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The reports from Imam Ahmad

الروايات عن الإمام أحمد

The statements transmitted from Imam Ahmad on a single question, and how his companions reconciled them and preferred one over another; they are the school's foundation in jurisprudence.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Development of law, theology and institutions

Summary

Imam Ahmad's madhhab is taken from his sayings, deeds and answers; when two sayings of his exist on a question, his companions first try to reconcile them by the ways of usul — carrying the general on the specific or the absolute on the qualified 1. When reconciliation fails and the dates are known, his companions differ: it was said the second saying is his madhhab; it was said both together; and it was said the first, even if he recanted it 1. If the dates are unknown, his madhhab is the saying nearest to the proofs or to his madhhab's principles 2. Ala al-Din al-Mardawi approved the first position in Tas'hih al-Furu' 1.

The positions

Some of Imam Ahmad's companions said: the second saying is Imam Ahmad's madhhab 1. Others said: both sayings together are Imam Ahmad's madhhab 1. A group said: the first saying is Imam Ahmad's madhhab, even if he recanted it 1.

Opinions on the question

The question: When the Imam's statements on a single question conflict, which of them is attributed to him as the school's position?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni (Hanbali)Main reference

Basis: al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal — Ibn Badran (al-Turki edition)

More opinions (2)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni (Hanbali)Main reference

Basis: al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal — Ibn Badran (al-Turki edition)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni (Hanbali)Main reference

Basis: al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal — Ibn Badran (al-Turki edition)

People and things also explored

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Justice and uprightness (adl)· Contagion (adwa)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God· Term, deadline (ajal)· Hired worker (ajir)· Stranger, outsider (ajnabi)

Sources

  1. al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal — Ibn Badran (al-Turki edition) , p. 126
  2. al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal — Ibn Badran (al-Turki edition) , p. 127
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The reports from Imam Ahmad”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/riwayat-al-imam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.