with whips. Yet he stood as unshakable as the loftiest mountains and emerged from the ordeal like refined gold. He never resorted to taqiyyah (dissimulation); indeed, no reproach for the sake of Allah could deter him.

Ibn Kathir said:
“Those who remained steadfast during the trial and gave no concession were four—some say five: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who was their leader; Muhammad ibn Nuh ibn Maymun al-Jand Bisaburi, who died on the way; Nuh ibn Hammad al-Khuza‘i, who died in prison; Abu Ya‘qub, who died in al-Wathiq’s prison for refusing to declare the Quran created while he was heavily shackled; and Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza‘i.¹”

Ibn Taymiyyah said:
“He was granted such patience and certainty that he merited the rank of imam in the religion. Three empowered caliphs, ruling from the eastern to the western horizons, took turns persecuting him, accompanied by legions of scholastic theologians, judges, ministers, courtiers, commanders, and governors—whose number only Allah knows. Some confined him, others threatened him with death and other severe punishments, and still others drove him into exile.²”

As for his death:
He passed away—may Allah have mercy on him—on Friday, the twelfth of Rabiʿ al-Awwal in 241 AH, at the age of seventy-seven. His funeral was immense and widely witnessed: about eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women attended.³