'Allaah aided Islam through Abu Bakr and Ibn Hanbal'

17-6-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

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?

Answer:

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  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them. It reads, “Truly, Allaah, The Exalted, reinforced and supported this religion by two men, to whom there is no third: Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him during the Riddah (apostasy) Wars, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him 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  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in his book Taareekh Baghdaad; Ibn ‘Asaakir  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in his book Taareekh Dimashq; Abu Al-Husayn ibn Abu Ya‘la  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in his book Tabaqaat Al-Hanaabilah; and Ath-Thahabi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in Taareekh Al-Islam.

Allaah Knows best.

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