and al-Hasan ibn Hammad Sajjādah (1), and Yaʿqub ibn Humayd ibn Kasib (2).
Let us now relate, in brief, something of the life of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (3) (may Allah have mercy on him)—his virtues, merits, and outstanding deeds (4). We say, while seeking help from Allah:
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ibn Hilal ibn Asad ibn Idris ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Hayyan ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Anas ibn ʿAwf ibn Qasit ibn Mazin ibn Shayban ibn Dhuhl ibn Thaʿlabah ibn ʿUkabah ibn Saʿb ibn ʿAli ibn Bakr ibn Waʾil ibn Qasit ibn Hind ibn Afsā ibn Duʿmi ibn Jadilah ibn Asad ibn Rabiʿah ibn Nizar ibn Maʿadd ibn Adnan ibn Udd ibn Udad ibn al-Hamaysaʿ (5) ibn an-Nabit (6) ibn Qaydhar ibn Ishmael, son of Abraham the Friend of Allah (may Allah have mercy upon them) (7), known as Abū ʿAbd Allah al-Shaybani, originally from Marw and later a resident of Baghdad.
This is the lineage exactly as recorded by the great ḥadith scholar Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqi—may Allah have mercy on him—in the book he composed on the merits of Imam Ahmad, which he transmitted from his teacher, the ḥadith master Abū ʿAbd Allah al-Hakim, the author of al-Mustadrak (8).
(1) The manuscripts read “ʿĪsā,” while al-Dhahabī records “ʿĪsā ibn Ḥammād” and “Sajjāda,” likely a copyist’s error. He is al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥammād ibn Kusayb al-Ḥaḍramī, Abu ʿAlī al-Baghdādī, known as Sajjāda; a reliable traditionist of the Sunnah, regarded among the foremost scholars and trustworthy figures of his time. See Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 11:392; al-ʿIbar, 1:435; Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, 6:129. As for ʿĪsā ibn Ḥammād, known as Zughba, he died in 248 AH.
(2) Abū al-Faḍl al-Madānī, a resident of Mecca and a senior, truthful hadith transmitter—perhaps a case of confusion. See Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 11:158; Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, 2:375; Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ, 9:161.
(3) Numerous biographers have included his entry, notably: History of Baghdad, 4:412; Tarīkh Dimashq by Ibn ʿAsākir, 7:218–296; its abridgment by Ibn Manẓūr, 3:240–257; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 11:177; al-ʿAlām, 1:203.
(4) An addition found in manuscripts B and the Dhahabī recension.
(5) The printed edition adds “ibn Ḥamal” here, which does not appear in any known manuscript nor in the passage of Tarīkh Dimashq (5:256) transmitted by al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir. His lineage is given differently elsewhere; see the sources for his biography.
(6) The manuscripts read Thābit, but the reading in the printed edition and the primary sources is to be preferred.
(7) An addition in the printed edition.
(8) See History of Baghdad, 4:413; Tarīkh Dimashq by Ibn ʿAsākir, 7:218 ff.; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 11:178.