The Life Of Ibn Hanbal by Ibn Al-Jawzi

The number of Aḥmad’s associates, and of those learned scholars and good men who, during the years that have elapsed between his death and our own time, have followed his path is too large to count. Here I will mention only the most prominent, arranged in nine generations. May God ensure success!542 100.1

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥajjāj, Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī. A scrupulous and righteous man. He was devoted to serving Aḥmad, who would send him out on errands. Aḥmad used to tell him: “Anything you say counts as if I said it myself.” He treated al-Marrūdhī with special consideration and would eat what he gave him.543

After he returned from Samarra, he would often say, “God reward al-Marrūdhī!” It was al-Marrūdhī who closed Aḥmad’s eyes and washed him after he died. He also transmitted many of his reports and discussions of legal issues. 100.3

When Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī left for the frontier, a crowd of people marched with him as far as Samarra. He kept telling them to turn back but they wouldn’t. The size of the crowd was estimated at fifty thousand, not counting the ones who turned back before reaching Samarra.

“Be grateful to God,” someone said to him, “that so many people admire you.” He burst into tears then said, “It’s not me they admire, it’s Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” [Al-ʿAbbās ibn Naṣr:] I went to pray at al-Marrūdhī’s grave and saw some old men there. One of them was telling another, “So-and-So slept here last night and woke up scared. I asked him what happened, and he said, ‘I dreamed I saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal riding along. I asked him where we were going, and he said, “To the Tree of Ṭūbā to catch up with Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī.”’” Al-Marrūdhī died the sixth of Jumādā I 275 [September 16, 888] and was buried near Aḥmad’s grave. His funeral prayer was led by Hārūn ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Hāshimī.

Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq al-Ḥarbī. Born in 198 [813–14], heard reports from Abū Nuʿaym al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn, ʿAffān ibn Muslim, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿIjlī, Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl al-Tabūdhakī, Musaddad, and many others. He was an exemplar in all fields of learning, a good compiler, and a worshipful renunciant who transmitted from Aḥmad some good discussions of legal problems. 100.7

Al-Dāraquṭnī said, “Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī was on a par with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal in renunciation, learning, and scrupulosity.” [Al-Ashyab:] A man once said to Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī, “How did you manage to collect all these books?” 100.8

“With blood and toil!” Ibrāhīm replied angrily. “Blood and toil!” [ʿAbd Allāh:] My father used to tell me, “Go to Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī and have him dictate the Book of Dividing Inheritances for you.” 100.9

[ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Zayd:] Abū ʿAlī l-Ḥusayn ibn Qahm once said to me, at the mention of Ibrāhim al-Ḥarbī, “By God, Abū Muḥammad, you’ll never see another like him, at least not in this world. I’ve met people of learning and ability in every field, and studied with them, but never saw anyone as accomplished in all of them as he was.” 100.10

[Ibn Durustuwayh:] Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī and Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Thaʿlab once met, and Thaʿlab said to Ibrāhīm, “When is it all right to do without meeting other scholars?” 100.11

“When one knows what they’ve said,” answered Ibrāhīm, “and what positions they’ve supported.” Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī died in Baghdad in 285 [898–99]. Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb al-Qāḍī prayed over him, and a great number of people attended the funeral. He was buried in his house, and his grave is known today and visited for blessings.

Muhannaʾ ibn Yaḥyā l-Shāmī. Related Hadith citing Yazīd ibn Hārūn and ʿAbd al- Razzāq. A major figure among Aḥmad’s associates. Aḥmad respected him and gave him the consideration due him as a student of long standing. He would tire him out with his incessant questions, but Aḥmad would bear it patiently. Al-Dāraquṭnī called him a trustworthy and upstanding authority. 100.18

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn Abū Bakr al-Khallāl. Dedicated himself to collecting the knowledge transmitted by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Traveling for that purpose, he documented Aḥmad’s teachings both with few intermediaries and with many intermediaries,544 and compiled a number of works, including his Compendium in some two hundred quires. None of Aḥmad’s other associates accomplished anything on that scale. His study circle was in the mosque of al-Mahdī. He died before the Friday prayer on the third of Rabīʿ I 311 [June 20, 923]. 100.22

Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf, Abū Muḥammad al-Barbahārī. Combined learning and renunciation. Was an associate of al-Marrūdhī and Sahl al-Tustarī. He renounced seventy thousand dirhams left him by his father on account of misgivings he had about its permissibility. He was severe in his denunciations of innovators, who eventually managed to turn the authorities against him. He moved from Muḥawwal Gate, where he had been staying, to the East Side, where Tūzūn’s sister hid him in her house. After he had been there a month, he died of a hemorrhage.545 The woman sent her servant to find someone to wash his corpse, then locked all the doors so no one would know the body was there. The corpse-washer arrived, washed the corpse, and stood praying alone over the body. Suddenly the woman looked up and saw that the house was full of men dressed in green and white. Summoning the servant, she asked, “Did you let them in?” 100.23

“My lady,” he replied, “did you see what I saw?” “I did!” “Well, here are the keys; the door is still locked.” Hearing this, she told them to bury al-Barbahārī in the house. “When I die,” she added, “bury me near him.” He was accordingly buried in the house, and when she died she was buried there as well. The place is in al-Mukharrim, near the royal palace.

I read a report in the handwriting of my teacher Abū l-Ḥasan al-Zāghūnī saying, “The grave of Abū Muḥammad al-Barbahārī was opened and his body found whole and undecayed. From the grave came a scent of perfume that filled the City of Salvation.”546

ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jaʿfar ibn Aḥmad, Abū Bakr, the Disciple of al-Khallāl. Recited Hadith citing Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah, Mūsā ibn Hārūn, Qāsim al- Muṭarriz, and Abū l-Qāsim al-Baghawī, among many others. He is the author of several large and well-executed compilations. He died in Shawwāl 363 [June–July 974]. 100.35

[Abū Yaʿlā:] I have heard that during his final illness, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jaʿfar said, “I’ll be here with you until Friday.” Those around him wished him a speedy recovery, but he replied: “I heard Abū Bakr al-Khallāl say that he heard Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī say, ‘Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal lived seventy-eight years, died on a Friday, and was buried after the ritual prayer.’ Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī himself lived seventy-eight years, died on a Friday, and was buried after the ritual prayer. And Abū Bakr al-Khallāl lived seventy-eight years, died on a Friday, and was buried after the ritual prayer. Now I’m seventy-eight, and I’ll be here with you until Friday.” When Friday came he died. He was buried after the ritual prayer.

ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdān, Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Baṭṭah al-ʿUkbarī. Heard reports from al-Baghawī, Ibn Ṣāʿid, and many others. He traveled extensively in search of Hadith. He was gifted with a generous share of learning and piety. 100.37

[Al-Luʾluʾī:] After Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Baṭṭah returned from his travels, he remained at home for forty years, during which he was never once seen at a market, nor ever seen to break his fast except on the Festival of Sacrifice and the Festival of Fast-Breaking. He constantly exhorted others to right action. Whenever he was told anything bad about anyone, he would change the story before repeating it.

[Al-ʿAtīqī:] Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Baṭṭah died in Muḥarram 387 [January–February 997]. He was a righteous elder whose prayers were answered.

[Al-ʿUkbarī:] We buried him on ʿĀshūrāʾ [Muḥarram 10, 387/January 23, 997].

Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Abū l-Ḥusayn ibn Samʿūn. Unique in his day in his leading others to the remembrance of God. Generous in his gifts of learning, practice, and manifestations of grace. I have collected reports about him, and most of the others in this chapter, in my Account of the Elite. As I dislike repeating myself when I write, I will not provide complete biographies here, only short comments. 100.38

Al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥāmid Abū ʿAbd Allāh. The leader of those who followed Aḥmad’s way in this generation, and the author of many large-scale compilations. He died on the Mecca road near Wāqiṣah after his return from the pilgrimage of 403 [ca. June 1013].

Shortly before his death, he was leaning against some rocks and a man approached him with some water. Though about to expire, al-Ḥasan asked, “Where did you get this?”547 100.40

“This is hardly the time to ask,” said the man.

“On the contrary,” said al-Ḥasan. “What better time than before I face God?”

Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Fatḥ, Abū Ṭālib al-ʿUshārī. A prolific transmitter and a man of abundant religious feeling. 100.43

I heard my teacher ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Ḥāfiẓ say, “Abū Ṭālib al-ʿUshārī once went out on a day of unrest when no one was safe. He was accosted by a Turk who asked him, ‘What have you got to give me?’ “‘Nothing,’ he said.

“The Turk walked off but Abū Ṭālib called him back. ‘I have to tell you,’ he said, ‘that our stock in trade is being honest. I have two dirhams—take them!’ “The Turk not only left him unmolested but found out where he lived and extended protection to the whole neighborhood in appreciation of his honesty.”

The judge Abū Yaʿlā Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn al- Farrāʾ. Heard much Hadith, and studied legal reasoning with Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥāmid. To him passed the knowledge of Aḥmad’s way in his generation. He authored numerous compilations on the principles of jurisprudence and on particular applications of the law. He had many students. He was a man of propriety and integrity, and discerning in matters of law. He served as a judge and dictated Hadith in the mosque of al-Manṣūr from the chair formerly occupied by Ibn Ḥanbal’s son ʿAbd Allāh. Vast crowds attended his sessions, and three men—Abū Muḥammad ibn Jābir, Abū Manṣūr ibn al-Anbāri, and Abū ʿAlī l-Baradānī—worked as his repeaters.548 He died on Sunday night between the two night prayers and was buried on Monday, the nineteenth of Ramadan 458 [August 14, 1066]. So many people attended his funeral that a good number succumbed to the heat and had to break their fast. 100.44

Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd al-Khāliq ibn ʿĪsā l-Hāshimī. Heard much Hadith from Abū l-Qāsim ibn Bishrān, Abū Muḥammad al-Khallāl, Abū Isḥāq al-Barmakī, al-ʿUshārī, Ibn al- Mudhhib, and others, and studied jurisprudence with Judge Abū Yaʿlā. He was a jurisprudent and compiler, and a pious and self-restrained man. He was certified by Judge Abū Yaʿlā and served Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Dāmaghānī as a notary-witness but stopped before he died. He taught at a mosque in the Ragdealer’s Alley near the Basra Gate and at the mosque of al-Manṣūr, then moved to the East Side, where he taught at a mosque across from the caliphal palace. In ’66, after the flooding of the Muʿallā Canal, he moved to the Archway Gate, settling in Dīwān Street in al-Ruṣāfah and teaching in the mosque there as well as the mosque of al-Mahdī. He also convened sessions where speculative discussions took place. 100.46

When Judge Abū Yaʿlā was on his deathbed he asked ʿAbd al-Khāliq to wash his corpse. Later, when the Caliph al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh was on his deathbed, he made the same request. ʿAbd al-Khāliq did as he was asked but took nothing from the palace. He was told that the caliph had made him numerous bequests, but he refused to take anything. Finally they offered him the caliph’s shirt, saying he could gain a blessing from it. In response, he took his own waist-cloth, dried the body with it, and said, “Now I’ve got the caliph’s blessing.” He was then summoned by al-Muqtadī to offer the oath of allegiance on the spot. ʿAbd al-Khāliq tendered his oath alone.549 100.47

When al-Qushayrī’s boy came to Baghdad and unrest broke out, ʿAbd al-Khāliq, who was severe in his treatment of innovators, fought to keep them down, and succeeded, though he was arrested and jailed.550 Hearing that he was in jail, the people raised an outcry. ʿAbd al-Khāliq was removed to the Harem of Ṭāhir on the West Side and died there on Thursday, the fifteenth of Ṣafar 470 [September 7, 1077], a day long remembered. He was buried in a grave next to Aḥmad’s. People spent days and nights by the gravesite. It is said that within months the Qurʾan had been read there in its entirety more than ten thousand times. 100.48

Someone saw ʿAbd al-Khāliq in a dream and asked how he had fared. “When they buried me,” he replied, “I saw a dome of white pearl with three doors, and I head a voice say, ‘This is yours; enter by whichever door you wish!’” Another dreamer who saw him asked the same question and was told, “I met Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and he told me, ‘You’ve fought the good fight for God, and He’s pleased with you.’” Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-ʿUlabī. Among those renowned for righteousness and renunciation. He heard Hadith and studied some of our jurisprudence with Judge Abū Yaʿlā. He worked for a time plastering walls with his own two hands before giving that up and staying permanently at the mosque, teaching others to read the Qurʾan and leading worshippers in prayer. He guarded his person and would accept nothing from anyone. Every night he would go by himself to the Tigris and fill a pitcher with water for his breakfast. He would run all his own errands rather than send someone else. 100.55

Whenever he went on the pilgrimage, he would visit the graves in Mecca. At the grave of al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, he would draw his stick across the ground and say, “Here, Lord! Here!” In 503 [1109–10] he went out to perform the pilgrimage. On the way, he had twice fallen off his camel. He lived long enough to stand at ʿArafah in his pilgrim’s garb, but died that evening551 in ʿArafāt. His body was taken to Mecca and carried around the Kaʿbah, then buried on the Day of Sacrifice next to the tomb of al- Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ.

Abū l-Wafāʾ ʿAlī ibn ʿAqīl ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl al-Baghdādī . Heir of the school’s expertise in both the principles and the applications of jurisprudence. He was possessed of a piquant turn of mind, a penetrating intelligence, and the sharp eyes and sharp wits that Baghdadis are famous for. Anyone who peruses his compilations or reads the reflections and experiences he describes in his book Varieties, in two hundred bound sections, will second my appreciation of the man. I have so far managed to get a hold of some 150 volumes. He heard Hadith from Abū Bakr ibn Bishrān, Abū l-Fatḥ ibn Shīṭā, Abū Muḥammad al-Jawharī, Judge Abū Yaʿlā, and others. He was born in 430

[1038–39], or according to some others, 431 [1039–40], and died in 513 [1119– 20]. 100.57

Muḥammad ibn Abī Ṭāhir ibn ʿAbd al-Bāqī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Rabīʿ ibn Thābit ibn Wahb ibn Mashjaʿah ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik al-Anṣārī (one of the three Helpers who stayed behind).552 Born in Safar of ’42 [June–July 1050] in al-Karkh. He used to say, “When I was born my father brought in one astrologer and my mother brought in another. They took my horoscope and agreed that I would live for fifty-two years. But here I am in my tenth decade!” 100.60

He is the last to have transmitted Hadith citing Abū Isḥāq al-Barmakī, Abū l- Ṭayyib al-Ṭabarī, Abū Ṭālib al-ʿUshārī, Abū l-Ḥasan al-Bāqillānī, Abū Muḥammad al- Jawharī, and others. He used to say, “I memorized the Qurʾan at the age of seven, and there’s no branch of learning I haven’t studied, either completely or in part. I don’t think I’ve wasted a single hour of my life with distractions or diversions.” He was unique in his mastery of mathematics and inheritance calculation. I went to see him when he was ninety-three, and he hadn’t lost any of his faculties. He died before noon on Wednesday, the second of Rajab 535 [February 11–12, 1141], and was buried near Bishr al-Ḥāfī. He spent the last three days of his life tirelessly reciting the Qurʾan.

Abū l-Barakāt ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn al-Mubārak al-Anmāṭī . Of all the Hadith teachers I have seen, he had heard the most reports and copied the most despite knowing them by heart. I never had a teacher who corrected our reading more patiently, or one more likely to be moved to tears despite his customary cheerfulness and the warm welcome he extended. He was born in Rajab ’62 [April–May 1070] and died in Muḥarram 538

[July–August 1143]. He is buried in al-Shūnīziyyah. 100.63

Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dīnawarī. Studied jurisprudence with Abū l-Khaṭṭāb al-Kalwadhānī and excelled in it. He also outdid his fellows in disputation to the point that Asʿad al-Mīhanī said of him, “Abū Bakr al-Dīnawarī never saw an argument he couldn’t poke a hole in.” Whenever the righteous were mentioned, he would break down and weep, saying “Learned men have some standing with God, and perhaps …”553 I began attending his lectures after the death of my teacher Abū l-Ḥasan al-Zāghūnī and continued with him for some four years. He once recited to me: 100.64

The things a scholar needs are six.

Here’s a list of them in rhyme.

Brains, drive, ripe age, poverty.

His teacher’s help, and time.554

He also recited to me: 100.65

You want to be well versed in law.

And a whiz at disputation.

But without much work, or pain, or toil.

Now there’s a mental aberration.

To make a dirham, as you know.

Means work and toil and pain.

Why should the learning that you seek.

Be an easier thing to gain?555

He died in 532 [1137–38] and was buried near Aḥmad’s grave.

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Muqriʾ. Heard much Hadith and could read the Qurʾan in many variant readings, on which he authored well-executed compilations. He had some knowledge in the sciences of the Arabic language. I never heard anyone recite more beautifully, perfectly, or correctly. He was a strong Sunni who spent his whole life alone in his mosque. He was born in Shaʿbān ’64 [April–May 1072] and died Monday, the twenty-eighth of Rabīʿ II 541 [October 7, 1146].

Countless people attended his funeral—more than I have ever seen attend for anyone. 100.67

Abū l-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn Nāṣir ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī. He was born in Shaʿbān of ’67 [March–April 1075]. He heard much Hadith and was gifted with a good deal of knowledge in that field. He also studied linguistics with Abū Zakariyyā. It is through him that God guided me toward a life of learning. When I was young he worked hard to bring me with him to the study circles. I first heard Aḥmad’s Authenticated Reports, as well as collections of prized Hadith with short transmission chains,556 when he read them aloud for Ibn al-Ḥuṣayn. At the time I had no idea what it meant to be involved in learning from a young age. He would check to make sure I understood everything I heard. I studied with him for thirty years and never learned as much from anyone else.

He died in Shaʿbān of 550 [September–October 1155]. God be pleased with him! 100.68

Abū Ḥakīm Ibrāhīm ibn Dīnār al-Nahrawānī. Met Abū l-Khaṭṭāb al-Kalwādhānī and other teachers. Studied jurisprudence, engaged in disputation, and heard much Hadith.

He was deft at calculating inheritances. He was a learned man who put what he knew into effect. He was given to fasting and worship, and he was extremely humble, preferring to be ignored. His forbearance and self-deprecation became proverbial; indeed I never saw anyone like him in that respect. He died Tuesday, the twenty-third of Jumādā II 556 [June 19–20, 1161], and was buried on Wednesday morning near Bishr al-Ḥāfī. 100.71

If we had mentioned all the figures in each generation, or written complete biographies of the men we have listed, the book would have grown much longer. We have therefore confined ourself to mentioning only the most prominent figures in each generation and saying a few words about the sort of people they were. We give God our thanks and to Him direct our pleas for help. 100.72

Here ends the book. We give praise to God always, and ask Him to bless and save Muḥammad, the unlettered557 Prophet and the best of His creation, and his family and Companions.