ʿAbd al-Razzaq said, “I have never seen anyone more learned in jurisprudence, nor more scrupulously pious, than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.”

I add: He said this even though he had met giants such as al-Thawri, Malik, and Ibn Jurayj.

Hafs ibn Ghiyath remarked, “No one the equal of Ahmad has ever arrived in Kufah.”

Abu al-Yaman said, “I used to compare Ahmad to Artaʿah ibn al-Mundhir.”

Al-Haytham ibn Jamil, the ḥāfiẓ, said, “If Ahmad lives on, he will stand as a decisive proof against the people of his era.”

Qutaybah stated, “The best man of our time is Ibn al-Mubarak, followed by this young man—meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal. If you see someone who loves Ahmad, know that he is a man of the Sunnah. Had Ahmad lived in the days of al-Thawri, al-Awzaʿi, and al-Layth, he would have been placed ahead of them.”

Someone asked Qutaybah, “Would Ahmad be counted among the Followers (tābiʿūn)?”
He replied, “Among the senior Followers.”

Qutaybah also said, “Were it not for al-Thawri, scrupulous piety would have died out; and were it not for Ahmad, they would have introduced innovations into the religion. Ahmad is the Imām of the world.”

I note: Ahmad cites Qutaybah frequently in his Musnad.

Abu Mus-hir al-Ghassani was asked, “Do you know who is safeguarding this Ummah’s religion for it?” He answered, “A young man in the East—meaning Ahmad.”

Al-Muzani related: al-Shafiʿi said to me, “In Baghdad I saw a young man; whenever he says, ‘It was narrated to us,’ everyone unanimously responds, ‘He has spoken the truth.’” I asked, “Who is he?” He replied, “Ahmad ibn Hanbal.”

Harmalah said, “I heard al-Shafiʿi declare: ‘I left Baghdad without leaving behind a man better, more knowledgeable, more versed in jurisprudence, or more God-fearing than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.’”

Al-Zaʿfarani reported that al-Shafiʿi told him, “I have never seen anyone more intelligent than Ahmad and Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Hashimi.”