AHMED bin Muhammad Hanbal known as ibn Hanbal was born in the city of Baghdad in the year 780 A.C. (164 A.H.). He studied various subjects in his home town and travelled extensively in quest of knowledge.
He was chiefly interested in acquiring knowledge of Ahadith- traditions of the Holy Prophet - and travelled extensively through Iraq, Syria, Arabia and other countries of the Middle East studying religion and collecting traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
Returning home from his travels which occupied several years of his early life, he took lessons from Imam Shafiee in the subject of Islamic law (fiqh. He was deeply devoted to the traditional views on religious subjects and opposed innovation of any kind.
The strength of his views was tested when under Khalifa al-Mamun and Khalifa al-Mu'tasim, a kind of 'inquisition court' was created to deal with people - among whom were many acknowledged theologians - who would not for instance profess the doctrine of "the creation of the Qur'an". Imam ibn Hanbal too, suffered as a result when he was arrested and brought in chains before the court. But he patiently submitted to corporal punishment and imprisonment and resolutely refused to deviate from his beliefs.
Under the rule of Khalifa Mutawakkil however, the policy of the government changed and Imam ibn Hanbal's trials came to an end. From then onwards the Imam was accorded honour befitting his greatness and on several occasions he was invited to the court and granted a generous pension.
Imam ibn Hanbal's fame spread far and wide. His learning, piety and unswerving faithfulness to traditions gathered a host of disciples and admirers around him.
He died in Baghdad in the year 855 A.C. (241 A.H.) at the age of 75 years.
Among the works of Imam ibn Hanbal is the great encyclopaedia of Traditions called Musnad, compiled by his son from his lectures and amplified by supplements - containing over twenty eight thousand traditions. His other works include Kitab-us-Salaat, on the Discipline of Prayer and Kitab-us-Sunnah, on the Traditions of the Prophet.
The above books form in the main, the Hanbali school of law, although Imam ibn Hanbal too, did not establish a Fiqh system of his own. His decisions were so highly regarded by his disciples that they began to systematise his legal teachings during his lifetime and his ideas gained recognition by the Sunni sect as one of the four authoritative Madhahb the Hanbali.
In the world of Islam, the Hanbalites to-day represent the smallest group of the four Sunni Madhahb, mostly confined to the Middle East countries. In the 18th century Christian-era, the Hanbali system received a vigorous support from the Wahhabi movement founded by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (1703-1787 A.C.) who followed the Hanbali school of thought.
The leadership of the Wahhabi movement today is in the hands of the Saudi dynasty who are the autocratic rulers of Hijaz, in the Arabian peninsula. |
