Imām Ahmad praising and defending Imām Ash-Shāfi'ī
When Imām Ahmad[1] (on one occasion) talked about the virtue of Imām Ash-Shāfi'ī[2], a man said to him:
"O Abā Abdillāh! Yahyā Ibn Ma'īn[3] and Abū 'Ubayd[4] are not pleased with him!"
Meaning that they accused him of inclining towards the Shī'ah-, whereupon (Imām) Ahmad said:
"I do not hold what they say. By Allāh, we have not seen from him except good, and we have not heard except good."
Then (Imām) Ahmad said:
"Know, may Allāh, Exalted is He, have mercy upon you, that when Allāh grants a man from the people of knowledge some knowledge and withholds it from his contemporaries and the likes of him; they become jealous of him, and subsequently they accuse him of things he is free from. And what an evil characteristic for the people of knowledge that is!"
Imām Ahmad Ibn Hussain Al-Bayhaqī, may Allah have mercy upon him
Translated by 'Abdurrahīm Ibn Muhammad Al-Hadhramī.
Published on Salafi-Dawah.com.
Source: Manāqib Ash-Shāfi'ī of Al-Bayhaqī[5] 2/259.
Footnotes by translator:
[1] Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (d. 241H)
[2] Imām Muhammad Ibn Idrīs Ash-Shāfi'ī (d. 204H)
[3] Imām Yahyā Ibn Ma'īn (d. 233H)
[4] Imām Abū 'Ubayd Al-Qāsim Ibn Sallām (d. 224H)
[5] Imām Ahmad Ibn Hussain Al-Bayhaqī (d. 458H)
"O Abā Abdillāh! Yahyā Ibn Ma'īn[3] and Abū 'Ubayd[4] are not pleased with him!"
Meaning that they accused him of inclining towards the Shī'ah-, whereupon (Imām) Ahmad said:
"I do not hold what they say. By Allāh, we have not seen from him except good, and we have not heard except good."
Then (Imām) Ahmad said:
"Know, may Allāh, Exalted is He, have mercy upon you, that when Allāh grants a man from the people of knowledge some knowledge and withholds it from his contemporaries and the likes of him; they become jealous of him, and subsequently they accuse him of things he is free from. And what an evil characteristic for the people of knowledge that is!"
Imām Ahmad Ibn Hussain Al-Bayhaqī, may Allah have mercy upon him
Translated by 'Abdurrahīm Ibn Muhammad Al-Hadhramī.
Published on Salafi-Dawah.com.
Source: Manāqib Ash-Shāfi'ī of Al-Bayhaqī[5] 2/259.
Footnotes by translator:
[1] Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (d. 241H)
[2] Imām Muhammad Ibn Idrīs Ash-Shāfi'ī (d. 204H)
[3] Imām Yahyā Ibn Ma'īn (d. 233H)
[4] Imām Abū 'Ubayd Al-Qāsim Ibn Sallām (d. 224H)
[5] Imām Ahmad Ibn Hussain Al-Bayhaqī (d. 458H)
لما ذكر الإمام أحمد فضل الإمام الشافعي قال له رجل : يا أبا عبدالله ، فإن يحيى بن معين وأبا عبيد لا يرضيانه ، - يعني نسبتهما إياه إلى التشيع - ، فقال أحمد : ما أرى ما يقولان ، والله ، ما رأينا منه إلا خيرا ، ولا سمعنا إلا خيرا ، ثم قال أحمد : " اعلموا ـ رحمكم الله تعالى ـ أن الرجل من أهل العلم ، إذا منحه الله شيئا من العلم ، وحرمه قرناؤه وأشكاله حسدوه فرموه بما ليس فيه ، وبئست الخصلة في أهل العلم
[مناقب الشافعي للبيهقي ٢/٢٥٩]
[مناقب الشافعي للبيهقي ٢/٢٥٩]