A Call
for Coexistence
Episode 19
In the name of Allah,
the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).
Today we will continue
with Imam
Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal. In the last episode, we talked about how Imam Ahmad
preserved the sunnah
by gathering all the ahadith
of the Prophet (SAWS) in one book, Musnad al-Imam Ahmad, from the
age of 16 until 40. In this episode, we will talk about Imam Ahmad's
second achievement which is defending the simplicity of the Islamic aqeedah
(creed) and principles through his uncompromising stance during the trial of
the creation of Qura'n.
The Trial:
Due to the vast Muslim
expeditions, many people from various backgrounds embraced Islam bringing in
their different cultures. In addition, a new group emerged who adopted Islam
out of fear following the decline of the Roman and Persian Empires. Those
harbored envy and hatred for Muslims and secretly wanted to fight Islam. As
they were unable to do so by traditional ways, they strove to corrupt the
essence of the religion which is the simple Islamic creed. Actually, what
always inspired people to embrace Islam was its simple, clear-cut creed: to
worship one god who sent His Messengers to guide us to His path. It is very
simple as Allah (SWT)
says in the Noble Qur’an what can be translated as,
“And in no way were they commanded anything except to worship Allah, making the
religion His faithfully (and) unswerving, and to keep up prayer, and bring the
Zakat; (i.e., pay the poor-dues) and that is the Religion most upright” (TMQ,
98:5).
Among those were
al-Mu’tazilah, a group of extremists who lived in Iraq, and who forced
foreign ideas into Islam making it seem like a complicated religion. One of
their most corrupt ideas is the idea of the ‘creation of the Qur’an’. I really
do not want to go into details about this, as it is a very obscure and
complicated philosophy. However, very briefly, it implies that the Qur’an is
not simply just the words of Allah (SWT) as all Muslims believe, but they
claimed that it is something new, which is a creation. For if it was old, that
meant that there were numerous ‘old ones’, which meant that there were many gods
just like in the Greek and Roman traditions. Do you understand anything? Does
it seem too complicated? That is precisely what they strove to aspire, making
Islam seem like a very complicated process!
They strived for 50-60 years
to spread this sedition through debates and
discussions but were faced by Imam Abu-Hanifa. Therefore, they realized
that the best way to spread their corrupt ideas was by being close to the
Caliphate (the Muslim ruler) by becoming members in his parliament. They had
been trying to achieve this throughout the years but only succeeded during the
rule of al-Ma’mun. There was one particular man, Ibn-Abu-Dawud, who became
the Caliph's consultant and who convinced him that they should spread the idea
of the ‘creation of the Qur’an’ and let all the scholars approve it so that
people would accept it. Imam Ahmad did not approve such a thing and
stood firm in fierce defense of the basic Islamic creed. That is the reason why
people still refer to someone who is headstrong as ‘Hanbali’.
Imam
Ahmad is famous for his strict personality due to his straightforwardness and
solid actions against those who wanted to distort Islam. However, his personal
traits and judgments proved that he had a very flexible and lenient nature,
which helped him to coexist. He regarded everything in life
permissible unless the Qura'n or the Prophet's
sunnah defined it as unlawful. He described his life with his first wife,
with whom he lived with about twenty or thirty years before she died,
as free of disputes. His fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) was the
easiest in issues related to marriage and social life. This is why at the age of
55, he was eager to preserve the simple and easy style of Islam and refused to
allow
al-Mu'tazilah's conspiracy to take place.
Caliph al-Ma'mun adopted al- Mu'tazilah's ideas and began
to spread them by force on the month of Rabi'
al-Awwal in the year 218 A.H.
He wrote to the police force commander Ishaq Ibn-Ibrahim
and told him to inform 17 Islamic scholars,
excluding Imam Ahmad yet including his best friend Yahya Ibn-Ma'in, that
they should acknowledge the creation of Qura'n and publicize their
acknowledgement to people, or else they shall be killed or detained.
Scholars were frightened and announced their approval on his request.
Imam
Ahmad began raising a campaign during his lessons against those ideas
contradictory to Islamic creed and principles. Accordingly, al-Ma'mun sent to
Ishaq telling him to threaten four scholars (Imam Ahmad, al-Qayrawany,
Muhammad Ibn-Noah and a fourth scholar) that they should be either killed or
imprisoned if they don't espouse the belief that Allah (SWT) created Qur'an as a
distinct entity. At first, all four declined his request and were imprisoned
for several months. Al-Qayrawany and a second scholar could not tolarate
imprisonment any longer and announced their approval and were released.
Muhammad Ibn-Noah could not last longer and gave up too, and so he was released,
leaving Imam Ahmad alone in his fight against evil and injustice.
Imam
Ahmad's solid position made people more curious to hear his opinion in such
matters. He became more famous and a leader to Muslims
in his quest to prevail the rightful thoughts about Islam. He was being
tortured in prison and yet would never give up, no matter what happened.
Al-Ma'mun sent him people to convince him to give up for the sake of his wife
and children or for the sake of fearing the Caliph's anger, but he continued to
resist all those attempts for him to abandon his beliefs.
The
Caliph gave his orders to bring Imam Ahmad before him. On his way
to meet the Caliph, tied with chains, he met a man who told him to keep his
courage and strong will and never to let go of his creed. That man told Imam
Ahmad that he was the leader of Muslims and giving up would mislead the whole
Muslim nation.
Imam
Ahmad met al-Ma'mun for the first and last time in his life. The Caliph was
very clear in his threat to Imam
Ahmad that if he would not announce his approval in that day, he should
be beheaded. Imam Ahmad replied with what the Prophet (SAWS) was
heard to have said seeking refuge in Allah
(SWT) from all misfortune. That night, Imam Ahmad was not killed because
Caliph al-Ma'mun had died in that same night.
Caliph al-Mu'tasim succeeded al-Ma'mun and although he was known
for his honesty and good will, Ibn-Abu-Dawud was
able to convince him, too, that his power would be shattered if Imam
Ahmad won his battle. Therefore, the Caliph brought Imam Ahmad before
him and gave him one day to think, threatening him of being whipped in case of
his disobedience.
Imam
Ahmad did not fear death because he knew that then he would be a martyr, yet
like any human, he panicked from the thought of pain. While he was being
dragged to stand before the Caliph, he met a pick pocket called Abu-Haytham
al-Tayar. This man sensed the fear of Imam Ahmad in his eyes. He told
Imam Ahmad that he had been whipped 18,000 times during his lifetime,
working for the cursed Satan, so how could a man striving in the cause of Allah
(SWT) ever fear. Those words strengthened and empowered Imam Ahmad.
Al-Mu'tasim expressed his
sympathy to Imam Ahmad and that he was not willing to see the Imam
tortured. Imam
Ahmad replied asking him and Ibn-Abu-Dawud, "If those ideas were true,
why hadn’t the Holy Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) or his companions
mentioned them?" Ibn- Abu-Dawud was so angry that he motivated al-Mu'tasim
to order his men to whip the Imam or else his power would soon be
shattered. Despite the logic in the Imam's words, al-Mu'tasim could not
jeopardize his power and commanded his men to be fierce with Imam Ahmad
or else he would cut off their hands.
Imam
Ahmad tolerated what an elephant would not, as narrated by one of the guards who
were whipping him. He fainted and then he was awakened many times by splashing
his face with water to continue being whipped, but every time he refused to give
up. He could not sleep on his back for a month after this incident due to his
wounds. The scars were visible on his back until he died.
His students asked him to give
them the permission to make a revolution against the Caliph, but he refused to
do that in order to avoid any and all disputes among Muslims. He rejected
violence and avenging himself on the account of the unity of the Muslim nation.
Al-Mu'tasim died and al-Wathiq
assumed power for five years before his death. He also kept Imam
Ahmad in prison during his period. Then during the era of al-Mutawakkil, a poor
old man was heard to repeat Imam Ahmad's fiqh, so he was arrested
and brought before the Caliph. Al-Mutawakil put him in a debate with
Ibn-Abu-Dawud, and he succeeded to prove the innocence of Imam Ahmad.
Accordingly, the Caliph disposed Ibn-Abu-Dawud, the main instigator of the
inquisition, of his position, released Imam Ahmad, prohibited the
spreading of seditions and banned al-Mu'tazilah from occupying
high official positions of influence.
Imam
Ahmad was struck with severe illness after the age of 77, and he became very
weak. In spite of his debilitation, he would ask his son, Salih Ibn-Ahmad,
to help him stand up for prayer.
During his illness, a man who
partook in beating Imam Ahmad came to Salih Ibn-Ahmad and begged him to
seek permission from his father to allow him enter because he felt guilty for
his involvement in the suffering of the Imam. When he was given
permission to see Imam Ahmad, he wept begging for forgiveness.
Imam
Ahmad forgave him on the condition that he would never repeat that with anyone
else.
On Friday Rabi' al-Awwal, 214
A.H., Imam Ahmad died after a life fully devoted to the cause of Allah
(SWT) and Islam. When people heard the news, masses flooded the streets to
attend
Imam Ahmad's funeral. His sons, many members of the ruling family and the
multitudes came to pray over him. The funeral was marked by openly cursing
the heretics who were behind the persecution of Imam Ahmad.
He was the Imam who
could mix between two contradictory traits: the clarity and pureness of his
school of jurisprudence and the strictness in his position that Islam should
remain uncomplicated. He was able to prove that coexistence means living among
others, but not dissolving in them.
In the coming episode, we
shall have a specialized Islamic scholar to talk about Fiqh-al Hanbali.
Peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be
upon you.
