Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥalabī said: “I heard Abū Hammām al-Sakūnī remark, ‘I have never seen anyone like Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal, nor has he ever seen anyone his equal.’

Ḥajjāj ibn al-Shāʿir stated: “I have seen no one better than Ahmad. I would not wish to be slain in the path of Allah without first having offered the funeral prayer over Ahmad. By Allah, in leadership he rose higher than Sufyān and Mālik.”

ʿAmr al-Nāqid declared: “If Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal and I agree on a hadith, I care not who disagrees with me.”

Ibn Abī Ḥātim related: “I asked my father about ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī and Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal—who had the stronger memory? He replied, ‘Their memorization was comparable, but Ahmad had deeper understanding. Whenever you see someone who loves Ahmad, know that he is a man of the sunnah.’ ”

Abū Zurʿah said: “Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal surpasses Isḥāq in stature and in understanding; I have never seen anyone more complete than Ahmad.”

Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Dhuhlī remarked: “Between myself and Allah I have taken Ahmad as my imam.”

Muḥammad ibn Mihrān al-Jammāl said: “No one remains but Ahmad.”

The Imam of the Imams, Ibn Khuzaymah, narrated: “I heard Muḥammad ibn Saḥtawayh say, ‘I heard Abū ʿUmayr ibn al-Naḥḥās al-Ramlī mention Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal and exclaim:

Ah! How patient he was in turning away from the world! How closely he resembled the early generations! How firmly he was linked to the righteous! The world was offered to him and he spurned it; innovations confronted him and he repelled them.’ ”

Abū Ḥātim commented: “Abū ʿUmayr was one of the devoted worshipers among the Muslims.”

He then said to me, “Dictate to me something about Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal.”