The Sayings of Imam Ahmad Regarding Abu Hanifah and Their Publication
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The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, what is your view on the sayings of the revered Imam, the upholder of the Sunnah and the suppressor of innovation, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, regarding Abu Hanifah, which his son Abdullah mentioned in *al-Sunnah*, and which al-Khatib al-Baghdadi mentioned in *al-Tarikh*? Do the sayings of Imam Ahmad hold, and please guide us to the correct path?
The Shaykh:
One should remain silent about them and not publish them. It is obligatory that they be kept from being circulated, carved out, or published. It is obligatory that they not be published because they are reports of private matters, and Allah knows best. There is no benefit in publishing or promoting them; they should remain in the books where they are, in their place. We do not transmit them, read them in gatherings, or announce them to the people. They remain in the books in which they are found, and the one who wrote them bears the responsibility.
The questioner:
There are among the students of knowledge those who are eager to commit this act.
The Shaykh:
This is not valid. This is not valid. Leave them alone. Do not publish them to the people. Do not read them in gatherings. The one who wrote them bears the responsibility.
Honorable Shaykh, what is your view on the sayings of the revered Imam, the upholder of the Sunnah and the suppressor of innovation, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, regarding Abu Hanifah, which his son Abdullah mentioned in *al-Sunnah*, and which al-Khatib al-Baghdadi mentioned in *al-Tarikh*? Do the sayings of Imam Ahmad hold, and please guide us to the correct path?
The Shaykh:
One should remain silent about them and not publish them. It is obligatory that they be kept from being circulated, carved out, or published. It is obligatory that they not be published because they are reports of private matters, and Allah knows best. There is no benefit in publishing or promoting them; they should remain in the books where they are, in their place. We do not transmit them, read them in gatherings, or announce them to the people. They remain in the books in which they are found, and the one who wrote them bears the responsibility.
The questioner:
There are among the students of knowledge those who are eager to commit this act.
The Shaykh:
This is not valid. This is not valid. Leave them alone. Do not publish them to the people. Do not read them in gatherings. The one who wrote them bears the responsibility.
Source
شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفرقة الناجية [ القصيدة النونية ] [ صالح الفوزان ]، فصل : في بيان شروط كفاية النصين والاستغناء بالوحيين — islamhouse.com (56:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.