He then recorded those from whom Ahmad narrated whose kunyah was known while their personal names had not been established, and after that the women from whom he transmitted.1 Altogether, he mentioned a great many of his teachers.

3 – The breadth of his knowledge

Ibrahim al-Harbi said, “When I saw Ahmad ibn Hanbal, it was as though Allah had gathered within him the knowledge of the earlier and later generations, in every field; he would speak whenever he wished and remain silent whenever he wished.” Ahmad ibn Saʿid al-Razi stated, “I have never seen any black-haired man—meaning anyone still alive—who had a better command of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor anyone more learned in their legal rulings and meanings, than Abu ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal.”

Abu ʿAsim remarked, “In Baghdad there is no one but that man—meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal; no one of his like has come to us who excels in fiqh.” Al-Khallal said, “Ahmad once copied the books of legal opinion and committed them to memory, but thereafter he paid them no heed.”

Whenever he spoke on jurisprudence he did so as one who had thoroughly examined the sciences and spoke with clear insight. Abu Zurʿah declared, “Ahmad ibn Hanbal had memorized one million hadith.2” When he was asked, “How do you know that?” he replied, “I reviewed them with him and arranged them by their subject headings.3”

Ibn al-Jawzi observed, “Whenever Ahmad was asked about the reliability or discreditation of narrators, he would recite the information from memory as easily as one recites al-Fatiha. Whoever consults the book al-ʿIlal by Abu Bakr al-Khallal will recognize this; none of the other leading imams possessed such an ability. Likewise—”