Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of one of the four court-sanctioned schools of Sunni jurisprudence

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal in 241 AH, the jurisprudent, Ahmad ibn Mohammad ibn Hanbal ash-Shaybani, passed away in his hometown Baghdad at the age of 79. His father was an army officer of the Abbasid regime in Khorasan. After studying under Mohammad ibn Idris Shafei, and Abu Yusuf – a student of the Iranian Sunni jurist, Abu Hanifa – he travelled widely around Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, to collect hadith, before returning to Baghdad, where he was not welcomed for his views against the Mu’tazalites (rationalists).
He was imprisoned by Ma'moun; flogged on the orders of his successor, Mu'tasim; and banished from Baghdad by Watheq. It was only when the tyrant Mutawakkil assumed power that he was welcomed back in Baghdad.
Ibn Hanbal is the founder of one of the four court-sanctioned schools of Sunni jurisprudence, named after him as Hanbali. His principal work is a collection of hadith, known as al-Musnad, in which he has also included hadith on the unrivalled merits of Imam Ali (AS) and the Ahl al-Bayt or the Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
He, however, perhaps for political reasons, failed to have direct contact with the Infallible Imams of his time, such as Imam Reza (AS), Imam Taqi (AS), and Imam Naqi (AS) – respectively the 8th, 9th and 10th Infallible Heirs of the Prophet (SAWA) – for recourse to authentic hadith from the right sources, although he has cited in his collection the famous hadith "the one who dies without the recognizing the Imam of the Age, dies the death of ignorance."