Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780 - 855) was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. He is considered the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh. His full name was Ahmed bin Muhammad Hanbal. Events Constantine VI becomes Byzantine Emperor with Irene as guardian. ... Events Louis II succeeds Lothar as western emperor. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline. ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Hanbali is one of the four schools (Maddhabs) of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. ... Islamic jurisprudence, Fiqh (in Arabic and Persian: فقه) is made up of the rulings of Islamic scholars to direct the lives of the Muslim faithful. ...

Imam Hanbal was born in Central Asia to Arab parents in 780. After the death of his father, he would move to Iraq and study extensively in Baghdad, and later used his travels to further his education. He was chiefly interested in acquiring knowledge of the hadith and travelled extensively through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia studying religion and collecting traditions of Muhammad. Events Constantine VI becomes Byzantine Emperor with Irene as guardian. ... A street map of Baghdad Average temperature (red) and precipitations (blue) in Baghdad Baghdad (بغداد) is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. ... The Hadith (الحديث, pl. ... The Republic of Iraq is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. ... The Syrian Arab Republic or Syria is a country in the Middle East, bordering (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. ... The term the Middle East sometimes applies to the peninsula alone, but usually refers to the Arabian Peninsula plus the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Iran. ... Muhammad is a common male name for Muslims. ...

His travels lasted several years. Upon returning home, he studied under Imam Shafi on Islamic law. Imam Hanbal was very devoted to traditional views and was opposed to innovations in Islamic law. Imam Shafi (767 - 820) was an Islamic scholar who is considered the founder of the Shafii school of jurisprudence (fiqh). ...

The strength of his views was tested under the caliphs al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'tasim. During their reign an 'inquisition court' was created to deal with people who would not profess certain doctrines that the Abbasid caliphs thought were correct. These doctrines were from the Mutazilite school of thought, and held that the Qur'an was created and not eternal. Imam ibn Hanbal was arrested and brought in chains before the court, and suffered a great deal. But he patiently submitted to corporal punishment and imprisonment, and resolutely refused to deviate from his beliefs. Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalifah, is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Abu Jafar al-Mamun ibn Harun (786 _ 833) (المأمون) was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. ... Abu Ishaq al-Mutasim ibn Harun (794 - January 5, 842) was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 833 until 842). ... Abbasid provinces during the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid Abbasid was the dynastic name generally given to the caliphs of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Muslim empire, that overthrew the Umayyid caliphs. ... Mutazili (Arabic المعتزلة) is an extinct theological school of thought within Islam. ... The Quran ( Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; its literal meaning is the recitation and is often called Al Quran Al Karim: The Noble Quran, also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

Under the rule of Al-Mutawakkil however, the policy of the government changed and Imam ibn Hanbal's trials came to an end. From then onwards the Imam was accorded honor befitting his great knowledge and on several occasions he was invited to the court and granted a generous pension. Al-Mutawakkil Ala Allah Jafar bin al-Mutasim (821 - 861) was an Abbasid caliph who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. ...

Among the works of Imam ibn Hanbal is the great encyclopaedia of Traditions called Musnad, compiled by his son from his lectures and amplified by supplements - containing over twenty-eight thousand traditions. His other works include Kitab-us-Salaat, on the Discipline of Prayer and Kitab-us-Sunnah, on the Traditions of the Prophet.

Imam ibn Hanbal's fame spread far and wide. His learning, piety and unswerving faithfulness to traditions gathered a host of disciples and admirers around him. His teachings plus his books would lead his disciples to form the Hanbali school of jurisprudence. Hanbali is one of the four schools (Maddhabs) of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. ...

He would die in Baghdad in the year 855; over 800,000 people would attend his funeral. Events Louis II succeeds Lothar as western emperor. ...