THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AHMAD IBN HANBAL

Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the founder and leader of the Hanbali school of law and the Ahl-al-Hadith who at the peak of the Abbasid and Mu'tazili scholars' power achieved prominence by defending the principle of the Eternity of the Ghur'an and his steadfastness in the event known as al-Mihnah. The importance of ibn Hanblal lies in the fact that despite all his resistance vis-a-vis the Abbasid rule, he came to be known as a defender of autocratic rulers. While reviewing ibn Hanbal's life, the paper before you takes up the political-religious conditions of his time and discusses his ideological-political record in dealing with the issues of his time.