there was no one on earth who transmitted more material from his father than ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad, for he heard from him the Musnad—thirty thousand reports—and the Tafsīr—one hundred and twenty thousand reports. Of the latter he heard two-thirds, while the remainder he obtained only from written copies (1).

Ibn al-Sammāk relates: Ḥanbal told us:
‘Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal gathered the three of us—myself, Ṣāliḥ, and ʿAbd Allāh—and read the Musnad to us, material that no one else had heard.’

He then said, ‘I compiled and selected this book from more than seven hundred and fifty thousand narrations. Whenever the Muslims disagree about any ḥadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, refer to it: if you find the report here, accept it; if not, it carries no weight as evidence.’

I say: There are a few ḥadiths in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that are not found in the Musnad. Yet this does not contradict his statement, for the Muslims have never differed over those particular reports. Nor does his remark imply that everything contained in the Musnad is automatically authoritative: it includes a number of weak narrations that may be cited but not relied upon as proof, and a handful that verge on fabrication—yet they are but a drop in the ocean (2).

Within the Musnad there are also numerous additions inserted by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad.

Ibn al-Jawzī said: Among the works he—that is, Abū ʿAbd Allāh—authored are: