Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Volume One

Ibn al-Jawzi, Michael Cooperson

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780814771884
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 H/855 AD), renowned for his profound knowledge of hadith—the reports of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds—is a major figure in the history of Islam. Ibn Hanbal was famous for living according to his own strict interpretation of the Prophetic model and for denying himself even the most basic comforts in a city then one of the wealthiest in the word, and despite belonging to a prominent family. His piety and austerity made him a folk hero, especially after his principled resistance to the attempts of two Abbasid caliphs to force him to accept rationalist doctrine. His subsequent imprisonment and flogging became one of the most dramatic episodes of medieval Islamic history. Ibn Hanbal’s resistance influenced the course of Islamic law, the rise of Sunnism, and the legislative authority of the caliphate. tells the formidable life tale of one of the most influential Muslims in history. Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is a translation of the biography of Ibn Hanbal penned by the Baghdad preacher, scholar, and storyteller Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 H/1201 AD). Volume One presents the first half of the text, offering insights into Ibn Hanbal’s childhood, education, and adult life, including his religious doctrines, his dealings with other scholars, and his personal habits. Set against the background of fierce debates over the role of reason and the basis of legitimate government, Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal tells the formidable life tale of one of the most influential Muslims in history.

مناقب أبي عبد الله أَحمد بن محمّد بن حنبل

المجلّد الأوّل

Virtues of the Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal

Volume One

الباب الأول

في ذكر مولده وأصله

Chapter 1

Ibn Ḥanbal's Birth and Family Background

1.1

أخبرنا عبد الملك بن أبي القاسم الكَرُوخي قال أخبرنا عبد الله بن محمّد الأنصاريّ قال: أخبرنا أبو يعقوب الحافظ قال: أخبرنا أَبو بكر بن أبي الفَضْل المُعدَِّل قال: حدّثنا محمّد بن إبراهيم الصرّام؛ وأخبرنا عبد الملك قال: أخبرنا عبد الله بن محمّد قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن محمّد بن إسماعيل المهروي^١ قال: حدّثنا محمّد بن محمّد بن يعقوب العَدْل البُوشَنْجيّ قال: حدّثنا محمّد بن الطَّيِّب بن العبّاس قالا: أخبرنا إبراهيم بن إسحاق الغَسِيليّ قال:

سمعت صالح بن أحمد يقول: وُلِد – يعني أَباه – في سنة أربع وستين ومئة في ربيع الأول وجيءَ به من مَرْو حَمْلاً.

١ هكذا في د، ش؛ وفي ك: الهروي

We cite ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-Qāsim al-Karūkhī, who cites ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Anṣārī, who cites Abū Yaʿqūb al-Ḥāfiẓ, who cites Abū Bakr ibn Abī l-Faḍl al-Muʿaddal,2 who learned it from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ṣarrām; and3 we cite ʿAbd al-Malik, who cites ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, who cites Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Mihrawī,4 who learned it from Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb, the notary-witness of Būshanj, who learned it from Muḥammad ibn al-Ṭayyib ibn al-ʿAbbās, who [along with al-Ṣarrām] cites Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq al-Ghasīlī as saying:

[Al-Ghasīlī:] I heard Aḥmad’s son Ṣāliḥ say that he—meaning his father—was born in Rabīʿ I 164 [November–December 780], having left Marv5 carried in his mother’s womb.

1.2

أخبرنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا المبارك بن عبد الجبّار قال: أخبرنا أَبو الحسن محمّد بن عبد الواحد الحريريّ قال: أخبرنا أبو عمر^١ بن حَيَّوَيْه قال: أخبرنا أبو مُزاحِم الخاقانيّ قال:

حدّثني عبد الله بن أحمد قال: سمعتُ أبي يقول: ولدتُ في شهر ربيع الأول سنة أربع وستين ومئة.

١ د: عمرو

We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites al-Mubārak ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār, who cites Abū l-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Ḥarīrī (the dealer in silk), who cites Abū ʿUmar ibn Ḥayyawayh,6 who cites Abū Muzāḥim al-Khāqānī, who heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son ʿAbd Allāh report that he heard his father say:

[Aḥmad:] I was born in Rabīʿ I 164.

1.3

أخبرنا إسماعيل بن أحمد السَّمَرْقَنْديّ قال: أخبرنا عمر بن عبيد الله البقّال قال: أخبرنا أبو الحسين بن بِشْران قال: أخبرنا عثمان بن أحمد الدقّاق قال: حدّثنا حنبل بن إسحاق قال:

سمعتُ أبا عبد الله أحمد بن حنبل يقول: ولدتُ سنة أربع وستين ومئة.

We cite Ismāʿīl ibn Aḥmad al-Samarqandī (of Samarqand), who cites ʿUmar ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Baqqāl (the greengrocer), who cites Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Bishrān, who cites ʿUthmān ibn Aḥmad al-Daqqāq (the flour-seller), who heard Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq report that he heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say:

[Aḥmad:] I was born in the year 164.

1.4

أخبرنا عبد الرحمن بن محمّد القزّاز قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن عليّ بن ثابت قال: أخبرنا حمزة بن محمّد بن طاهر الدقاق قال: حدّثنا الوَليد بن بَكْر الأَنْدَلُسيّ قال: حدّثنا عليّ بن أحمد الهاشِميّ قال:

حدّثنا أبو مُسْلِم صالح بن أحمد بن عبد الله بن صالح العِجْليّ قال: حدّثني أبي قال: وأحمد بن محمّد بن حنبل يُكنى أبا عبد الله سَدوسيّ من أنفُسهم بَصْريّ من أَهل خُراسان. ولد ببغداد ونشأ بها. ثقة ثَبْت في الحديث، فقيه في الحديث، مُتّبِع للآثار، صاحب سنة وخير، نَزِهُ النفس.

We cite ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Qazzāz (the dealer in silk), who cites Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit, who cites Ḥamzah ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṭahir al-Daqqāq, who heard al-Walīd ibn Bakr al-Andalusī (of Andalus), who heard ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī report that Abū Muslim Ṣāliḥ ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿIjlī heard his father report as follows:

[Al-ʿIjlī:] Aḥmad son of Muḥammad son of Ḥanbal, called Abū ʿAbd Allāh (the father of ʿAbd Allāh), was a full-blooded member of the clan of Sadūs.7 The family had settled first in Basra and later in Khurasan,8 but Aḥmad was born and raised in Baghdad. He was trustworthy and reliable as a transmitter of Hadith reports, and was skilled in using them as a source of law. He sought out reports about the early Muslims and lived according to their example. He was a good and honorable man.

1.5

أنبأنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا المبارك بن عبد الجبار قال: أخبرنا عُبيد الله بن عُمَر بن شاهين قال: حدّثني أبي قال: سمعتُ محمّد بن العبّاس النحوي^١ يقول:

سمعت عبد الله بن أحمد بن حنبل يقول: سمعت أبي يقول: قَدِمَتْ بي أُمّي حاملاً من خُراسان ووُلدتُ^٢ سنة أربع وستين ومائة.

١ د: النخعي، صححه التركي.

٢ د: وولد

We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites al-Mubārak ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār, who cites ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn Shāhīn, who heard his father report that he heard Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Naḥwī (the grammarian), who heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son ʿAbd Allāh say that he heard his father say:

[Aḥmad:] My mother was pregnant with me when she came from Khurasan.9 I was born in 164.

1.6

أخبرنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا عبد القادر بن محمّد قال: أخبرنا إبراهيم بن عمر البَرْمَكيّ؛ وأخبرنا عبد الله بن عليّ المُقرئ قال: أخبرنا عبد الملك بن أحمد السُّيُوريّ قال: أخبرنا عبد العزيز بن عليّ بن أحمد بن الفضل قالا: حدّثنا عليّ بن عبد العزيز بن مَرْدَك قال: حدّثنا عبد الرحمن بن أبي حاتم قال:

حدّثنا أبو زُرْعة قال: أحمد بن حنبل أصله بَصْريّ وخِطّته بمَرْو.

قال ابن أبي حاتم: وحدّثنا صالح بن أحمد قال:

وحدّثنا صالح بن أحمد قال: سمعت أبي يقول: ولدت في سنة أربع وستين في أولها في ربيع الأول.

قال صالح: وجيء به حملاً من مرو وتوفِّي أبو أحمد بن حنبل وله ثلاثون سنة فوَلِيَتْه أمُّه.

أراد: كان عمر أبي أحمد ثلاثين سنة ثمّ مات وأحمد طفل. يدلّ عليه ما أخبرنا به محمّد بن أبي منصور قال:

أخبرنا عبد القادر بن محمّد قال: أنبأنا إبراهيم بن عمر البرمكيّ قال: أنبأنا عبد العزيز بن جعفر قال: حدّثنا أبو بكر الخلاّل قال:

حدّثنا أبو بكر المَرُّوذيّ أن أبا عبد الله قال له: قُدم بي من خراسان وأنا حَمْل وولدت هاهنا ولم أرَ جَدّي ولا أبي.

We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad, who cites Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Barmakī; and [we cite] ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī l-Muqriʾ (the Qurʾan teacher), who cites ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Aḥmad al-Suyūrī (the leather worker), who heard ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl, who [along with Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Barmakī] heard ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Mardak report that he heard ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim report that he heard Abū Zurʿah report:

[Abū Zurʿah:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s family came from Basra but their district of settlement was Marv.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim added that he heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son Ṣāliḥ report:

[Ṣāliḥ:] I heard my father say that he was born in 164, toward the beginning of the year, in Rabīʿ I. He was brought from Marv in his mother’s womb. His father died when he was thirty and the task of caring for him fell upon his mother.

[The author:] By this Ṣāliḥ means that Aḥmad’s father died at the age of thirty, when Aḥmad was a child. So much is clear from the following report:

We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad, who was informed by Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Barmakī, who was informed by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jaʿfar, who ...