What Is Ḥanbali ʿAqīdah?

The term ʿAqīdat al-Ḥanābilah is not a modern invention, nor is it an abstract label. It is a real, historical, and well-documented tradition within Sunni Islam—affirmed not only by others but by the Ḥanābilah themselves.

Ḥanbali scholars used this designation explicitly, both in the titles of their works and in the frameworks they laid out. For example:

• Imām Abū al-Faḍl al-Tamīmī authored Iʿtiqād Imām al-Mubajjal Abī ʿAbdillāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

• Ibn Ḥamdān, in Nihāyat al-Mubtadiʾīn, stated that he composed the work in response to those who requested a presentation of al-ʿAqīdah al-Sunniyyah al-Ḥanbaliyyah—that of Imām Aḥmad, his disciples, and those who agreed with them from Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Athar.

• This same creed was later summarized by Ibn Balbān in Qalāʾid al-Iqyān.

Likewise, in the Ḥanbali creed manual al-ʿAyn wa al-Athar fī ʿAqāʾid Ahl al-Athar, the author opens with a section titled:

“The First Objective: On the Textually-Transmitted Creedal Statements of the Ḥanābilah (ʿaqāʾid al-Ḥanābilah) from Imām Aḥmad.”

The work then classifies Ahl al-Sunnah into three categories:

Ashʿarīs, Ḥanbalīs, and Māturīdīs.

The identity of Ḥanbali ʿAqīdah is further evident in the way scholars described one another across the centuries—independent of their madhhab in fiqh:

• Ibn Ḥajar in Anbāʾ al-Ghumr describes a scholar as:

“Ḥanafī in madhhab, Ḥanbalī in creed.”

• al-Ziriklī in al-Aʿlām writes of a later figure:

“Mālikī in jurisprudence, Ḥanbalī in creed.”

• Ibn al-ʿImād in Shadharāt al-Dhahab records:

“Shāfiʿī in legal matters, Ḥanbalī in ʿaqīdah.”

Even the theological works of non-Ḥanbali authors reference the Ḥanābilah as a doctrinal school by name:

• Sharḥ al-ʿAqāʾid al-Nasafiyyah critiques positions and says,

“…not as the Ḥanābilah claim.”

• al-Bayjūrī in Tuḥfat al-Murīd writes:

“A group who called themselves Ḥanbalis…”

This is because Ḥanbali ʿAqīdah is a recognized theological identity grounded in the transmitted legacy of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—distinct from Ashʿarism in certain foundational principles, though often converging in major outcomes, and even further removed from modern iterations of Salafism.

Its major reference works preserve a consistent theological foundation, with minor variations in expression and occasional differences in secondary conclusions, but always united upon the transmitted statements and methodology of their Imām, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. As a result, a clear and relied-upon canon exists.

This is not a debate. It is a documented legacy—preserved, referenced, and recognized across the centuries.

And Allah knows best.

Written by John Starling

May 26, 2025

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