assalamu'alaikum. i have heard that a scholar said that Allah saved islam through two persons: abu bakr and imam ahmad ibn hanbal. Can i get the references for that athar?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

This tradition was traced back to Imaam ‘Ali ibn Al-Madeeni, the Shaykh (teacher) of Al-Bukhari . It reads, “Truly, Allaah, The Exalted, reinforced and supported this religion by two men, to whom there is no third: Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq during the Riddah (apostasy) Wars, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal during the Great Trial (of the creation of the Quran).”

This tradition was reported by a group of scholars such as: Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadi in his book Taareekh Baghdaad; Ibn ‘Asaakir in his book Taareekh Dimashq; Abu Al-Husayn ibn Abu Ya‘la in his book Tabaqaat Al-Hanaabilah; and Ath-Thahabi in Taareekh Al-Islam.