
* Seal of the Independent Imams
* Reinforcer of the Religion
* One Who Gathered the Knowledge of the First and Last<ref>See Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 307</ref>{{verify source|date=May 2019}}
* Guardian of the Prophet's Narrations<ref>''Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub'', tr. Nicholson, chap. 21, p. 117.</ref>
* Confirmer of the Relics<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 390"/>{{verify source|date=May 2019}}
}}
|major_shrine=[[Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal Shrine|Ahmad ibn Hanbal Mosque]], Baghdad, Iraq<ref name="AlMada" /><ref name="SED – دليل الجوامع"/><ref name="SED – الدليل السياحي"/>
}}

He died due to being severely ill. His son Salih describes his illness as:<ref>The Virtues of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal by Ibn al-Jawzi, Chapter Seventy-Nine: In Mention of His Illness, pp. 540–48</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="On the first day of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year two hundred and forty-one, my father had a fever on Wednesday night. I went to him on Wednesday while he was feverish and breathing heavily. I had known his illness, and I used to nurse him when he was sick. I said to him, "O father, how did you break your fast last night?" He said, "With water and broad beans". Then he wanted to get up, so he said, "Take my hand". So I took his hand. When he went to the toilet, his legs weakened until he leaned on me. Other than doctors, all were Muslims. A doctor called Abd al-Rahman prescribed for him a gourd that was roasted and its water given to drink. This was on Tuesday, and he died on Friday."}}

Ibn Hanbal died on Friday, 2 August 855 / 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 241 AH at the age of 74–75 in Baghdad. Historians relate his funeral was attended by 800,000 men and 60,000 women, and 20,000 Christians and Jews converted to Islam on that day.<ref name="Ludwig 2009">{{citation |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |author-link=Ludwig W. Adamec |year=2009 |title=Historical Dictionary of Islam |pages=136–37 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-6161-9}}</ref> His grave is located in the premises of the [[Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal Shrine|Ahmad ibn Hanbal Mosque]]<ref name="DargahInfo – Details">{{citation |publisher=Dargahinfo.com |title=Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal Shrine: Dargah Of: Imam Abu Abdullah Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hanbal (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) |url=http://dargahinfo.com/DargahDetails.aspx?DargahID=184 |access-date=2020-07-13 |archive-date=2020-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716094449/http://dargahinfo.com/DargahDetails.aspx?DargahID=184 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DargahInfo – History">{{citation |publisher=Dargahinfo.com |title=Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal Shrine: Imam Abu Abdullah Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hanbal (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) |url=http://dargahinfo.com/Dargah_History.aspx?HID=184 |access-date=2020-07-13 |archive-date=2020-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713155142/http://dargahinfo.com/Dargah_History.aspx?HID=184 |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[al-Rusafa, Iraq|al-Rusafa District]].<ref name="AlMada">{{cite web |publisher=Al-Mada Supplements |title=من مراقد بغداد واضرحتها - ملاحق جريدة المدى اليومية<!-- عنوان مولد بالبوت --> |language=ar |url=http://almadasupplements.com/news.php?action=view&id=6165#sthash.g3Bv9ZNk.dpbs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903151217/http://almadasupplements.com/news.php?action=view&id=6165 |date=2012-12-02 |archive-date=2018-09-03}}</ref><ref name="SED – دليل الجوامع">{{citation |publisher=[[Sunni Endowment Office]] |title=دليل الجوامع والمساجد التراثية والأثرية |language=ar |page=69}}</ref><ref name="SED – الدليل السياحي">{{citation |publisher=[[Sunni Endowment Office]], Department of General Sunni Shrines |title=الدليل السياحي للأضرحة والمراقد في العراق |language=ar |page=13}}</ref>

==Views and thought==
Ibn Hanbal's principal doctrine is what later came to be known as "traditionalist thought," which emphasized the acceptance of only the [[Quran]] and [[hadith]] as the foundations of orthodox belief.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He did, however, believe that it was only a select few who were properly authorized to interpret the sacred texts.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Theology===

====God====
{{further|Jahmi}}
Ibn Hanbal understood the perfect definition of [[God]] to be that given in the [[Quran]], whence he held that proper belief in God constituted believing in the description which God had given of Himself in the Islamic scripture.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> To begin with, Ibn Hanbal asserted that God was both Unique and Absolute and absolutely incomparable to anything in the world of His creatures.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> As for the various [[God#Specific characteristics|divine attributes]], Ibn Hanbal believed that all the regular [[God#Specific characteristics|attributes of God]], such as hearing, sight, speech, omnipotence, will, wisdom, the vision by the believers on the day of resurrection etc., were to be literally affirmed as "realities" (''ḥaqq''). As for those attributes called "ambiguous" (''mutas̲h̲ābih''), such as those which spoke of God's hand, face, [[Throne of God|throne]], and [[God|omnipresence]], [[Vision (spirituality)|vision]] by the believers on the [[Day of Judgment|day of resurrection]], etc. they were to be understood in the same manner.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7" /> Ibn Hanbal treated those verses in the scriptures with apparently anthropomorphic descriptions as ''muhkamat'' (clear) verses; admitting to only a literal meaning.<ref name=ref1/>

Furthermore, Ibn Hanbal "rejected the negative theology (''taʿṭīl'') of the Jahmiyya and their particular allegorizing exegesis (''taʾwīl'') of the Quran and of tradition, and no less emphatically criticized the [[anthropomorphism]] (''tas̲h̲bīh'') of the Mus̲h̲abbiha, amongst whom he included, in the scope of his polemics, the Jahmiyya as unconscious anthropomorphists."<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7" /> Ibn Hanbal was also a critic of overt and unnecessary speculation in matters of [[theology]]; he believed that it was fair to worship God "without the 'mode' of the theologoumena (''bilā kayf''),<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7" /> and felt it was wise to leave to God the understanding of His own mystery.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7" /> Thus, Ibn Hanbal became a strong proponent of the ''bi-lā kayfa'' formula. This mediating principle allowed the [[Traditionalist theology (Islam)|traditionalists]] to deny ''ta'wil'' (figurative interpretations) of the apparently anthropomorphic texts while concomitantly affirming the doctrine of the "incorporeal, transcendent deity". Although he argued for literalist meanings of the ''[[Quran|Qur'anic]]'' and prophetic statements about God, Ibn Hanbal was not a [[Fideism|fideist]] and was willing to engage in hermeneutical exercises. The rise of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and the ''[[Ahl al-Hadith|Ashab al-Hadith]]'', whose cause he championed, during the ''[[Mihna]]''; would mark the stage for the empowerment and centering of corporealist ideas in the Sunnite orthodoxy.<ref name=ref2/>

Ibn Hanbal also recognized "Divine Form (''Al-Şūrah'')" as a true attribute of God. He disagreed with those speculative theologians who interpreted the Divine Form as something that represents pseudo-divinities such as the sun, moon, stars, etc. For Ibn Hanbal, to deny that God truly has a Form is [[Kufr]] (disbelief). He also believed that God created Adam "according to His form".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Wesley|date=August 2002|title=Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=34|issue=3|pages=441–63|doi=10.1017/S0020743802003021|jstor=3879671|s2cid=162455371|quote="Speculative theologians (mutakalliman) from among the Sunni fold, finding this theomorphism objectionable yet unwilling to impugn the authenticity of the report, preferred to interpret the "form" as belonging to something other than God, such as the pseudodivinities (macbadat){{snd}}that is, the sun, moon, and stars. Ibn Hanbal disagreed... It is likely that Ibn Hanbal recognized this sura as a true attribute of God.. He states in his Aqida V: "God created Adam with His hand and in His image/form"|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107172824/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|url-status=live}}</ref> Censuring those who alleged that this was referring to the form of [[Adam]], Ibn Hanbal asserted: <blockquote>"He who says that Allah created Adam according to the form of Adam, he is a [[Jahmi]] (disbeliever). Which form did Adam have before He created him?"<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Wesley|date=August 2002|title=Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=34|issue=3|page=443|doi=10.1017/S0020743802003021|jstor=3879671|s2cid=162455371|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107172824/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879671|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

====The Quran====
One of Ibn Hanbal's most famous contributions to [[Sunni]] [[thought]] was the considerable role he played in bolstering the [[orthodoxy|orthodox]]{{vague|date=June 2024}}{{weasel inline|date=June 2024}} [[doctrine]] of the Quran being the "[[Quranic createdness|uncreated]] Word of God" (''kalām Allāh g̲h̲ayr mak̲h̲lūḳ'').<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/> By "Quran," Ibn Hanbal understood "not just an abstract idea but the Quran with its letters, words, expressions, and ideas—the Quran in all its living reality, whose nature ''in itself''," according to Ibn Hanbal, eluded human comprehension.<ref name="H. Laoust pp. 272-7"/>

==== ''Taqlid'' ====
{{See also|Taqlid}}
Ibn Hanbal favoured independent reasoning (''[[ijtihad]]'') and rejected blind following (''[[taqlid]]'').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ismail|first=Raihan|title=Rethinking Salafism: The Transnational Networks of Salafi ʿUlama in Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2021|isbn=9780190948955|location=New York, United States of America|page=15|chapter=Chapter 1: Salafism|quote=" Ibn Hanbal articulated ijtihad in rejection of taqlid.."}}</ref> His staunch condemnation of ''taqlid'' is reported in the treatise ''Fath al-Majid'' by Hanbali judge Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (1782–1868). Comparing ''taqlid'' to polytheism (''[[shirk (Islam)|shirk]]''), Ibn Hanbal states: <blockquote>"I am amazed at those people who know that a chain of narration is authentic, and yet, in spite of this, they follow the opinion of Sufyan, for God says, 'And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment beware, lest some ''[[fitna (word)|fitna]]'' should befall them, or a painful torment be inflicted on them.' Do you know what that ''fitna'' is? That ''fitna'' is ''shirk''. Maybe the rejection of some of his words would cause one to doubt and deviate in his heart, and thereby be destroyed."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ibn Hasan Aal-Sheikh|first='Abdur-Rahman|title=Fath al-Majeed: Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid|publisher=Dar al Manarah|year=2002|isbn=977-6005-18-7|location=El Mansoura, Egypt|page=366|translator-last=Al-Halawani|translator-first='Ali As-Sayed|trans-title=Divine Triumph: Explanatory Notes on the Book of Tawheed|chapter=38: Taking Scholars or Rulers as Partners Besides Allah}}</ref></blockquote>

====Intercession====
It is narrated by Abū Bakr al-Marwazī in his ''Mansak'' that Ibn Hanbal preferred one to make ''tawassul'' or "intercession" through Muhammad in every supplication, with the wording: "O God! I am turning to Thee with Thy Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I am turning with you to my Lord for the fulfillment of my need."<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 389 [trans slightly revised].</ref> This report is repeated in many later Hanbali works, in the context of personal supplication as an issue of jurisprudence.<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 389.</ref> [[Ibn Qudamah]], for example, recommends it for the obtainment of need in his ''Wasiyya''.<ref>Ibn Quduma, ''Wasiyya al-Muwaffaq Ibn Quduma al-Maqdisi'', p. 93; see Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 389</ref> In the same way, [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] cites the Hanbali fatwa on the desirability of Muhammad's intercession in every personal supplication in his ''Qāida fil-Tawassul wal-Wasiīla'' where he attributes it to "Imām Ahmad and a group of the pious ancestors" from the ''Mansak'' of al-Marwazī as his source.<ref>See Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 389.</ref>

====Mysticism====
As there exist historical sources indicating patently "mystical elements in his personal piety"<ref>Holtzman, Livnat, "Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson; cf. Ibn al-Jawzī, ''Manāqib al-imām Aḥmad, ed. ʿĀdil Nuwayhiḍ'', Beirut 1393/1973 and Christopher Melchert, The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis, Arabica, T. 48, Fasc. 3 (Brill, 2001), pp. 355–56</ref> and documented evidence of his amiable interactions with numerous early Sufi saints, including [[Maruf Karkhi]],<ref>H. Laoust, "Ahmad b. Hanbal," in ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', Vol. I, pp. 272–77; Christopher Melchert, ''The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis, Arabica'', T. 48, Fasc. 3 (Brill, 2001), p. 356</ref> it is recognized that Ibn Hanbal's relationship with many of the Sufis was one of mutual respect and admiration. Qadi Abu Ya'la reports in his ''Tabaqat'': "[Ibn Hanbal] used to greatly respect the Sūfīs and show them kindness and generosity. He was asked about them and was told that they sat in mosques constantly to which he replied, 'Knowledge made them sit.'"<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 387; see ; see Ibn Abī Ya'lā, ''Tabaqāt al-Hanābila'', II.279</ref> Furthermore, it is in Ibn Hanbal's ''Musnad'' that we find most of the [[hadith]] reports concerning the [[abdal]], forty major saints "whose number [according to Islamic mystical doctrine] would remain constant, one always being replaced by some other on his death" and whose key role in the traditional Sufi conception of the celestial hierarchy would be detailed by later mystics such as [[Hujwiri]] and [[Ibn Arabi]].<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356"/> It has been reported that Ibn Hanbal explicitly identified [[Maruf Karkhi]] as one of the [[abdal]], saying: "He is one of the Substitute-Saints, and his supplication is answered."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 387">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 387</ref> Of the same Sufi, Ibn Hanbal later asked rhetorically: "Is religious knowledge anything else than what Maruf has achieved?"<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356"/> Additionally, there are accounts of Ibn Hanbal extolling the early ascetic saint [[Bishr the Barefoot]] and his sister as two exceptional devotees of God,<ref>John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008), p. 158</ref> and of his sending people with mystical questions to Bishr for guidance.<ref>Hujwiri, ''Kashf al-Majhub'', trans. R. A. Nicholson (Leiden: Brill, 1911), p. 117</ref> It is also recorded that Ibn Hanbal said, with regard to the early Sufis, "I do not know of any people better than them."<ref>''al-Ghiza al-Albab'', I, p. 120</ref> Moreover, there are accounts of Ibn Hanbal's son, Sālih, being exhorted by his father to go and study under the Sufis. According to one tradition, Sālih said: "My father would send for me whenever a self-denier or ascetic (''zāhid aw mutaqashshif'') visited him so I could look at him. He loved for me to become like this."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 387"/>

As for the Sufis' reception of Ibn Hanbal, it is evident that he was "held in high regard" by all the major Sufis of the classical and medieval periods,<ref name="Jawziyya, 2000 p. 153">Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, ''Al-Wabil al-Sayyib min al-Kalim al-Tayyib'', trans. Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald and Moulay Youssef Slitine as ''The Invocation of God'' (London: Islamic Texts Society, 2000), p. 153 (note by Timothy Winter)</ref> and later Sufi chroniclers often designated the jurist as a [[wali|saint]] in their hagiographies, praising him both for his legal work and for his appreciation of Sufi doctrine.<ref name="Jawziyya, 2000 p. 153"/> [[Hujwiri]], for example, wrote of him: "He was distinguished by devoutness and piety ... Sufis of all orders regard him as blessed. He associated with great Shaykhs, such as [[Dhul-Nun al-Misri|Dhul-Nun of Egypt]], [[Bishr the Barefoot|Bishr al-Hafi]], [[Sirri Saqti|Sari al-Saqati]], [[Maruf Karkhi]], and others. His miracles were manifest and his intelligence sound ... He had a firm belief in the principles of religion, and his creed was approved by all the [theologians]."<ref>Hujwiri, ''Kashf al-Majhub'', trans. R. A. Nicholson (Leiden: Brill, 1911), pp. 117–18</ref> Both non-Hanbali and Hanbali Sufi hagiographers such as Hujwiri and [[Ibn al-Jawzi]], respectively, also alluded to Ibn Hanbal's own gifts as a [[miracle worker]]<ref>Ibn al-Jawzī, ''The Life of Ibn Hanbal'', XXIV.2, trans. Michael Cooperson (New York: New York University Press, 2016), p. 89; Hujwiri, ''Kashf al-Majhub'', trans. R. A. Nicholson (Leiden: Brill, 1911), pp. 117–18; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, ''Al-Wabil al-Sayyib min al-Kalim al-Tayyib'', trans. Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald and Moulay Youssef Slitine as ''The Invocation of God'' (London: Islamic Texts Society, 2000), p. 153 (note by Timothy Winter)</ref> and of the blessedness of his grave.<ref>Ibn al-Jawzī, ''Manāqib al-imām Aḥmad, ed. ʿĀdil Nuwayhiḍ'', Beirut 1393/1973</ref> For example, Ibn Hanbal's own body was traditionally held to have been blessed with the miracle of [[incorruptibility]], with Ibn al-Jawzi relating: "When the Prophet's descendant Abū Ja'far ibn Abī Mūsā was buried next to him, Ahmad ibn Hanbal's tomb was exposed. His corpse had not putrified and the shroud was still whole and undecayed."<ref>Ibn al-Jawzī, ''The Life of Ibn Hanbal'', XCV.7, trans. Michael Cooperson (New York: New York University Press, 2016), p. 298</ref>

Although there is a perception that Ibn Hanbal or his school were somehow adverse to Sufism, scholars such as [[Éric Geoffroy|Eric Geoffrey]] have asserted that this opinion is more partial than objective, for there is no proof that the Hanbali school "[attacked] Sufism in itself any more than any other school,"<ref name="Eric Geoffrey 2010 p. 121">Eric Geoffrey, ''Introduction to Sufism: The Inner Path of Islam'' (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2010), p. 121</ref> and it is evident that "during the first centuries some major Sufis [such as [[Ibn Ata Allah]], [[Hallaj]], and [[Abdullah Ansari]]] ... followed the Hanbalite school of law."<ref name="Eric Geoffrey 2010 p. 121"/> By the twelfth-century, the relationship between Hanbalism and Sufism was so close that one of the most prominent Hanbali jurists, [[Abdul Qadir Jilani]], was also simultaneously the most famous Sufi of his era, and the ''[[Tariqa]]'' that he founded, the [[Qadiriyya]], has continued to remain one of the most widespread Sufi orders up until the present day.<ref name="Eric Geoffrey 2010 p. 121"/> Even later Hanbali authors who were famous for criticizing some of the "deviances" of certain heterodox Sufi orders of their day, such as [[Ibn Qudamah]], [[Ibn al-Jawzi]], and [[Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya]], all belonged to [[Abdul Qadir Jilani]]'s order themselves, and never condemned Sufism outright.<ref name="Eric Geoffrey 2010 p. 121"/>

====Relics====
As has been noted by scholars, it is evident that Ibn Hanbal "believed in the power of relics,"<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356"/> and supported the seeking of [[barakah|blessing]] through them in religious veneration. Indeed, several accounts of Ibn Hanbal's life relate that he often carried "a purse ... in his sleeve containing ... hairs from the Prophet."<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356"/> Furthermore, [[Ibn al-Jawzi]] relates a tradition narrated by Ibn Hanbal's son, Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who recalled his father's devotion towards relics thus: "I saw my father take one of the Prophet's hairs, place it over his mouth, and kiss it. I may have seen him place it over his eyes, and dip it in water and then drink the water for a cure."<ref name="Jawzī, 2016 p. 89">Ibn al-Jawzī, ''The Life of Ibn Hanbal'', XXIV.2, trans. Michael Cooperson (New York: New York University Press, 2016), p. 89</ref> In the same way, Ibn Hanbal also drunk from Muhammad's bowl (technically a "second-class" relic) in order to seek blessings from it,<ref name="Jawzī, 2016 p. 89"/> and considered touching and kissing the sacred [[minbar]] of Muhammad for blessings a permissible and pious act.<ref>Imam Ahmad, ''Al-'Ilal wa Ma'rifat Ar-Rijal'', II, p. 492</ref> Ibn Hanbal later ordered that he be buried with Muhammad's hairs he possessed, "one on each eye and a third on his tongue."<ref name="Christopher Melchert 2001 p. 356"/>

Sufi scholar [[Gibril Haddad]] reports from [[al-Dhahabi]]  that Ibn Hanbal "used to seek blessings from the relics of the Prophet."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 390"/> Citing the aforementioned report of Ibn Hanbal's devotion towards Muhammad's hair, al-Dhahabī then goes onto staunchly criticize whoever finds fault with the practices of ''tabarruk'' or seeking blessings from holy relics, saying: "Where is the quibbling critic of Imām Ahmad now? It is also authentically established that Abd Allāh [Ibn Hanbal's son] asked his father about those who touch the pommel of Muhammad's pulpit and touch the wall of his room, and he said: 'I do not see any harm in it.' May God protect us and you from the opinion of the dissenters and from innovations!"<ref>Al-Dhahabī, ''Siyar'', IX.457; cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 390</ref>

When asked by his son Abdullah about the legitimacy of touching and kissing [[Masjid Nabawi|Muhammad's grave]] in [[Medina]], Ibn Hanbal is said to have approved of both these acts as being permissible according to sacred law.<ref>Ibn Hanbal, ''Al-'Ilal wa Ma'rifat Ar-Rijal'', II, p. 492</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfReDwAAQBAJ |title=Logical Analysis Of Wahhabi Beliefs |first=Najm Al-Din |last=Tabassi |author-link=Najm al-Din Tabasi |translator-first=Zahra Musavi |translator-last=Khalkhali |date=2009 |publisher=Rafed Books |access-date=2022-04-13 |archive-date=2022-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708135849/https://books.google.com/books?id=AfReDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Jurisprudence===
According to Hanbali scholar [[Najm ad-Din al-Tufi|Najm al-Din Tufi]] (d. 716 A.H/ 1316 C.E), Ahmad ibn Hanbal did not formulate a legal theory; since "his entire concern was with ''[[hadith]]'' and its collection". More than a century after Ahmad's death, Hanbali legalism would emerge as a distinct school; due to the efforts of jurists like Abu Bakr al-Athram (d. 261 A.H/ 874 C.E), Harb al-Kirmani (d. 280 A.H/ 893 C.E), 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad (d. 290 A.H/903 C.E), [[Abu Bakr al-Khallal]] (d. 311 A.H/ 923 C.E) etc., who compiled Ahmad's various legal verdicts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=B. Hallaq |first=Wael |title=The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-521-80332-8 |location=Cambridge, UK |pages=159–160 |chapter=7: The formation of legal schools}}</ref>

====Independent reasoning by muftis====
Ibn Hanbal also had a strict criterion for [[ijtihad]] or independent reasoning in matters of law by [[muftis]] and the [[ulema]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 306">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 306</ref> One story narrates that Ibn Hanbal was asked by Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Ḍarīr about "how many memorized ḥadīths are sufficient for someone to be a [[mufti]] [meaning a ''mujtahid'' [[jurist]] or one capable of issuing independently reasoned [[fatwas]]]."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 306"/> According to the narrative, Zakariyyā asked: "Are one-hundred thousand sufficient?" to which Ibn Hanbal responded in the negative, with Zakariyyā asking if two-hundred thousand were, to which he received the same response from the jurist. Thus, Zakariyyā kept increasing the number until, at five-hundred thousand, Ibn Hanbal said: "I hope that that should be sufficient."<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 306"/> As a result, it has been argued that Ibn Hanbal disapproved of independent reasoning by those muftis who were not absolute masters in law and jurisprudence.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 306"/>

====Misusing ''ahadith''====
Ibn Hanbal narrated from Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān that the latter said: "If someone were to follow every ''[[Rukhsa|rukhṣa]]'' [dispensation] that is in the ḥadīth, he would become a transgressor (''fāsiq'')."<ref>Ahmad ibn Hanbal, ''Al-'Ilal wa-Ma'rifat al-Rijāl'', ed. Wasi Allah ibn Muhammad Abbas (Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Risāla, 1983), I:219; cited in Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 306</ref> It is believed that he quoted this on account of the vast number of forged traditions of Muhammad.<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 306"/>

====Private interpretation====
{{further|Ahl ar-Ra'y}}
Ibn Hanbal appears to have been a formidable opponent of "private interpretation," and actually held that it was only the religious scholars who were qualified to properly interpret the holy texts.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> One of the creeds attributed to Ibn Hanbal opens with: "Praise be to God, who in every age and interval between [[prophets]] (''fatra'') elevated learned men possessing excellent qualities, who call upon him who goes astray (to return) to the right way."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It has been pointed out that this particular creed "explicitly opposes the use of personal judgement (''raʾy'') ... [as basis] of [[jurisprudence]]."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Ethics===

====Differences of opinion====
Ibn Hanbal was praised both in his own life and afterwards for his "serene acceptance of juridical divergences among the various schools of Islamic law".<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 313</ref> According to later notable scholars of the [[Hanbali]] school like [[Ibn Aqil]] and [[Ibn Taymiyyah]], Ibn Hanbal "considered every [[madhhab]] correct and abhorred that a jurist insist people follow his even if he considered them wrong and even if the truth is one in any given matter."<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 306; see Ibn Taymiyyah, ''Majmū' al-Fatāwā'', 20:365</ref> As such, when Ibn Hanbal's student Ishāq ibn Bahlūl al-Anbārī had "compiled a book on juridical differences ... which he had named ''The Core of Divergence'' (''Lubāb al-Ikhtilāf'')," Ibn Hanbal advised him to name the work ''The Book of Leeway'' (''Kitāb al-Sa'a'') instead.<ref>Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 313; see Ibn Abī Ya'lā, ''Tabaqāt al-Hanābila'', I.111, etc.</ref>

==Works==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2021}}
The following books are found in Ibn al-Nadim's ''[[Fihrist]]'':
* ''Usool as-Sunnah'': "Foundations of the Prophetic Tradition (in Belief)"
* ''as-Sunnah'': "The Prophet Tradition (in Belief)"
* ''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"
* ''[[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal]]''

==Historical views==
Ibn Hanbal has been extensively praised for both his work in the field of prophetic tradition (''hadith''), jurisprudence, and his defense of orthodox Sunni theology. [[Abdul-Qadir Gilani]] stated that a Muslim could not truly be a [[wali]] of [[God in Islam|Allah]] except that they were upon Ibn Hanbal's creed{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}; despite praise from his contemporaries as well, [[Yahya ibn Ma'in]] noted that Ibn Hanbal never boasted about his achievements.<ref name="Foundation">Foundations of the Sunnah, by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, pp. 51–173</ref>

=== Jurisprudence ===
There have some alleged views that his juristic views were not always accepted. Qur'anic [[Exegesis|exegete]] [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari]], who at one time had sought to study under Ibn Hanbal, later stated that he did not consider Ibn Hanbal a jurist and gave his views in the field no weight, describing him as an expert in prophetic tradition only.<ref>[[Yaqut al-Hamawi]], ''Irshad'', vol. 18, pp. 57–58.</ref> However this must be seen in context of its time, as Ibn Hanbal's school was still at its infancy and not followed by so many people yet compared to the other schools and the students had conflict with Al-Tabari's school.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abu Zayd|first=Bakr|title=Al-Madkhal Al-Mufassal|pages=1/366}}</ref> Consider how the ''Masa'il'' of Imam Ahmad, i.e. the first written compilation of Ibn Hanbal's question and answers, was written by [[Abu Bakr al-Khallal]] who lived around the same time as Al-Tabari, and the first written compilation of Ibn Hanbal's fiqh was Al-Khiraqi who also lived around that same time. The more systematic teaching of Ibn Hanbal's jurisprudence in education facilities only occurred after that point.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Al-Ulayyan|first=Mustafa Hamdu|title=Al-Sadah Al-Hanabilah wa Ikhtilafatuhum Ma'a Al-Salafiyah Al-Mu'ashirah fi al-'Aqidah wa al-Fiqh wa al-Tasawwuf|publisher=Dar al-Nur al-Mubin Li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi|year=2017|location=Amman, Jordan|pages=108–109}}</ref>

Likewise, some consider how the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] scholar [[Ibn 'Abd al-Barr]] did not include Ibn Hanbal or his views in his book ''The Hand-Picked Excellent Merits of the Three Great Jurisprudent Imâms'' about the main representatives of Sunni jurisprudence.<ref>[[Camilla Adang]], ''This Day I have Perfected Your Religion For You: A Zahiri Conception of Religious Authority'', p. 20. Taken from ''Speaking for Islam: Religious Authorities in Muslim Societies''. Ed. [[Gudrun Krämer]] and [[Sabine Schmidtke]]. [[Leiden]]: [[Brill Publishers]], 2006.</ref> However, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr actually has praised Ibn Hanbal's jurisprudence by saying "He is very powerful in the fiqh of the madhab of the ahl al-hadith and he is the Imam of the 'ulama of ahl al-hadith."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ibn 'Abd al-Barr|title=Al-Intiqa|pages=107}}</ref>

Be that as it may, the vast majority of other scholars do recognize Ibn Hanbal's prowess as a master jurist worthy of one whose methodology became foundation for its own school of jurisprudence. Imam Shafi'i said, among many other praises, "Ahmad is an Imam in eight fields: he is an imam in ''hadith'', jurisprudence, ''Al-Qur'an, Al-Lughah, Al-Sunnah, Al-Zuhd, Al-Warak, and Al-Faqr''".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Ibn Abī Yaʻlá|first=Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad|title=Tabaqat al-Hanabilah|publisher=Dar al-Ma'rifah|location=Beirut, Lebanon|pages=1/14}}</ref> [[Al-Dhahabi]], one of the most major Islamic biographers, notes in his masterpiece ''Siyar A'lam Nubala'' that Ibn Hanbal's status in jurisprudence is alike [[Al-Layth ibn Sa'd]], [[Malik ibn Anas]], [[Al-Shafi'i]], and [[Abu Yusuf]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=al-Dhahabī|first=Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān|title=Siyar a'lam al-nubala|pages=21/379|language=Arabic}}</ref> [[Muhammad Abu Zahra]], a contemporary Hanafi scholar, wrote a book titled ''Ibn Hanbal: Hayatuhu wa `Asruhu Ara'uhu wa Fiqhuh,'' and there he mentioned the heavy praises of various other classical scholars towards Ibn Hanbal and his school of jurisprudence.

=== Hadith ===
It is reported that Ibn Hanbal has reached the title of ''al Hafidh'' of Hadith according to [[Jamal al-Din al-Mizzi]] classification, as the title bestowment were approved by [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani]] that Ibn Hanbal has memorized at least 750,000 hadith during his life, more than [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]] and [[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj]] who each memorized 300,000 hadith, and [[Abu Dawud al-Sijistani]] who memorized 500,000 hadith.<ref name="Ensiklopedia Imam Syafi'i">{{cite book |last1=Nahrawi Abdus Salam Al-Indunisi |first1=Ahmad |type=Dr. |editor1-last=Ahmad Nahrawi |editor1-first=Amirah |title=Ensiklopedia Imam Syafi'i |date=2008 |translator1=Usman Sya'roni |publisher=Jakarta Islamic Centre |location=Koja, North Jakarta, Indonesia |isbn=9789791142199 |page=697 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CUx3N_ZK7jUC |access-date=17 December 2021 |language=Indonesian |archive-date=8 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708135829/https://www.google.co.id/books/edition/Ensiklopedia_Imam_Syafi_i/CUx3N_ZK7jUC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=June 2022}} [[Abu Zurʽa al-Razi|Abu Zur'ah]] mentions that Ibn Hanbal has memorized 1,000,000 ''hadith,'' 700,000 among them are related to jurisprudence.<ref name=":0" />

While according to the classification from [[Hadith terminology#Marfūʿ|Marfu' Hadith]] of [[Ibn Abbas]] which recorded by [[Al-Tabarani]], Ibn Hanbal has reached the rank of ''Amir al-Mu'minin al-Hadith'', a rank that only reached by very few Hadith scholars in history such as [[Malik ibn Anas]], [[Yahya ibn Ma'in]], [[Hammad ibn Salamah]], [[Ibn al-Mubarak]], and [[Al-Suyuti]].<ref name="Ensiklopedia Imam Syafi'i" />{{unreliable source?|date=June 2022}} Ibn Hanbal's Musnad is not, however, ranked among the ''[[Kutub al-Sittah]]'', the six big collections of hadith.

==In popular culture==
* Ahmad ibn Hanbal was largely depicted in [[Qatar TV]]'s 2017 [[Ramadan]] [[Arab television drama|drama serial]] "[[The Imam (TV series)|The Imam]]" starring Mahyar Khaddour in the lead role.

==See also==
{{columns-list|
* [[Ibn 'Ulayya]]
* [[Ash'ari]]
* [[Athari]]
* [[Maturidi]]
* [[Hanbali]]
* [[Malik ibn Anas]]
* [[Maliki]]
* [[Abu Hanifa]]
* [[Hanafi]]
* [[Al-Shafiʽi]]
* [[Shafiʽi school]]
}}

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{wikisource author|lang=ar|أحمد بن حنبل|Ibn Hanbal}}
{{commons category}}

===Primary===
{{refbegin}}
* Al-Ājurrī, ''Kitāb al-Sharīʿa'', Beirut 2000<ref>Entire bibliography is taken from Holtzman, Livnat, "Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson</ref>
* Al-Dhahabī, ''Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ'', ed. Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ and Ḥusayn al-Asad, 25 vols., Beirut 1401–is 09/1981–88
* Ibn Abī Yaʿlā, ''Ṭabaqāt al-ḥanābila,'' ed. Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Fiqī, 2 vols., Cairo 1952
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''al-Masāʾil wa-l-rasāʾil al-marwiyya ʿan al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal'', ed. ʿAbdallāh b. Salmān b. Sālim al-Aḥmadī, 2 vols., Riyadh 1991
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''al-ʿIlal wa-maʿrifat al-rijāl'', ed. Waṣiyyallāh b. Muḥammad ʿAbbās, Bombay 1408/1988
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''Kitāb al-ṣalāh'' (with a supplement comprising Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's ''al-Ṣalāh wa-aḥkām tārikīhā''), ed. Zakariyyā ʿAlī Yusūf, Cairo 1971
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''Kitāb al-zuhd'', ed. Muḥammad Jalāl Sharaf, Beirut 1981
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''al-Musnad lil-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal'', ed. Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir, 20 vols., Cairo 1416/1995
* Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ''al-Radd ʿalā l-zanādiqa wa-l-Jahmiyya'', in ʿAlī Sāmī al-Nashshār and ʿAmmār Jumʿī al-Ṭālibī (eds.), ''ʿAqāʾid al-salaf'' (Alexandria 1971), 51–103
* Ṣāliḥ b. Ḥanbal, ''Sīrat al-imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal'', ed. Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Munʿim Aḥmad, 2 vols. in one, Alexandria 1401/1981
* Ibn al-Jawzī, ''Manāqib al-imām Aḥmad'', ed. ʿĀdil Nuwayhiḍ, Beirut 1393/19732
* Ibn Kathīr, ''al-Bidāya wa-l-nihāya'', 16 vols., Cairo 1418/1998
* Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, ''Ijtimāʿ al-Jayesh al-Islamiyah'', ed. ʿAwwād ʿAbdallāh al-Muʿtaq, Riyadh 1419/1999
* Ibn Taymiyya, ''Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa-l-naql'', ed. Muḥammad Rashād Sālim, 11 vols., Riyadh 1979–81
* Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī, ''Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ wa-ṭabaqāt al-aṣfiyāʾ'', 10 vols., Beirut 1409/1988
* Marʿī b. Yūsuf al-Karmī, ''al-Shahāda al-zakiyya fī thanāʾ al-aʾimma ʿalā Ibn Taymiyya'', ed. Najm ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khalaf, Beirut 1404/1984
* Abū Bakr al-Khallāl, ''al-Sunna'', ed. ʿAṭiyya al-Zahrānī, 7 vols., Riyadh 1410/1989
* Abū Bakr Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Marwazī, ''Kitāb al-waraʿ'', ed. Samīr b. Amīn al-Zuhayrī, Riyadh 1418/1997.
{{refend}}

===Secondary===
{{refbegin}}
* Binyamin Abrahamov, ''Islamic theology. Traditionalism and rationalism'', Edinburgh 1998
* Binyamin Abrahamov, "The bi-lā kayfa doctrine and its foundations in Islamic theology," ''Arabica'' 42/1–3 (1995), 365–79
* Muḥammad Abū Zahra, ''Ibn Ḥanbal. Ḥayātuhu wa-ʿaṣruhu wa-fiqhuhu'', Cairo 1947
* Michael Cooperson, "Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal and Bishr al-Ḥāfī. A case study in biographical traditions," ''SI'' 86 (1997/2), 71–101
* Michael Cooperson, ''Classical Arabic biography. The heirs of the prophets in the age of al-Maʾmūn'', Cambridge 2000
* Daniel Gimaret, "Theories de l'acte humain dans l'école ḥanbalite," ''BEO'' 29 (1977), 157–78
* Ignáz Goldziher, "Aḥmed b. Muḥammad b. Ḥanbal," ''EI1''
* Ignáz Goldziher, ''Vorlesungen über den Islam'', Heidelberg 1910
* Gibril F. Haddad, ''The four imams and their schools'', London 2007
* Wael B. Hallaq, "Was al-Shafiʿi the master architect of Islamic jurisprudence?," ''IJMES'', 25 (1993), 590
* Livnat Holtzman, "Human choice, divine guidance and the fiṭra tradition. The use of ḥadīth in theological treatises by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya," in Yossef Rapoport and Shahab Ahmed (eds.), ''Ibn Taymiyya and his times'', Karachi 2009
* Livnat Holtzman, ''Predestination (al-qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar) and free will (al-ikhtiyār) as reflected in the works of the Neo-Ḥanbalites of the fourteenth century'', Ph.D. diss., Bar-Ilan University 2003 (in Hebrew)
* Nimrod Hurvitz, ''The formation of Ḥanbalism. Piety into power'', London 2002
* Nimrod Hurvitz, "From scholarly circles to mass movements. The formation of legal communities in Islamic societies," ''American Historical Review'' 108/4 (2003), 985–1008
* Henri Laoust, "Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal," ''EI2''
* Henri Laoust, ''La profession de foi d'Ibn Baṭṭa'', Damascus 1958
* Henri Laoust, "Les premières professions de foi ḥanbalites," in ''Mélanges Louis Massignon'' (Damascus 1956–57), 3:7–35
* Wilferd Madelung, "The origins of the controversy concerning the creation of the Koran," in J. M. Barral (ed.), ''Orientalia hispanica'' (Leiden 1974), 1:504–25
* George Makdisi, "Ḥanbalite Islam," in Merlin L. Swartz (ed.), ''Studies on Islam'' (Oxford 1981), 216–64
* Christopher Melchert, "The adversaries of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal," ''Arabica'' 44 (1997), 234–53
* Christopher Melchert, ''Ahmad ibn Hanbal'', Oxford 2006
* Christopher Melchert, ''The formation of the Sunni schools of law, 9th–10th centuries C.E.'', Leiden 1997
* Christopher Melchert, "The Ḥanābila and the early Ṣūfīs," ''Arabica'' 48/3 (2001), 352–67
* Christopher Melchert, "The Musnad of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal," ''Der Islam'' 82 (2005), 32–51
* Christopher Melchert, "The piety of the Hadith folk," ''IJMES 34'' (2002), 425–39
* John A. Nawas, "A reexamination of three current explanations for al-Maʾmūn's introduction of the miḥna," ''IJMES'' 26 (1994), 615–29
* Walter M. Patton, ''Aḥmed ibn Ḥanbal and the miḥna,'' Leiden 1897
* Muḥammad Z. Siddiqi, ''Ḥadīth literature'', ed. and revised by Abdal Hakim Murad, Cambridge 1993
* Morris S. Seale, ''Muslim theology. A study of origins with reference to the Church Fathers'', London 1964
* Susan Spectorsky, "Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal's fiqh," ''JAOS'' 102/3 (1982), 461–65
* Susan Spectorsky, ''Chapters on marriage and divorce. Responses of Ibn Ḥanbal and Ibn Rāhwayh'', Austin 1993
* W. Montgomey Watt, ''The formative period of Islamic thought'', Edinburgh 1973
* W. Montgomey Watt, ''Islamic creeds'', Edinburgh 1994
* Wesley Williams, "Aspects of the creed of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. A study of anthropomorphism in early Islamic discourse," ''IJMES'' 34 (2002), 441–63.
{{refend}}

{{Hanbali scholars}}
{{Islamic Theology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad Ibn Hanbal}}
[[Category:780 births]]
[[Category:855 deaths]]
[[Category:8th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:9th-century Arabic-language writers]]
[[Category:9th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:9th-century jurists]]
[[Category:9th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:Scholars from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:Atharis]]
[[Category:Hadith compilers]]
[[Category:Hanbalis]]
[[Category:Mujaddid]]
[[Category:Sunni imams]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Biographical evaluation scholars]]