His full name is Aḥmad ibn Isa Ar-Rumi ibn Muḥammad An-Naqib ibn 'Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq ibn Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Ali Zayn al-Abidin ibn al-Husain ibn Ali bin Abu Talib. According to another history, he is thought to have been born in 241 Hijrah. Imam Aḥmad grew up under the supervision of his parents in an environment surrounded by scholars and living examples of prophetic character. He memorized the Qur'an and then mastered the sciences of the sacred law until he reached the rank mujtahid. He also had his own hadith collection and was held in great esteem by Imam Al-Tabari. In this section, it is claimed that Ahmed Ibn Isa is the owner "Musnad Ahmed" and that is incorrect. The Musnad Ahmed is hadith collection is written and collected by Immam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, but not Ahmed Almuhajer.
Migration
Al-Imam Aḥmad bin Isa is called al-Muhâjir because he left Basra, Iraq during the Abbassid Caliphate that was headquartered in Baghdad in the year 317H. His inner sight allowed him to witness the calamities and tribulations that would take place in Iraq. He realized the greatness of the sacred trust that he was carrying in his loins. Aḥmad bin Isa left Basra with his wife, his son, Abdullah, and his grandson from Ubaidillah. With them also was Sharif Muḥammad bin Sulayman, the grandfather of the Ahdal family and Sharif Aḥmad al-Qudaymi, the grandfather of the Qudaymi family, and a group of 70 people. He left his other three sons Muḥammad, Ali and Hussein in Iraq to take care of their wealth and property. He first went to Madinah and Mecca, and then from Mecca to Yemen in around 319 H. He migrated at a time when there was much internal strife, bloodshed and confusion in Iraq, where a large number of the descendants of Muhammad were persecuted for political reasons by the ruling Abbasids and also because there was turmoil due to revolt against Abbasids ruling by members of the Qaramita. He set out for Yemen in 319 H with his party and eventually reach Hadhramaut, while Aḥmad al-Qudaymi settled in northern Yemen and Sharif Muḥammad bin Sulayman in Tihama on the Red Sea coast. He first settled in the village of Jubayl and then Hajrayn. Next he traveled to the village Qarat Bani Jushayr and finally settled in al-Husayyisah near Seiyun.
Imam al-Muhâjir arrived in Hadhramaut at a time when an offshoot of the Kharijite sect called Ibadiyyah held political power and had widespread influence throughout the valley. He persevered in the spreading of Islamic truths until he almost single-handedly removed the Ibadi sect from Hadhramaut without ever taking up arms against them. He died in 345 H or 956 CE in al-Husaisah, a town between Tarim and Seiyun, Hadramaut. His shrine stands on a hill and is among the first shrines that visitors to Hadramaut pay their respects to when visiting the area.
School of thought
There is a controversy about what Madhhab followed by Aḥmad bin ʻIsa. Most ulama have the opinion that he was a sunni imam. Some other ulama such as Imam ʻAbdurraḥman bin ʻUbaidillah al-Saqqāf, Habib Ṣaleh al-Ḥamid, and Sayyid ʻAbdullah ibn Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād and some others contend that he was a Shi'a zaydi follower. Habib ʻAbdullah bin Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād narrated: "Verily I tend to say that al-Muhâjir is follower of Imamiyah, because the Shafi'i Madhhab entered Hadhramaut long after his migration". Habib Abdurrahman bin Ubaidillah al-Saqqaf emphasized that al-Muhâjir was not Sunni Shafi'i in fiqh nor Ash'arite in aqidah. As Imam Aḥmad bin Isa is a Mujtahid, he does not need to follow any madhhabs.
