—namely Ibn Abi Duʿad (1) and a group of his partisans—in the caliph’s presence. During those sessions he, may Allah have mercy on him, decisively prevailed over them, demolishing their claims with proofs drawn from the Qur’an and the Sunnah; all their objections collapsed and they were left without a single argument. Consequently, in the course of these debates, they turned to another method—the method of the powerless that the enemies of Islam customarily adopt when their evidence fails: they began to distort his words, incite the caliph against him, and brand him as deviant, innovative, and someone whose blood was licit.
This is reflected in their statement to one another in the midst of the debate:
“O Commander of the Faithful, he has declared us—and you—disbelievers!”
Imam Aḥmad—may Allah have mercy on him—responded:
“O Commander of the Faithful, they have not given me anything from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, that I could accept.”
Ibn Abi Duʿad said:
“By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, he is astray, leads others astray, and is an innovator.”
After Abu ʿAbd Allah had endured the various kinds of harm and torture, and the caliph’s entourage had been frustrated, he—may Allah have mercy on him—was returned to his home.
Hanbal ibn Isḥāq relates:
“From the time al-Muʿtaṣim released Abu ʿAbd Allah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—may Allah be pleased with him—once the ordeal had ended and he had recovered from the flogging, he continued to attend the Friday and congregational prayers, issue legal rulings, and teach his companions until Abū Isḥāq died and his son Hārūn (2) succeeded him—the one known as al-Wāthiq… ” (3).
Ibn Abi Duʿad then urged him to test the people about the createdness of the Qur’an, so he did so (4), but did not