Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal. Ibn al-Jawzi

أيّامًا في الحبس ثمّ ورد الكتاب من طرسوس بحملهما فحُملا مُقيَّدين زميلَيْن.

      ١ ليس في هـ. ٢ د: فمكث.

      We cite the two Muḥammads, Ibn Nāṣir and Ibn ʿAbd al-Bāqī, who cite Ḥamd ibn Aḥmad, who cites Abū Nuʿaym Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who heard Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar and ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad report that they heard Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Aḥmad; and we cite Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḥāsib, who cites al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Bannā, who cites Abū l-Fatḥ ibn Abī l-Fawāris, who cites Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Salm, who heard ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā l-Jawharī, who along with Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Aḥmad heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son Ṣāliḥ report:

      [Ṣāliḥ:] I heard my father say, “When they took us in to be questioned by Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, the first thing they did was to read aloud the letter written by the one in Tarsus”—that is, al-Maʾmūn.⁵⁶ “They recited some verses to us, including «Nothing is like Him»⁵⁷ and «He is the creator of everything.»⁵⁸ When I heard ‘Nothing is like Him,’ I recited «He is the One who hears and sees.»⁵⁹

      “Then those present were put to the test. Those who withheld their assent were taken away and locked up. Of them all, only four resisted. Their names are Muḥammad ibn Nuḥ; ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Qawārīrī; al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥammād, called Sajjādah; and my father. Later ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar and al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥammād gave in too, leaving only Muḥammad ibn Nūḥ and my father in confinement. There they stayed until, several days later, a letter arrived from Tarsus ordering the two of them to be transported there. They were duly sent, shackled one to the other.”

      ٣،٦٧

67.3

      أخبرنا المحمّدان ابن ناصر وابن عبد الباقي قالا: أخبرنا حمد بن أحمد قال: أخبرنا أبو نعيم الحافظ قال: حدثنا سليمان بن أحمد، وأخبرنا ابن ناصر قال: أنبأنا أبو عليّ الحسن بن أحمد قال: أخبرنا عليّ بن أحمد بن عمر الحَمّامي قال: أخبرنا ابن الصوّاف قالا: حدثنا عبد الله بن أحمد بن حنبل قال:

      حدثني أبو مَعْمَر القَطِيعي قال: لما حضرنا في دار السلطان أيّامَ المحنة وكان أبو عبد الله أحمد بن حنبل قد أُحضِر وكان رجلاً لَيّنًا فلمّا رأى الناس يُجيبون انتفخت أوداجه واحمرّت عيناه وذهب ذلك اللِّين الذي كان فيه، فقلتُ: إنه قد غضب لله.

      قال أبو مَعْمَر: فلمّا رأيت ما به قلت: يا أبا عبد الله أبشر، حدثنا محمّد بن فُضيل بن غَزْوان عن الوليد بن عبد الله بن جُمَيع عن أبي سَلَمَة بن عبد الرحمن بن عَوْف قال: كان من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من إذا أُريدَ على شيء من دينه رأيتَ حَماليق عينيه في رأسه تدور كأنّه مجنون.

      We cite the two Muḥammads, Ibn Nāṣir and Ibn ʿAbd al-Bāqī, who cite Ḥamd ibn Aḥmad, who cites Abū Nuʿaym al-Ḥāfiẓ, who heard Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad report; and we cite Ibn Nāṣir, who was informed by Abū ʿAlī l-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad, who cites ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUmar al-Ḥammāmī, who cites Ibn al-Ṣawwāf, who along with Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s son ʿAbd Allāh report that he heard Abū Maʿmar al-Qaṭīʿī report:

      [Abū Maʿmar al-Qaṭīʿī:] I was there when Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was brought to the palace during the Inquisition. He had always been a meek man, but when he saw the members of the community giving their assent, his veins swelled, his eyes went red, and all the meekness was gone. Seeing him, I remember thinking to myself, “He’s standing up for God.”

      “Abū ʿAbd Allāh,” I told him, “this is good news! Haven’t we heard Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl ibn Ghazwān report, citing al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jumayʿ, citing Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, who said, ‘Among the Prophet’s Companions were some who, if challenged on any matter of religion, would glower and roll their eyes like madmen’?”

      ٤،٦٧

67.4

      أخبرنا عبد الملك بن أبي القاسم قال: أخبرنا عبد الله بن محمّد الأنصاري قال: أخبرنا أبو يعقوب قال: أخبرنا الحسين بن محمّد بن سعيد الخَفّاف قال:

      سمعتُ ابن أبي أُسامة يقول: حُكي^١ لنا أنّ أحمد بن حنبل قيل له أيّام المحنة: يا أبا عبد الله ألا تَرى الحقّ كيف ظهر عليه الباطل؟ فقال: كَلاّ إن ظهور الباطل على الحق أن تنتقل القلوب من الهدى إلى الضلالة وقلوبنا بعدُ لازمة للحق.

      ١ د: يحكي.

      We cite ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-Qāsim, who cites ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Anṣārī, who cites Abū Yaʿqūb, who cites al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Khaffāf, who heard Ibn Abī Usāmah say:

      [Ibn Abī Usāmah:] I remember hearing that during the Inquisition, someone said to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “See? Right loses and wrong wins!”

      “Never!” he retorted. “Wrong wins only if people’s hearts wander off and lose their way, but ours haven’t done that yet.”

      ٥،٦٧

67.5

      أخبرنا هبة الله بن الحسين بن الحاسب قال: أخبرنا الحسن بن أحمد بن البنّا قال: أخبرنا أبو الفتح بن أبي الفوارس قال: حدثنا أبو بكر أحمد بن جعفر بن سَلْم قال: حدثنا عمر بن محمّد بن عيسى الجوهري. وأخبرنا ابن ناصر قال: أخبرنا عبد القادر بن محمّد قال: أخبرنا أبو إسحاق البرمكي قال: أخبرنا عليّ بن مَرْدَك قال: حدثنا ابن أبي حاتم قالا:

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