Duncan Black MacDonald, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1… (1911)
“ In consequence, when al-Ma’mūn and, after him, al-Mo‛tasim and al-Wāthiq tried to force upon the people the rationalistic Mo‛tazilite doctrine that the Koran was created, Ibn Ḥanbal, the most prominent and popular theologian who stood for the old view, suffered with others grievous imprisonment and scourging. In 234, under al-Motawakkil, the Koran was finally decreed uncreated, and Ibn Ḥanbal, who had come through this trial better than any of the other theologians, enjoyed an immense popularity with the mass of the people as a saint, confessor and ascetic. ”
