Imām Ahmad

He is Abū ‘Abdullāh Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal ash-Shaibanī, (رحمه الله) also known as the Imām of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah. He was born in Rabi’ ul-Awwal, 164H in Baghdad and passed away there on Friday, the 12th of Rabi’ ul-Awwal, 241H. He began his studies there, then travelled to Shām and the Hijāz to learn from the scholars there. It was said that he memorized one million Hadith and his compilation of narrations known as the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal contains close to twenty nine thousand Hadith. He is one of the four famous Imām’s of Fiqh (jurisprudence) and the Hanbali madhhab was named after him. He famously stood patient in face of the persecution he endured during the caliphate of al-Mā’mūn bin Hārun ar-Rashīd for refusing to support the heresy of the Qur’an being created, an innovation introduced by the Mu’tazilah.

The life of Imām Ahmad is well chronicled in the following books:

The Biography of the Eminent Imam Ahmad bin Hanba

The Biography of Imaam Ahmad bin Hanba

Books authored by him available in English:

Thulaathiyaat from Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanba

Foundations of the Sunnah