Ahmed b. Ishaq b. Bahlul b. Hasan b. Abi Sinan Abu Ja'far al-Tanuhī. He was a judge belonging to the Hanafi madhhab. He was among the trustworthy (sika) and just (adil) narrators. He was a famous jurist admired by everyone. He heard many hadiths. He narrated only one hadith from Abu Kurayb. He was a scholar of nahw (Arabic grammar). His expression was eloquent, his poetry beautiful, and he was also praised regarding ahkām (legal rulings).
Once, the caliph al-Muqtadir's mother Sayyida established a waqf (endowment); she had its waqfiyya (endowment deed) registered with Ahmed b. Ishaq, who left a copy of this waqfiyya in the basket where the court's decisions were kept. Later, Sayyida wanted to annul the waqf and asked Judge Ahmed b. Ishaq to bring her the waqf deed, intending to take it from him and destroy it. When Judge Ahmed b. Ishaq came behind the curtain and realized Sayyida's position, he said to her: "This is not possible. Because I am the treasurer of the Muslims. Either you dismiss me from the judiciary and appoint someone else in my place, or you desist from what you intend to do. It is impossible for you to do this while I am the judge."
Sayyida then complained about Ahmed b. Ishaq to her son al-Muqtadir. Al-Muqtadir requested Judge Ahmed b. Ishaq to comply with his mother's wish, but when Judge Ahmed explained the situation to him, al-Muqtadir turned to his mother and said: "Mother, this man is not someone to be easily discarded. It is not possible to dismiss him and make him a plaything." Sayyida was pleased with Judge Ahmed and sent him a message of thanks for what he had done. Upon this, Judge Ahmed said: "If a person places Allah's command above the command of His servants, Allah protects him from the evil of the servants and grants him their goodness and blessings."
Ahmed b. Ishaq passed away when he was over eighty years old according to this deed.