foreword

acknowledgments

introduction

the-life-of-ibn-hanbal

ibn-hanbals-birth-and-family-background

his-lineage

his-childhood

the-beginning-of-his-search-for-knowledge-and-the-journey-he-undertook-for-that-purpose

the-major-men-of-learning-whom-he-met-and-on-whose-authority-he-recited-hadith

his-deference-to-his-teachers-and-his-respect-for-learning

his-eagerness-to-learn-and-his-single-minded-pursuit-of-knowledge

his-powers-of-retention-and-the-number-of-reports-he-knew-by-heart

his-learning-his-intelligence-and-his-religious-understanding

praise-of-him-by-his-teachers

teachers-and-senior-men-of-learning-who-cite-him

all-the-men-of-learning-who-cite-him

praise-of-him-by-his-peers-his-contemporaries-and-those-close-to-him-in-age

praise-of-him-by-prominent-successors-who-knew-him-well

a-report-that-the-prophet-elijah-sent-him-greetings

reports-that-al-khair-spoke-in-his-praise

praise-of-him-by-pious-strangers-and-allies-of-god

allies-of-god-who-visited-him-to-seek-his-blessing

his-fame

his-creed

his-insistence-on-maintaining-the-practices-of-the-early-muslims

his-reverence-for-hadith-transmitters-and-adherents-of-the-sunnah

his-shunning-and-reviling-of-innovators-and-his-forbidding-others-to-listen-to-them

his-seeking-of-blessings-and-cures-using-the-quran-and-water-from-the-well-of-zamzam-as-well-as-some-hair-and-a-bowl-that-belonged-to-the-prophet

his-age-when-he-began-teaching-hadith-and-giving-legal-opinions

his-devotion-to-learning-and-the-attitudes-that-informed-his-teaching

his-works

his-aversion-to-writing-books-containing-opinions-reached-through-the-exercise-of-independent-judgment-at-the-expense-of-transmitted-knowledge

his-forbidding-others-to-write-down-or-transmit-his-words

his-remarks-on-sincerity-on-acting-for-the-sake-of-appearances-and-on-concealing-ones-pious-austerities

his-statements-about-renunciation-and-spiritual-weakness

his-remarks-on-different-subjects

poems-he-recited-or-had-attributed-to-him

his-correspondence

his-appearance-and-bearing

his-imposing-presence

his-cleanliness-and-ritual-purity

his-kindness-and-his-consideration-for-others

his-forbearance-and-his-readiness-to-forgive

his-property-and-means-of-subsistence

his-refusal-to-accept-help-even-in-distress

his-generosity

his-accepting-gifts-and-giving-gifts-in-return

his-renunciation

his-house-and-furniture

his-diet

his-indulgences

his-clothing

his-scrupulosity

his-shunning-appointment-to-positions-of-authority

his-love-of-poverty-and-his-affection-for-the-poor

his-humility

his-accepting-invitations-and-his-withdrawal-upon-seeing-things-he-disapproved-of

his-preference-for-solitude

his-wish-to-live-in-obscurity-and-his-efforts-to-remain-unnoticed

his-fear-of-god

his-preoccupation-and-absentmindedness

his-devotions

his-performances-of-the-pilgrimage

his-extemporaneous-prayers-and-supplications

his-manifestations-of-grace-and-the-effectiveness-of-his-prayers

the-number-of-wives-he-had

his-concubines

the-number-of-his-children

the-lives-of-his-children-and-descendants

how-and-why-the-inquisition-began

his-experience-with-al-mamn

what-happened-after-the-death-of-al-mamn

his-experience-with-al-mutaim

his-reception-by-the-elders-after-his-release-and-their-prayers-for-him

his-teaching-of-hadith-after-the-death-of-al-mu-tasim

his-experience-with-al-wathiq

his-experience-with-al-mutawakkil

his-refusing-ibn-tahirs-request-to-visit-him

what-happened-when-his-two-sons-and-his-uncle-accepted-gifts-from-the-authorities

some-major-figures-who-capitulated-to-the-inquisition

his-comments-on-those-who-capitulated

those-who-defied-the-inquisition

his-final-illness

his-date-of-death-and-his-age-when-he-died

how-his-body-was-washed-and-shrouded

on-who-sought-to-pray-over-him

the-number-of-people-who-prayed-over-him

the-praising-of-the-sunnah-and-the-decrying-of-innovation-that-took-place-during-his-funeral-procession

the-crowds-that-gathered-around-his-grave

his-estate

reactions-to-his-death

reaction-to-his-death-on-the-part-of-the-jinns

on-the-condolences-offered-to-his-family

a-selection-of-the-verses-spoken-in-praise-of-him-in-life-and-in-commemoration-of-him-in-death

his-dreams

dreams-in-which-he-appeared-to-others

dreams-in-which-he-was-mentioned

the-benefit-of-visiting-his-grave

the-benefit-of-being-buried-near-him

the-punishments-that-befall-anyone-who-attacks-him

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, who died in the 241st year of the Muslim calendar, 855 according to the Christian one, is probably one of the most famous Muslims in history. Thanks to him, many came to believe that the only right religion was the one practiced at the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. To keep their community together in this world and gain salvation in the next, Muslims needed to live as the Prophet and his Companions had lived: to eat what they ate, wear what they wore, buy and sell only as they had done. “Is there anything I’m doing wrong?” one of Ibn Ḥanbal’s wives asked him a few days after they were married. “No,” he answered, “except that those sandals you’re wearing didn’t exist at the time of the Prophet.

The Life Of Ibn Hanbal

[Ṣāliḥ:] When my father got sick, he let them take care of him. To keep him warm in winter, they would buy thorn-bush roots and burn them in a narrow coal-pan. 47.1 [Al-Muṭawwiʿī:] My father reported that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal didn’t eat pudding with a spoon. Instead, he would eat it out of his hand. He also said that he ate thin flatbread. 47.2 “How do you know?” I asked. “Once I happened to be outside his door just after his son Ṣāliḥ had done some baking for him. A beggar came to the door begging, and they sent out a crust of flatbread. I realized that Aḥmad must eat the same thing, since the Prophet, God bless and keep him, said, ‘Don’t give away anything you don’t eat.’”

The Life Of Ibn Hanbal by Ibn Al-Jawzi

His Indulgences