Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud: There was no one like Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his time
Abu Thawr ibn Ibrahim al-Kalabi: Our Sheikh and our Imam
Abu Ja'far al-Naffili: One of the flags of religion
Abu Hatim al-Razi: An Imam and an authority
Abu Hatim ibn Hibban al-Busti: He was a Hafiz (memorizer of Hadith), precise, a jurist, adhering to hidden piety, constantly worshipping, he memorized a million Hadiths
Abu Zur'a al-Razi: I have not seen anyone more comprehensive than him, and once: he memorized a million Hadiths
Abu Nasr ibn Makula: The most knowledgeable of people in the schools of thought of the Companions and their followers
Abu Ya'la al-Khalili: The most knowledgeable of his peers and the most pious of them, and the most refraining from speaking about Hadith scholars except out of necessity
Ahmad ibn Sa'id al-Darimi: I have not seen anyone with a black head more memorizing of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, nor more knowledgeable of his jurisprudence and meanings than Abu Abdullah Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i: The trustworthy and reliable, one of the Imams
Ahmad ibn Salih al-Jili: Trustworthy, established in Hadith, pure of soul, a jurist in Hadith, a follower of the traces, a man of Sunnah and goodness
Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani: One of the Imams, trustworthy, Hafiz, jurist, authority
Al-Dhahabi: The Imam
Al-Qasim ibn Salam al-Harawi: I do not know anyone like him in Islam
Hajjaj ibn al-Sha'ir al-Baghdadi: My eyes have not seen a soul in a body better than Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Sulaiman ibn Harb al-Azdi: Imam
Abbas ibn 'Abd al-'Azim al-'Anbari: I saw three whom I made an argument between me and Allah: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Zayd ibn al-Mubarak, and Sadakah ibn al-Fadl
Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi: The most knowledgeable of people about the Hadith of Sufyan al-Thawri
Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam al-San'ani: I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable in jurisprudence or more pious than him
Abdullah ibn Dawud al-Khuraibi: Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the best of the people of his time
Ubayd al-'Ijli: I have not seen anyone like Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his knowledge, jurisprudence, asceticism, and piety
Ali ibn al-Junayd al-Razi: Ahmad ibn Hanbal was one of the flags of religion
Ali ibn al-Madini: There is no one among our companions who memorizes more than him
Qitaybah ibn Sa'id: Imam of the world
Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i: I left Baghdad, and I did not leave behind anyone more knowledgeable in jurisprudence, more ascetic, more pious, or more knowledgeable than Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Muhammad ibn Sa'd Katb al-Waqidi: Trustworthy, established, truthful, knowledgeable of many Hadiths
Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Naysaburi: Our Imam
Yahya ibn Adam al-Qurashi: Ahmad ibn Hanbal is our Imam
Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan: A scholar of the scholars of this nation, and once: No one like Ahmad ibn Hanbal has ever come to me
Yahya ibn Ma'in: I have never seen anyone better than Ahmad ibn Hanbal