أبو طالب ابن البقال الحنبلي

Abu Talib Ahmad b. 'Abdallah b. Sahl, known as Ibn al-Baqqal the Hanbali — master of fatwa, speculation, knowledge, eloquence and tongue; he studied fiqh under Abu 'Abdallah b. Hamid, kept a circle at the Mansur mosque, and has famous stances at the caliphal palace. ¹

Among them, at the diwan with the vizier present and al-Nu'man's chamberlain listening: 'The caliphate is an egg and the Hanbalis its brood-hen — let the egg hatch a spoiler; the caliphate is a tent and the Hanbalis its rope — let the rope fall and the tent comes down.' He died in Rabi' I and was buried in the cemetery of our imams. ¹