(=) Ahmad and his student: He was deemed reliable and one of the preservers of hadith. Among his works was Al-Tarikh (History), which Fuad Sezgin notes “appears to have been lost over time.” He is also credited with the manuscripts Al-Fitan (The Trials) and Mihnat Ibn Hanbal (The Ordeal of Ibn Hanbal). He was born in 193 AH and died in Wasit in 273 AH. References: • al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil, Ibn Abi Hatim, 1/2:320 • Tabaqat al-Hanabila, Ibn Abi Ya‘la, 1:143–145 • Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, al-Dhahabi, 2:600–601 • al-A‘lam, al-Zarkali, p.321 • Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifin, al-Kahhala, 4:86 • History of Arabic Scholarship, Sezgin, vol. 1, pt. 3 (Fiqh), pp. 230–231 (1) Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hani’ al-Ta’i al-Iskafi al-Athram: Companion of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, rated reliable. He authored a work on ‘Ilal al-Hadith (Hidden Defects of Hadith) and the Sunan, the latter described by al-Dhahabi as “a precious book.” He died in 261 AH. References: • Tarikh Baghdad, al-Baghdadi, 5:110–112 • Tabaqat al-Hanabila, Ibn Abi Ya‘la, 1:66–74 • Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, al-Dhahabi, 2:570–572 • al-A‘lam, al-Zarkali, 1:194 (2) Abu Asim Khushaysh ibn Asrim ibn al-Aswad al-Nasa’i, al-Hafiz al-Hujjah: Narrated upon by Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i, and others. He wrote Kitab al-Istiqama (The Book of Uprightness) refuting the innovators. He died in Egypt in 253 AH. References: • Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, al-Dhahabi, 2:551 • Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Ibn Hajar, 3:142 • Idah al-Maknun, Isma’il Pasha, 2:266 • al-A‘lam, al-Zarkali, 2:353 • Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifin, al-Kahhala, 4:99–100 (3) His biography appears above, p. 130. (4) Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzayma ibn al-Mughira ibn Salih ibn Bakr al-Sulaymi al-Nisaburi, al-Hafiz al-Kabir (the Grand Preserver). His narrators include those found in Bukhari and Muslim apart from their Sahih collections. Born 223 AH, died in Nishapur in 311 AH. He authored Al-Tawhid wa Ithbat Sifat al-Rabb (Monotheism and the Affirmation of Divine Attributes), first printed in 1353 AH and reprinted in 1388 AH with commentary and revision by Muhammad Khalil Harras; later critically edited by Dr. Abd al-Aziz al-Shihwan for his doctoral thesis.