Such were the virtues of Imam Ahmad: knowledge joined to action, humility, patience, and endurance. Anyone reared on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah, who studies under practicing scholars and keeps company with the righteous, is expected to turn out likewise. By contrast, those brought up on the speculations of philosophers and the ideas of the West absorb and adopt those very notions. Muslims must therefore guide their children to the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the character of the righteous predecessors, so that they may receive a sound upbringing, follow the right course, and abandon the importation of educational theories from unbelievers and Western philosophers.

5 – His Ordeal and Steadfastness upon the Truth:

Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 1 “Chapter: An account of the ordeal of Abū ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal during the reigns of al-Ma’mun, then al-Muʿtasim, and then al-Wathiq, on account of the Noble Qur’an; of the long imprisonment he endured, the severe beating, the threats of death with grievous torment and painful punishment; of his indifference to all that, his patience in bearing it, and his unwavering adherence to the upright religion and the straight path. Ahmad was well-versed in the recited verses and transmitted reports that spoke of trials such as his. What he was instructed to do—both in dreams and while awake—reached him, so he accepted and submitted in faith and in hope of reward. Thus he attained the best of this world and the bliss of the Hereafter, and Allah prepared him thereby to reach the highest ranks among His tried and trusted allies.”

Ibn Kathir then added, may Allah have mercy on him: “We mentioned earlier that a group of the Muʿtazilah gained sway over al-Ma’mun, leading him from the path of truth to falsehood. They beautified for him the claim that the Qur’an is created and the denial of Allah’s attributes.” Al-Bayhaqi said: “No caliph before him, whether among the Umayyads or the Abbasids, had ever been upon any creed—