Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal was born in Baghdad in the month of Rabee ul Awwal in the year 164 A.H. His father died when he was very young and taken care of by his mother. He was known for his good manners, extreme humbleness and high moral character and eloquent writing and became a scribe even as a young boy. And he never wrote anything objectionable at any cost. Even when he was just a boy Ahmad was forced to lead an independent life, he had to spend his childhood like a complete man, who possessed the great qualities like piety, patience, sincerity, conscientiousness in his duty and tenacity.
Imam married late in life as he was completely immersed in the path of seeking knowledge. He married 3 women one after the other. His Children were Salih, Abdullah, Zainab, Hasan, Husain and Muhammad. Among them Salih and Abdullah played a major role in spreading their father’s jurisprudence and they earned a higher position in the society due their great wisdom.
Imam Ahmad started to study Hadeeth when he was 16 years old. He acquired knowledge from all of the Hadeeth Scholars. His Musnad proves he collected Ahadith from different regions and he categorized them in an appropriate manner. He had undergone great suffering in the cause of seeking knowledge. He travelled to Al- Basrah, Al- Hijaz, Yemen and Al- Kufah while facing many hardships, shows his extreme desire for learning with huge dedication and sacrifice. He had performed Hajj five times including three times on foot in order to get closer to Allah. He also walked long distances in order to acquire knowledge.
Imam Ahmad had memorized a huge number of hadith when he was very young and many Scholars were impressed by his greater knowledge of the Sunnah. Imam Ahmad was very firm in adhering to the Sunnah. He practiced the way of Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions in leading his life and strictly followed the Prophetic practices. He had high love, admiration and respect towards the Ahadith. And this made him shun the innovators and he remained distant from such innovators. He believed sound knowledge of Hadith will prevent one from falling into innovation.
Imam Ahmad is also known as one of the four great Imams of the religion. Hanbalite jurisprudence was based primarily on the Quran and Sunnah and then the verdicts given by companions, thirdly with the principles mentioned by Ibn Al- Qayyim and the fourth principle is acting upon Mursal and week Hadith ( he gave preference to it over Qiyas). His contribution to the Fiqh and his Ijtihad in the development of Islamic legal theory is noble and admirable.
He attained such great wisdom through the experiences in his life. He was extremely polite, courteous and humble towards his teachers. He appreciated the value of teachers and treated them with esteem and honor. It shows that whoever understands the value of knowledge will honor the providers of knowledge. Imam Ahmad was highly fluent in Arabic language. Without the base of fluent Arabic knowledge no one can claim to be an Islamic scholar, Mujtahid or an authority on any sector of Islamic Science. The greater the knowledge of Arabic language, broader the understanding of Quranic concepts and teachings of the Sunnah a man can have. So it is very important to acquire a better Arabic knowledge like Imam Ahmad.
He only started teaching people after he turned forty, which he believed to be a good age to attain perfect wisdom, like the Prophet (peace be upon him) attained Nubuwwah at the same age. It shows how he was very patient and wanted to be perfect until he could start teaching people. He became very famous for his steadfastness, humility and absence of any desire, on his part, for fame. People started to visit him for acquiring Imam’s knowledge and to take advices from him. Imam had never indulged in any vain talk or joked in his sessions. He was very accurate and specific in conveying the concepts. He even considered narrating Sunnah as an act of worship. Imam Ahmad’s Musnad is considered the greatest book of his time and even afterwards, which contains abundant number of ahadith.
The trial he had undergone in his time is a really a tragic incident. The belief of the Mu’tazilah, that the Quran was created, which was a false thought, made him greatly disturbed. He alone stood against this concept and he was taken in chains, was tortured, was flogged continuously and imprisoned for more than 2 years. This made the Imam physically weak afterwards. This trial he endured shows his high level of Iman, steadfastness, serenity, and patience that every Muslim should maintain in any kind of situation.
Imam Ahmad was well known for his piety and religiousness. He devoted his entire life for the sake of Allah. His prayers, fasting, charity and good acts prove his devoutness to this religion. He lead a very simple life, he never asked for help from anyone to fulfill his daily activities. He had abstained his heart from the distractions of this worldly life. His modesty was amazing and he abstained from unlawful things. He was a very kindhearted man and generous too. He preferred to spend time in solitude and remember Allah in secret. He was also very humble towards everything.
Imam Ahmad passed away in Rabee ul Awwal in the year of 241 A.H after an illness. Imam Ahmad’s funeral is the largest in history in which a million number of people attended. The simple and ordinary life that Imam Ahmad lead is a very good example to follow and his noble characters like piety, steadfastness, higher level of patience, humility, humbleness, silence, sincerity, honesty, perfection, generosity, kind nature, modesty and his quest for knowledge and his striving for it can benefit a seeker of knowledge to a great extend. He is one of the perfect role models to be followed by the seekers of knowledge.
Written by: Zahra Rahman
