For instance...

For instance, during the first half of the 9th century AH, Ibn Hanbal’s Musnad was recited in the presence of Shams al-Di-n Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Jazari- in the Masjid al-Hara-m of Mecca with the last session ending in the month of Rabi-‘ al-Awwal 828 AH.[^8] It is also reported that during the 12th century AH (18th century CE), a group of pious Sunnis gathered in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina to recite Ibn Hanbal’s Musnad in 56 sessions.[^9] However, the most outstanding characteristic of the Musnad is that it contains several eyecatching hadi-th on the merits of the Prophet’s (‘a), whereas most of the compilers of the other masa-ni-d, siha-h and sunan, have either ignored these aha-di-th or related only a few of them.

Ibn Hanbal got into trouble with the authorities for having related these aha-di-th on the merits of the (‘a) and his house was searched on the orders of the ‘Abba-sid caliph Mutawakkil on suspicion of supporting the Alawid cause.[^10] It is a well known fact that Ahmad bin Shu‘ayb al-Nasa-’i-, the last of the six Sunni compilers of the siha-h al-sittah, relied on Ahmad bin Hanbal’s narrations for writing his excellent work titled Khasa-’is Ami-r al-Mu’mini-n ‘Ali- bin Abi- Ta-lib (‘a).[^11] In short, the Musnad contains narrations, many of which are considered authentic from the Shi‘ite point of view.

These are so pronounced when compared to the other Sunni collections of hadi-th that orientalists and researchers have attempted to investigate the cause, and after drawing a comparison between Ahmad bin Hanbal and his contemporary compilers of the siha-h al-sittah, have come to the conclusion that Muhammad bin Isma-‘i-l al-Bukha-ri- and Muslim bin Hajja-j al-Qushayri-, for fear of the ‘Abba-sids, left out these aha-di-th but since Ahmad was courageous he showed no fear in relating the aha-di-th on the merits of Imam ‘Ali- (‘a) and the (‘a).[^12] Ibn Hanbal did not confine the merits of the Prophet’s (‘a) to his book, but whenever necessary he opened his mouth to speak about these virtues.

Despite the fact that he held all the companions of the Prophet in great esteem and considered those who cursed them to be outside the pale of Islam,[[^13]] he strongly defended the superiority of the Prophet’s immediate family against their enemies, especially against Mutawakkil who left no stone unturned in his enmity to the (‘a).