Ahmad ibn Hanbal

His full name is Abu Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal al-Shaibani az-Zuhli. Born in 780 in Baghdad . His father died when Ahmad was still very small. After the death of his father, he had some livelihood and the house in which he lived with his mother. The income was not more than 17 dirhams a month. Imam Ahmad recalled his childhood: “I have not seen either my father or grandfather. My mother raised me. ” ^[5]

From an early age he studied the Qur'an , hadiths , legends about the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, mastered the grammatical subtleties of the Arabic language. Particular attention was paid to hadith and law. He traveled a lot with the goal of collecting hadith ^[6] . He visited the main centers of Muslim theology, met with almost all the leading ulama of his time, including Abu Yusuf and al-Shafi . He established contacts with such influential figures of Hijaz , Syria , Iraq as Waki Ibn al-Jarrah , Yazid Ibn Harun , Yahya Ibn Main . Thanks to his deep knowledge, pious lifestyle and connections, Ahmad ibn Hanbal is gradually gaining fame ^[7] . At the age of approx. For 40 years he himself became a transmitter of hadith and began to give fatwas. At the same time he gained fame as a teacher of hadithology and law ^[6] .

The heyday of the activities of Ahmad ibn Khanbal coincided with the intensification of the struggle of traditionalist theology with the Mutazilite kalam . Caliph al-Mamun tried to impose on the community a number of Mutazilite views (including the dogma on the creation of the Koran ). Ahmad ibn Hanbal was in a special group of subjects caliph, and for two years (833-834 years) he was kept in prison. Al-Mutasim , who replaced Mamun in power, gave the order to scourge Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but in view of the danger of popular indignation, Ahmad ibn Hanbal was released. He turned out to be the first known theologian to refuse in the face of two caliphs to recognize the creation of the Koran ^[7] . In total, he spent 7 years in prison ^[6] . Sunni sources emphasize that Ibn Khanbal did not resort to the ambiguity and ambiguity ( amphibole ) that some people resorted to during the mikhna. When asked: “Did you speak bluntly, as others did, or did you agree with them (mutazilites), yielding to violence?” He answered: “May Allah protect me from what I did! After all, they look at me, trust me. And if I did this, then people before the Judgment hour would begin to affirm the creation of the Koran ” ^[8] .

In the last years of the life of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, his influence was so significant that the caliph al-Mutawakkil , who restored the position of traditionalism, made a lot of efforts to enlist the support of a theologian. Ahmad ibn Hanbal went to cooperate with the caliph in the fight against mutazilites: at the request of the caliph, he made a list of the most active mutazilites of Baghdad and Basra , initiating direct actions against mutazilites and other supporters of the kalam ^[7] .

Ahmad ibn Hanbal was very modest and devout, distinguished by the highest moral qualities. He refused to occupy court posts, never sought to gain the favor of the authorities, but did not call for rebellion and advocated political tolerance. He did not encourage the “wicked” power, but considered it possible to cooperate with it in good undertakings, subject to the observance of Islamic standards ^[6] .

Ahmad ibn Hanbal died in Baghdad in the year 241 according to the Hijra, or 855 according to the Christian calendar. He left many students and followers ^[7] . Here are the names of only a few of them: Salih and Abdullah (two sons of Imam Ahmad), Usman ad-Darimi , Hanbal ibn Ishaq, Hassan ibn Sabbah Bazzar, Abbas ibn Muhammad, Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari , Abu Zura ar-Razi , Ibrahim Kharabi, Husayn ibn Mansur, Daoud ibn Amr, Khalaf ibn Kham-i-ibn Kham-i-ibn Kham-i-ibn Kham-i-bin Khish-ibn Abbas-hab ^] .

The beliefs of Ahmad ibn Khanbal were consistent with the principles of Sunni Islam. For all the fundamental principles of religion, he referred only to the clear arguments of the Revelation, to the statements and deeds of the “righteous ancestors” (al-salaf al-salikhin).

He denied the possibility of a rationalistic explanation of the tenets of faith. Assessing the religious and political situation in the community as a result of the crisis of the 20s - 40s of the 9th century, Ahmad ibn Hanbal came to the conclusion that it was necessary to return to the order that reigned under the Prophet Muhammad and the first generations of his followers ( Salaf ). Particular attention in the writings of Ahmad ibn Hanbal is given to the development of such a position regarding innovations ( bid ), according to which all innovations in the religious sphere, which are not substantiated in the Qur'an and Hadith and are not confirmed by the consensus ( ijma ) of the first three generations of Muslim authorities, should be condemned ^{[ 7]} .

The political views of Ahmad ibn Khanbal were pragmatic. He considered the period of Righteous Caliphs to be ideal rule. Referring to the verse "... And their business - at a meeting between them ..." ^[9] , he was a supporter of the election of a caliph at the Council ( Shura ), but insisted on the need to choose a caliph from among the Quraysh . He considered legitimate the rule of the usurper, who managed to achieve the disposition of the people, but insisted on the need to recognize even the caliph-sinner, if his coming to power became a fait accompli, otherwise society would be plunged into chaos ^[6] . He also considered possible the removal of the ruler, "prompting people to doubt the faith." According to some sources, he considered religious-political struggle, troubles ( fitna ) acceptable, and, if involved in troubles, upheld the professed views to the end ^[7] . According to others, he warned against mass protests against tyranny and civil strife, fearing even greater upheaval and anarchy. Theologians, in his opinion, should influence the ruler ^[7] .

Ahmad ibn Hanbal believed that beliefs consisted of verbal expression of faith and actions; faith can be strengthened when God approved actions are performed and weakened when sinful acts are committed, but the weakness of faith does not mean a person’s departure from Islam and is overcome by sincere repentance. The fate of the sinner will be decided by Allah ^[6] .

On the issue of Divine predestination and free will, he recognized predestination (kadar) and believed that human freedom does not contradict him, but refused to elaborate on this problem, believing that it is enough to accept the arguments of “righteous ancestors” ^[6] .

Among the surviving works of Ahmad ibn Khanbal the most significant ^[7] :

• Musnad - a collection of more than 30,000 hadiths ^[6] ;
• 6 akid ;
• Kitab as-salad - a book on the rules of prayer and the role of theologians in the community;
• Kitab ar-radd ala al-jamhiyya wa-z-zanadika is a polemical composition that details traditionalist ideas about divine attributes .

• Ermakov D.V. Ahmad b. Hanbal // Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary / Otv. ed. S. M. Prozorov . - M .: Science , GDVL , 1991 . - S. 30-31. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2 .
• Ali-zade, A.A. Ahmad ibn Hanbal // Islamic Encyclopedic Dictionary . - M .: Ansar , 2007.
• Muhammad Ali al-Qutb. Founders of four madhhabs. Moscow - St. Petersburg "Dilya", 2005. - 96 p. - ISBN 5-88503-298-X
• Hamid al-Faki. Tobacco of al-Khanabil Lee Ibn Abi Yaal. Cairo, 1952.

• “Ahmad ibn Hanbal” - an article from the Kazan newspaper “Vera” on the website kcn.ru
• “Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal” islamhouse.com