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’s 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. 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). It includes insights into Ibn Hanbal’s childhood, travels, and teachings, as well as descriptions of his way of life.This second and final volumegives a vivid account ofIbn Hanbal’slegendary confrontation with the caliphal Inquisition, including his imprisonment, trial, and flogging. Ultimately, it recounts how the people of Baghdad came to admire him as a symbol of Sunni Islam.
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His Love of Poverty and His Affection for the Poor
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51.1
أخبرنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا عبد القادر بن محمّد قال: أنبأنا إبراهيم بن عُمر قال: أنبأنا عبد العزيز بن جعفر قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن محمّد الخلّال قال:
أخبرني محمّد بن الحسين أن أبا بكر المَرُّوذي حدثهم قال: كان أبو عبد الله يحب الفقراء لم أرَ الفقير في مجلسِ أحدٍ أعزّ منه في مجلسه.
We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad, who was informed by Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar, who was informed by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jaʿfar, who cites Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Khallāl, who cites Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn, who heard Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī report:
[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad loved the poor. I never saw poor men treated as well as they were when sitting in his company.
٢،٥١
51.2
قال الخلّال:
وأخبرنا أبو بكر المَرُّوذي قال: قال لي أبو عبد الله – وذكر رجلاً فقيرًا مريضًا – فقال لي: اذهب إليه وقُل١: أيّ شيء تشتهي حتى نعمل لك؟ ودفع إليَّ طِيبًا وقال لي: طَيِّبه.
١ تركي: قل له.
Al-Khallāl cites Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī, who reports:
[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad once mentioned someone who was poor and ill, and told me, “Go and ask him what he wants us to do for him.”
Then he handed me some scent and said, “Put this on him.”
٣،٥١
51.3
أخبرنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا المبارك بن عبد الجبار قال: أخبرنا أبو بكر محمّد بن عليّ الخياط قال: أنبأنا ابن أبي الفوارس قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن جعفر بن سَلْم قال: حدثنا أحمد بن محمّد بن عبد الخالق قال:
أخبرنا أبو بكر المرُّوذي قال: قال أبو عبد الله أحمد بن حنبل: ما أعدِلُ بالفَقر شيئًا، ما أعدل بالفقر شيئًا، ما أعدل بالفقر شيئًا،١ أنا أفرح إذا لم يكن عندي شيء.
وذكرتُ له رجلاً صَبورًا على الفقر في أطمار فكان يسألني عنه ويقول: اذهب حتى تأتيني٢ بخبره، سبحان الله، الصبر على الفقر، الصبر على الفقر، ما أَعدِل بالصبر على الفقر شيئًا، تَدري الصبر على الفقر أيّ شيء هو؟ وقال: كم بين من يُعطَى من الدنيا ليفتتن إلى آخر تزوي عنه.
وذكرتُ لأبي عبد الله الفُضيل وعُرْيَه وفَتحًا الموصلي وعريه٣ وصبره فتغَرْغرت عينه وقال: رحِمهم الله، كان يُقال: عند ذكر الصالحين تنزل الرحمة.
وقال لي أبو عبد الله يومًا: إني لأفرح إذا لم يكن عندي شيء. فجاءه ابنه الصغير بعَقب هذا الكلام فطلب منه فقال: ليس عند أبيك قطعة ولا عندي شيء.
١ جاءت العبارة مرتين في د ومرة واحدة فقط في ش. ٢ هـ : يأتيني ٣ هـ : عَرْيَه (مشكّلة) وفي ش:عريّه.
We cite Muḥammad ibn Abī Manṣūr, who cites al-Mubārak ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār, who cites Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī l-Khayyāṭ, who was informed by Ibn Abī l-Fawāris, who cites Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Salm, who heard Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Khāliq report that he heard Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī report:
[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once said, “Nothing does as much good as poverty—nothing! When there’s no money here I rejoice.”
I once mentioned someone who bore poverty steadfastly despite living in rags. After that he would ask me about him, saying, “Go and see how he’s doing! God be praised: there’s nothing like bearing poverty—nothing like it at all. Do you understand what it means?”
Once he said, “Some people have the things of this world given to them in order to test them. It’s much better when the world leaves you alone!”
I once mentioned how al-Fuḍayl and Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī had lived in destitution but bore up without complaint. “God have mercy on them,” he said, as his eyes filled with tears. “They used to say that when the righteous are recalled, God’s grace descends.”
One day he said, “When there’s no money here, I’m glad.”
No sooner had he said it than his little son came to ask him for something. “Your father doesn’t have a single coin,” he replied, “or anything else.”
الباب الثاني والخمسون
في ذكر تواضعه
Chapter 52
His Humility
١،٥٢
52.1
أخبرنا أبو منصور عبد الرحمن بن محمّد قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن عليّ بن ثابت قال: أخبرني محمّد بن أحمد بن يعقوب قال: حدثنا محمّد بن عبد الله بن حَمْدُويَه قال: قرأت بخطّ أبي عمرو المُسْتَمْلي سمعت عبد الله بن بِشر الطّالْقاني يقول:
سمعتُ محمّد بن طارق البغدادي يقول: كنتُ جالسًا إلى جنب أحمد بن حنبل فقلتُ: يا أبا عبد الله أستمدّ من مِحْبَرتك؟ فنظر إليَّ وقال: لم يبلغ ورعي وورعك هذا. وتبسّم.
We cite Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad, who cites Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit, who cites Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb, who heard Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥamduwayh report that he read a report in the handwriting of Abū ʿAmr al-Mustamlī (the amanuensis), who heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bishr al-Ṭālqānī say that he heard Muḥammad ibn Ṭāriq al-Baghdādī say:
[Muḥammad ibn Ṭāriq:] I was sitting next to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and I asked him if I could use his inkpot.
He looked at me. “Neither one of us is as scrupulous as all that,” he said with a smile.
٢،٥٢
52.2
أخبرنا إسماعيل بن أحمد ومحمّد بن عبد الباقي قالا: أخبرنا حَمْد بن أحمد قال: حدثنا أحمد بن عبد الله قال: حدثنا سليمان بن أحمد قال: حدثنا عبد الله بن أحمد بن حنبل قال: سمعتُ عبّاس بن محمّد الدُّوري يقول:
سمعتُ يحيى بن مَعِين يقول: ما رأيتُ مثل أحمد بن حنبل، صَحِبناه١ خمسين سنة ما افتخر علينا بشيء مما كان فيه من الصلاح والخير.
١ د: صحبته.
We cite Ismāʿīl ibn Aḥmad and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Bāqī, who cite Ḥamd ibn Aḥmad, who heard Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh report that he heard Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad report that he heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son ʿAbd Allāh report that he heard ʿAbbās ibn Muḥammad al-Dūrī say that he heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say:
[Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:] I never met anyone like Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. We sat with him for fifty years, and never once did he hold his piety and goodness over us.
٣،٥٢
52.3
أخبرنا محمّد بن أبي منصور قال: أخبرنا عبد القادر بن محمّد بن يوسف قال: أخبرنا إبراهيم بن عمر البرمكي قال: أخبرنا عليّ بن مَرْدَك قال: حدثنا أبو محمّد بن أبي حاتم قال:
حدثنا صالح قال: كان أبي ربما أخذ القَدوم وخرج إلى دار السكّان يعمل الشيء بيده وربما خرج إلى البقّال فيشتري الجُرْزة الحطب١ والشيء فيحمله بيده.
