Glossary Of Names And Terms

ʿAbbādān town at the head of the Persian Gulf, in the southwest of what is now Iran; in early Abbasid times a gathering place for renunciants (q.v.).

ʿAbbāsah bint al-Faḍl Ibn Ḥanbal’s first wife, and mother of his son Ṣāliḥ.

Abbasid (caliphate) the line of caliphs (q.v.) descended from the Prophet’s uncle al-ʿAbbās, established in 132/749 after the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty and essentially Shiʿi (q.v.) until 237/851; thereafter the nominal dynasts of Sunni (q.v.) Islam until the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 656/1258.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 290/903) one of Ibn Ḥanbal’s sons, and a major transmitter of his Hadith reports.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak (d. 181/797) a famously pious and ascetic Hadith scholar.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Shāfiʿī see Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Shāfiʿī.

ʿAbd al-Razzāq ibn Hammām al-Ṣanʿānī (d. 211/827) a Yemeni Hadith scholar.

ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Warrāq (251/865 or 866) Ibn Ḥanbal’s close friend, described as right-minded and pious.

Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Shāfiʿī (d. ca. 230/845) jurist and theologian who debated with Ibn Ḥanbal during his trial.

Abū Bakr (al-Ṣiddīq) (r. 11–13/632–4) a Companion of the Prophet and first caliph.

Abū Bakr Ahmad ibn Muḥammad al-Marrūdhī (d. 275/888) a close associate of Ibn Ḥanbal and a transmitter of his reports.

Abū Bakr al-Khallāl (d. 311/923) a disciple of al-Marrūdhī and author of the formative compilations of the Ḥanbalī school.

Abū Ḥanifah (d. 150/767) early legal authority who favored judgment (raʾy) over sunnah (q.v.).

Abū Khaythamah Zuhayr ibn Ḥarb (d. 243/847) a Hadith scholar and compiler of reports.

Abū Mushir al-Ghassānī (d. 218/833) Syrian Hadith scholar persecuted by al-Maʾmūn (q.v.) for his unwillingness to declare the Qurʾan created; his resistance may have provoked al-Maʾmūn to pursue the Inquisition (q.v.).

Abū ʿUbayd see al-Qāsim ibn Sallām.

Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī (d. 264/878) major Hadith scholar known for his critical examination of isnāds and his disapproval of Disputation.

Aḥmad ibn Naṣr al-Khuzāʿī (d. 231/845) leader of a failed rebellion against the Caliph al-Wāthiq (q.v.)

and much admired by the Sunnis (q.v.).

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (r. 35–40/656–60) the Prophet’s son-in-law and the fourth caliph (q.v.) according to the Sunni count or the first imam (q.v.) according to several Shiʿi groups.

ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd (d. 230/845) Hadith scholar condemned by Ibn Ḥanbal for capitulating to the Inquisition.

ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm an official at the court of al-Mutawakkil (q.v.).

ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī (d. 239/853) major Hadith scholar, reportedly criticized by Ibn Ḥanbal for accepting the createdness (q.v.) of the Qurʾan.

al-Amīn (r. 193–8/809–13) sixth Abbasid caliph.

Antichrist (al-Dajjāl) in Islamic tradition, a figure who will arise to battle Jesus at the end of the world.

Ascalon (modern Ashkelon) a town on the southeast Mediterranean coast in what is now Israel.

Authenticated Reports Listed By Transmitter (al-Musnad) a book of Hadith reports compiled by Ṣāliḥ, ʿAbd Allāh, and Ḥanbal ibn Isḥaq (qq.v.) at Ibn Ḥanbal’s direction. The work has been published in many modern editions.

Basra a port city in southern Iraq, near the head of the Persian Gulf; a major intellectual center in early Islamic times.

Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith (the Barefoot) (d. 227/841–42) famous ascetic who was suspicious of Hadith study but admired Ibn Ḥanbal.

Bishr al-Marīsī (d. 218/833) a Ḥanafī and Postponer influential during the reign of al-Maʾmūn (q.v.); he was hated by Ibn Ḥanbal and his followers for his belief that the Qurʾan is created.

Bughā the Elder a Turkish general who served several Abbasid caliphs (d. 248/862).

caliph the head of the Muslim community, understood by Sunni Muslims to be any qualified Muslim appointed by his fellows, but in practice Muhammad’s first four successors, followed by the rulers of the Umayyad dynasty and then those of the Abbasid dynasty (who were accepted only grudgingly until they adopted Sunnism in the mid-third/ninth century).

Commander of Believers the title of the caliph (q.v.).

Commander of the Faithful the title of the caliph (q.v.).

community (al-jamāʿah) for Sunnis, the historically continuous group of right-minded believers, and more broadly, the principle that all positions taken by this group were correct and remain binding.

Companions Muslims whose lives overlapped with that of the Prophet Muḥammad.

createdness (of the Qurʾan) the belief that God’s revelation to the Prophet Muḥammad is a created thing, as opposed to being eternal by virtue of its divine origin.

cupping the application of a vacuum (created by placing a flame under an inverted glass) to the skin, with the aim of removing harmful substances from the body.

cycle (rakʿah) any of the rounds of standing, kneeling, and prostration that make up the Muslim ritual prayer.

dāniq (also dānaq) a coin equal in value to one-sixth of a dirham (q.v.).

al-Dāraquṭnī (d. 385/995) a Hadith scholar and Shāfiʿī (q.v.) jurist fiercely opposed to Disputation (q.v.).

Day of Resurrection according to the Qurʾan, the day when the dead are brought back to life before being judged and sent to the Garden (q.v.) or the Fire (q.v.).

dinar a gold coin originally weighing 4.25 grams, and the most valuable coin in use during the early Abbasid period.

dirham a silver coin, until the mid-third/ninth century weighing between 2.91 and 2.96 grams.

Disputation (kalām; literally, “talking”) a discourse on physical or spiritual matters that employs syllogistic reasoning; theological or dogmatic speculation.

Dissident (khārijī) sectarians who refused to support either ʿAlī (q.v.) or Muʿāwiyah in the battle for the caliphate and who believed themselves to be the only true Muslims.

Emigrants followers of the Prophet Muḥammad who joined him when he left Mecca for Medina in 1/622.

Emissary of God a title of the Prophet Muḥammad.

fatā see futuwwa.

al-Fatḥ ibn Khāqān (d. 247/861–62) an administrator and scholar who served al-Mutawakkil (q.v.).

Fāṭimah Ibn Ḥanbal’s daughter; possibly the same as Zaynab (q.v.).

festival either the Feast of Sacrifice, when animals are slaughtered during the pilgrimage, or the Feast of Fastbreaking, celebrated at the end of the Ramadan fast.

Fire (al-nār) according to the Qurʾan, the place where the wicked spend eternity after death.

Fūrān, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad (d. 265/879) a Hadith scholar and close associate of Ibn Ḥanbal.

futuwwah the virtues associated with brave young men; in religious contexts, the admirable qualities of one who fulfills his duties to God and to his fellows.

Garden (al-jannah) according to the Qurʾan, the place where the blessed spend eternity after death.

ḥabbah literally “a grain”; a coin or measure of weight equivalent to 1/48 of a dirham (q.v.).

Hadith the entire corpus of hadiths (q.v.), used to determine the sunnah (q.v.).

hadith a report of something the Prophet Muḥammad said or did, including tacit expressions of approval or disapproval, consisting of the report itself as well as a list of those who transmitted it.

Ḥanafī a follower of the legal school named after Abū Ḥanīfah (q.v.).

Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq (d. 273/886) Ibn Ḥanbal’s cousin, and author of an account of the Inquisition; less often cited than other sources, perhaps because of his father Isḥāq ibn Ḥanbal’s (q.v.) role in the episode.

al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī (d. 243/857) mystical theologian.

Harthamah ibn Aʿyan (d. 200/816) Abbasid general anachronistically used as a character in a story (96.9) about al-Mutawakkil and his court.

Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad either of two sons by this name born to Ibn Ḥanbal’s concubine Ḥusn.

Hāshim the clan of the tribe of Quraysh into which the Prophet was born.

Hāshimī a member of the clan to which the Prophet Muḥammad belonged.

Helpers (anṣār) those citizens of Medina who accepted Islam after the Prophet moved there from Mecca in 1/622.

heretic (zindīq) originally a Manichean dualist, and later anyone suspected of secretly adhering to a creed incompatible with Islam.

Hims (or Homs) a town in the west-central part of what is today Syria.

Hushaym ibn Bashīr (183/799) a Hadith scholar who transmitted to Ibn Ḥanbal.

Ḥusn Ibn Ḥanbal’s concubine and mother of six of his children.

Ibn ʿAbbās (d. ca. 68/687–88) a cousin of the Prophet and the nominal ancestor of the Abbasid line; later generations of Sunnis (q.v.) credited him with vast knowledge of the Qurʾan and the sunnah (q.v.).

Ibn Abī Duʾād (d. 240/854) a Secessionist (q.v.) and advisor to the caliphs al-Maʾmūn, al-Muʿtaṣim, al- Wāthiq, and al-Mutawakkil; hated by Ibn Ḥanbal and his followers for his role in the Inquisition.

Ibn Māsawayh (d. 243/857) physician to several Abbasid caliphs.

Ibn Rāhawayh see Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh.

Ibn Ṭāhir see Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir.

Ibn al-Zayyāt (d. 233/847) vizier under al-Muʿtaṣim, al-Wāthiq, and al-Mutawakkil (q.q.v.).

Ibrāhīm (ibn Isḥaq) al-Ḥarbī (d. 285/898–99) Hadith scholar, renunciant (q.v.), and polymath.

Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī (d. ca. 96/717) Kufan Hadith-transmitter and faqīh known for his exercise of independent judgment.

imam one who in his capacity as a Muslim leads other Muslims, whether in group prayer, in pursuing a particular path in interpretation, or as head of state; among Sunnis (q.v.), an exemplary scholar; among Shiʿa, a member of the Prophet’s family entitled to lead the community, usually by virtue of special knowledge of the law.

Ingrate (kāfir) one who refuses to believe in, or declare a belief in, God.

innovator a term used by Ibn Ḥanbal and his followers to condemn persons they believed responsible for introducing beliefs and practices not present in the sunnah (q.v.) and therefore bad.

Inquisition the interrogation of judges, notary witnesses, Hadith scholars, and miscellaneous other persons, to determine their assent to the doctrine that the Qurʾan is created, and by extension, their acknowledgement that the Abbasid caliph had the final word in matters of belief and practice; introduced by the caliph al-Maʾmūn in 218/833 and intermittently enforced until ended by al- Mutawakkil in 237/851.

Isḥāq ibn Ḥanbal Ibn Ḥanbal’s uncle; reportedly responsible for having him put in trial, and described as urging him to compromise with the Inquisition.

Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm (d. 235/849) governor of Baghdad under al-Maʾmūn, al-Muʿtaṣim, al-Wāthiq, and al- Mutawakkil (q.q.v.).

Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh (d. 238/853) respected Hadith scholar who transmitted to Ibn Ḥanbal.

Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah (d. 193/809) Hadith scholar who transmitted to Ibn Ḥanbal.

Ītākh (d. 235/849) Khazar military commander under the Abbasid caliphs al-Muʿtaṣim, al-Wāthiq, and al-Mutawakkil (q.v.).

Jahm ibn Ṣafwān (d. 128/745) early Muslim thinker to whom are attributed a number of teachings hateful to Ibn Ḥanbal and his associates, particularly the claim that the prototype of the Qurʾan began to exist only at a particular point in time.

jinni a sentient creature made of fire, often described as interfering in human affairs.

jurisprudence (fiqh) most broadly, the ability to discern the right course of action in ritual, legal, and ethical matters; more narrowly, formal text-based legal reasoning.

al-Karābīsī (d. 245/859 or 248/862) a jurist and theologian who argued that God’s speech (including the Qurʾan) is uncreated but human utterance of it is not.

al-Karkh the general name for the region of Baghdad south of the caliphal compound in the Round City.

al-Khaḍir (also called al-Khiḍr) a figure who appears in the Qurʾan (Q Kahf 18:60–82) and guides Moses; in popular belief, a perennially recurrent figure who provides guidance to Muslims in time of need.

al-Khallāl see Abū Bakr al-Khallāl.

Khurasan a region that includes what is today northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.

al-Khuzāʿī see Aḥmad ibn Naṣr al-Khuzāʿī.

Kufa city in central Iraq, on the Tigris River; an important center of learning in early Islamic times.

kunyah a form of address consisting of Abū (“father of”) or Umm (“mother of”) followed by the name of that person’s child or other figure closely associated with them. The use of a kunyah can convey intimacy, respect, or both.

Magians (majūs) a term used by outsiders to refer to Zoroastrians.

Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179/795) early legal thinker associated with the doctrine that the practice of the people of Medina constituted the best precedent.

al-Maʾmūn (r. 198–218/813–33) seventh Abbasid caliph.

manifestations of grace see signs of grace.

al-Manṣūr, mosque of the mosque built by the second Abbasid caliph (r. 136–58/754–75). The mosque continued to serve as a center for Friday worship even after the caliphs moved out of the purposebuilt Round City.

al-Marīsī see Bishr al-Marīsī.

al-Marrūdhī see Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī.

Maʿrūf al-Karkhī (d. 200/815–16) a Baghdadi ascetic prominent in Sufi (mystical) traditions.

Marv city in what is now Turkmenistan; in early Islamic times, the capital of Khurasan (q.v.).

al-Miṣṣīṣah town near the northeast Mediterranean coast in what is today Turkey, and in early Abbasid times on the frontier with the Byzantines.

mithqāl a unit of weight equal to sixty grains of barley (among other definitions).

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir military commander in Baghdad and representative of al-Muʿtaṣim (q.v.) at Ibn Ḥanbal’s funeral.

Muḥammad ibn Idrīs see al-Shāfiʿī.

Muḥammad ibn Nūḥ (218/833) a young man of little Hadith-learning who joined Ibn Ḥanbal in refusing to declare the Qurʾan created.

Muḥammad ibn Zubaydah see al-Amīn.

al-Muḥāsibī see al-Ḥārith.

al-Muhtadī (r. 255–56/868–70) fourteenth Abbasid caliph.

Munkar one of the two angels said to interrogate the dead in their graves.

Musaddad ibn Musarhad (d. 228/842–43) well-respected Basran Hadith transmitter.

al-Musnad see Authenticated Reports Listed By Transmitter.

al-Muʿtaṣim (r. 218–27/833–42) eighth Abbasid caliph.

al-Mutawakkil (r. 232–247/847–61) tenth Abbasid caliph.

Nakīr one of the two angels said to interrogate the dead in their graves.

Nishapur a town in northeastern Iran near present-day Mashhad.

notary-witness a person engaged by a judge to serve as a regular witness to the undertaking of contractual obligations or to the character of persons who appear in court.

Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād (d. 228/843?) a Hadith scholar imprisoned for refusing to declare the Qurʾan created; also famous as a compiler of apocalyptic traditions.

Pegs (awtād) one of four figures associated with the cardinal points of the compass and occupying the third rank in the hierarchy of Sufi masters.

Postponers (murjiʿah) those who hold that latter-day Muslims cannot judge the Companions or resolve the disputes that divided them, and that any such resolution must be postponed until Judgment Day.

Proponent of Created Utterance one who believes that, while the Qurʾan as known to God is uncreated, the Qurʾan as spoken aloud by humans is a created thing.

al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh (r. 422–67/1031–75) twenty-sixth Abbasid caliph.

al-Qāsim ibn Sallām (d. 224/838) compiler of works on legal and linguistic issues.

Qaṭīʿat al-Rabīʿ a district of Baghdad, located southwest of the Round City in al-Karkh (q.v.).

al-Qawārīrī (d. 235/850) Baghdadi Hadith scholar who at first refused, then agreed under duress, that the Qurʾan is created.

Qazwīn a town in north-central Iran west of present-day Tehran.

qīrāṭ a coin worth one-twelfth of a dirham (q.v.).

qiṭʿah a coin, or a scrap or shard made by cutting or trimming a silver coin.

quire (juzʾ) a grouping of sheets that makes up part of a manuscript or book.

Quraysh the tribe to which the Prophet Muḥammad belonged.

rakʿah see cycle.

al-Raqqah a town located on the Euphrates River in north-central Syria; a common stopping point on the journey between Baghdad and the Byzantine frontier.

al-Rashīd (r. 170–93/786–809) fifth Abbasid caliph.

Rayḥanah Ibn Ḥanbal’s second wife and mother of his son ʿAbd Allāh.

Rejection (rafḍ) a disparaging term of reference to Shiʿism, referring to its rejection of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and Muʿāwiyah as legitimate caliphs.

Rejectionist (rāfiḍi) a term of disparaging reference to a Shiʿi (q.v.).

renunciation (zuhd) disengagement from the present world, usually entailing the shunning of comforts, the suppression of bodily urges, and the avoidance of company; a sign of devotion to God’s law.

Rey city in the north-central part of what is now Iran, just south of modern Tehran.

Riḍwān in Muslim tradition, the angel who receives the blessed into the Garden (q.v.).

Righteous Caliphs the Sunni (q.v.) form of reference to Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī (q.v.).

ritual prayer one of Islam’s five prescribed daily prayers (as opposed to duʿāʾ, “supplication,” which may be performed at any time).

al-Ruṣāfah the part of greater Baghdad that lay on the east bank of the Tigris River.

Saʿīd ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal one of Ibn Ḥanbal’s sons, born shortly before his father’s death.

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab (d. 93/711–12) leading Successor (q.v.) of Medina and noted source of Hadith reports.

Sajjādah, al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥammād (d. 241/855) Baghdadi Hadith scholar who at first refused, then agreed under duress, that the Qurʾan is created.

Ṣāliḥ ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 265/879) Ibn Ḥanbal’s eldest son and a major transmitter of his Hadith reports; served as judge in Isfahan.

Samarqand a city located in what is now Uzbekistan.

Samarra purpose-built city in central Iraq that served as the Abbasid capital from 221/836 to 279/892; the caliph al-Mutawakkil (q.v.) had Ibn Ḥanbal brought here from Baghdad.

Sanaa a town in Yemen.

scrupulosity (waraʿ) the pious practice of shunning not only forbidden objects and activities but also those which are merely suspicious or of unknown legality.

Secessionists (al-muʿtazilah, “those who sent themselves apart”) a name applied to scholars who were, broadly speaking, rationalist in their approach. For example, they favored metaphorical explanations for the apparently physical attributes of God.

al-Shāfiʿī, Muḥammad ibn Idrīs (d. 204/820) legal theorist credited with laying the foundation for Sunni jurisprudence by developing methods for deriving law from the Qurʾan and sunnah.

Shāfiʿī a follower of the legal school named after al-Shāfiʿī (q.v.).

Shiʿi (pl. Shiʿa) one characterized by the belief that certain members of the Prophet’s family are the only legitimate leaders of the Muslim community, usually because of their special understanding of God’s law.

signs of grace (karāmāt) violations of accustomed causality that serve as evidence that a person enjoys God’s special favor. These are generally concealed, and differ from the evidentiary miracles performed by prophets.

Stopper one who, when asked about the Qurʾan, says “It is the speech of God,” and stops. According to Ibn Ḥanbal, he should add “uncreated.” Substitutes (abdāl) in Sufi thought, one of a limited number of pious servants of God who, when he dies, is replaced by another of equal merit; among Hadith scholars, a term evidently applied to Muslims of great piety whose identity is supposed to be a secret.

Successors the generation of Muslims after the Companions (q.v.).

Sufi originally a Muslim mystic of the Iraqi school, which in Ibn Ḥanbal’s time was still in the process of formation; in later usage, any Muslim mystic.

Sufyān, al-Thawrī (d. 161/778) transmitter and jurisprudent admired by Sunnis for his pioneering emphasis on Hadith as well as his pro-Umayyad and anti-Abbasid sentiments.

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah (d. 196/811) Meccan Hadith scholar.

sunnah the exemplary practice of the Prophet, preserved in the Hadith (q.v.) and used as a source of law; sometime also includes the practice of the early Muslims (preserved in narratives usually called akhbār or āthār).

Sunnah (adj. Sunni) the mature form of the movement that began by proclaiming itself “the people of sunnah (q.v.) and Community (q.v.)”; it is characterized by solidarity with the historical caliphate, rejection of imamism (see “imam”), and reliance on Hadith (q.v.) rather than Disputation (q.v.).

Tarsus town on the Mediterranean coast of what is today Turkey; a popular destination for pious Muslims seeking to join the frontier wars against the Byzantines.

Tūzūn a Turkish general who siezed control of Baghdad in 331/943.

ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Khāqān (d. 263/877) vizier of al-Mutawakkil (q.v.).

ʿUkbarā town on the east bank of the Tigris north of Baghdad.

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20) Umayyad caliph renowned for his piety and justice.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (r. 13–23/634–44) Companion of the Prophet and second caliph; among Sunnis, an exemplar of just rule.

ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (r. 23–35/644–56) Companion of the Prophet and third caliph; often praised beyond his merits by Sunnis eager to counter the partisans of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (q.v.).

variant readings (of the Qurʾan) In Aḥmad’s time, any of several different traditions of reading aloud (and sometimes writing) the text of God’s revelation to Muḥammad. The different traditions were partially standardized by Ibn Mujāhid (d. 324/936), though up to fourteen different ones remained acceptable.

Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ (d. 197/812) pious Hadith scholar and transmitter to Ibn Ḥanbal.

Waṣīf (d. 253/867) Turkish general who served and subsequently betrayed al-Mutawakkil (q.v.).

Wāsiṭ an agricultural town and administrative center located on the Tigris River in central Iraq. It was founded around 80/700 and seems to have last been inhabited in the tenth/sixteenth century.

al-Wāthiq (r. 227–32/842–47) ninth Abbasid caliph.

witr a voluntary but very meritorious prayer consisting of an odd number of cycles (q.v.) performed at night.

worshipper (ʿābid) any especially pious Muslim who was not a scholar.

Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān an official at the court of al-Muʿtaṣim (q.v.).

Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn (d. 233/848) famously learned Hadith scholar.

Yazīd ibn Hārūn (d. 206/821) pious Hadith scholar who transmitted to Ibn Ḥanbal; reportedly tried to dissuade al-Maʾmūn (q.v.) from declaring that the Qurʾan is created.

Zaynab Ibn Ḥanbal’s daughter.

Zuhayr ibn Ṣāliḥ (d. 303/915–16) Ibn Ḥanbal’s grandson and transmitter of some of his reports.

Reference: The Life Of Ibn Hanbal - Ibn Al-Jawzi