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Mashrabaمشربة

Atlas

Chains of transmission from the Prophet, read as the sources give them.
About this atlas

The atlas holds the chains of transmission from the Prophet as the standard references and the classical sources record them: the Sufi orders, the chains of Qurʾān recitation, the teachers of the schools of law and ḥadīth, and the lines of the Prophet's family, with the places they spread and the living houses and teachers who carry them today. Every link shows its sources; where they differ, both readings are shown, and we do not rule on any community's claims. Ibn ʿArabī's own life, teachers and readers are on their own page.

أحمد بن حنبل

Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal

Died 241/855 · born 164/780 · Baghdad

Eponym of the Ḥanbalī school

Sources for this person

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The chain up to the Prophet

Dates are given where the sources give them. Years are CE; the Hijri year is in each name's detail.

Route 1 of 3, the best-sourced: Schools of law and ḥadīth. Tap a rule to read its basis, sources and checks.

  1. The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
  2. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    companionship (ṣuḥba) · The Prophet Muhammad to ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar · Two independent sources

    Companion of the Prophet (TDV Mālik names Ibn ʿUmar's rulings as Nāfiʿ's subject).

    TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Mâlik b. Enes'

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    ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmarعبد الله بن عمر
  3. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar to Nāfiʿ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Madanī · Two independent sources

    Siyar: Nāfiʿ was Ibn ʿUmar's freedman and transmitter.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Nāfiʿ (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 68010)

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    Nāfiʿ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Madanīنافع بن عبد الرحمنc. 786
  4. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Nāfiʿ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Madanī to Mālik b. Anas · Two independent sources

    Siyar: Mālik took from Nāfiʿ; TDV: attended Nāfiʿ's circle for years for Ibn ʿUmar's rulings.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Mālik (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 94438)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Mâlik b. Enes'

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    Mālik b. Anasمالك بن أنس795
  5. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Mālik b. Anas to Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī · Two independent sources

    Siyar: al-Shāfiʿī went to Medina and took the Muwaṭṭaʾ from Mālik; TDV: studied under him until 179/795.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry al-Shāfiʿī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 112702)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Şâfiî'

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    Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿīمحمد بن إدريس الشافعي820
  6. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī to Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal · Two independent sources

    TDV: Aḥmad studied fiqh and uṣūl with al-Shāfiʿī; Siyar lists al-Shāfiʿī among those he heard from.

    TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Ahmed b. Hanbel'al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 126545)

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    • al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L4326, 163550 · agreesAḥmad’s entry lists al-Shāfiʿī among his sources (“one of his shaykhs”); al-Shāfiʿī’s entry lists Aḥmad among his pupils.
    • Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L824 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Aḥmad was among al-Shāfiʿī’s companions and kept his company until he left Baghdad.
    • Hallaq, Sharīʿa (2009), hallaq_sharia_2009.txt#L3640-3668 (p. 68) · silentHallaq: Ibn Ḥanbal transmitted ḥadīth, not legal doctrine; the Hanbalite law school was built a generation or two later (al-Khallāl, al-Khiraqī).
    Aḥmad b. Ḥanbalأحمد بن حنبل855
Other routes (2)

Route 2 of 3: Schools of law and ḥadīth

  1. The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
  3. Mālik b. Anasمالك بن أنس795
  4. one sourcein Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Mālik b. Anas to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī · One source

    TDV: al-Shaybānī attended Mālik's circle about three years; Siyar lists Mālik among his sources.

    TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Mâlik b. Enes'al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry al-Shaybānī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 105477)

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    Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānīمحمد بن الحسن الشيباني805
  5. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī to Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī · Two independent sources

    Siyar: al-Shāfiʿī took much from al-Shaybānī; TDV: attended his lessons in Baghdad.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry al-Shaybānī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 105479)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Şâfiî'

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    Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿīمحمد بن إدريس الشافعي820
  6. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī to Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal · Two independent sources

    TDV: Aḥmad studied fiqh and uṣūl with al-Shāfiʿī; Siyar lists al-Shāfiʿī among those he heard from.

    TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Ahmed b. Hanbel'al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 126545)

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    Checked against

    • al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L4326, 163550 · agreesAḥmad’s entry lists al-Shāfiʿī among his sources (“one of his shaykhs”); al-Shāfiʿī’s entry lists Aḥmad among his pupils.
    • Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L824 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Aḥmad was among al-Shāfiʿī’s companions and kept his company until he left Baghdad.
    • Hallaq, Sharīʿa (2009), hallaq_sharia_2009.txt#L3640-3668 (p. 68) · silentHallaq: Ibn Ḥanbal transmitted ḥadīth, not legal doctrine; the Hanbalite law school was built a generation or two later (al-Khallāl, al-Khiraqī).
    Aḥmad b. Ḥanbalأحمد بن حنبل855

Route 3 of 3: Schools of law and ḥadīth

  1. The Prophet Muhammadمحمد632
  3. Nāfiʿ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Madanīنافع بن عبد الرحمنc. 786
  4. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Nāfiʿ b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Madanī to Mālik b. Anas · Two independent sources

    Siyar: Mālik took from Nāfiʿ; TDV: attended Nāfiʿ's circle for years for Ibn ʿUmar's rulings.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Mālik (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 94438)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Mâlik b. Enes'

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    Mālik b. Anasمالك بن أنس795
  5. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Mālik b. Anas to Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī · Two independent sources

    Siyar: al-Shāfiʿī went to Medina and took the Muwaṭṭaʾ from Mālik; TDV: studied under him until 179/795.

    al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry al-Shāfiʿī (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 112702)TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Şâfiî'

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    Checked against

    Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿīمحمد بن إدريس الشافعي820
  6. two sourcesin Schools of law and ḥadīth

    studied with · Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī to Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal · Two independent sources

    TDV: Aḥmad studied fiqh and uṣūl with al-Shāfiʿī; Siyar lists al-Shāfiʿī among those he heard from.

    TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Ahmed b. Hanbel'al-Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, entry Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (OpenITI Shamela0010906, line 126545)

    Suggest a correction

    Checked against

    • al-Mizzī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, Shamela0003722 #L4326, 163550 · agreesAḥmad’s entry lists al-Shāfiʿī among his sources (“one of his shaykhs”); al-Shāfiʿī’s entry lists Aḥmad among his pupils.
    • Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, Shamela0001000 #L824 · agreesIbn Khallikān: Aḥmad was among al-Shāfiʿī’s companions and kept his company until he left Baghdad.
    • Hallaq, Sharīʿa (2009), hallaq_sharia_2009.txt#L3640-3668 (p. 68) · silentHallaq: Ibn Ḥanbal transmitted ḥadīth, not legal doctrine; the Hanbalite law school was built a generation or two later (al-Khallāl, al-Khiraqī).
    Aḥmad b. Ḥanbalأحمد بن حنبل855
How to read the marks
  • Two sources: a solid rule. Two independent references give the same link.
  • One source: a lighter rule, so labelled.
  • The community's own account: a dotted rule. The order tells it; we have not yet read it against a reference source.
  • A gap in the rule: the sources omit names between the two. The label says which.
  • The sources differ: tap the ≠ to read each reading with its source.
  • A ring: a spiritual link, without a meeting (uwaysī).

Who received from Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal

No one is recorded below this person in the sources read.

How to cite

Mashraba Reader, Atlas of transmission, “Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal”, https://www.mashraba.org/atlas/figure/ahmad-b-hanbal (data of 31 October 2026).