[صالح:] عندما مرض أبي، تركهم يعتنون به. ولتدفئته في الشتاء، كانوا يشترون جذور شجيرات الشوك ويحرقونها في موقد فحم ضيّق. 47.1

[Ṣāliḥ:] When my father got sick, he let them take care of him. To keep him warm in winter, they would buy thorn-bush roots and burn them in a narrow coal-pan. 47.1

[المطوعی:] أخبرني أبي أن أحمد بن حنبل كان لا يأكل الحلواء بالملعقة، بل كان يأكلها باليد. وذكر أيضاً أنه كان يأكل الرقاق الرقيق. 47.2

[Al-Muṭawwiʿī:] My father reported that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal didn’t eat pudding with a spoon. Instead, he would eat it out of his hand. He also said that he ate thin flatbread. 47.2

"كَيْفَ عَرَفْتَ؟" سَأَلْتُهُ.

“How do you know?” I asked.

"ذات مرة كنت خارج بابه مباشرة بعد أن خبز ابنه صالح له شيئًا. جاء سائل إلى الباب يسأل، فأُرسلت إليه قطعة من الخبز. فأدركتُ أن أحمد لا بد أن يأكل الشيء نفسه، لأن النبي ﷺ قال: «لا تتصدق بشيء لا تأكله»."

“Once I happened to be outside his door just after his son Ṣāliḥ had done some baking for him. A beggar came to the door begging, and they sent out a crust of flatbread. I realized that Aḥmad must eat the same thing, since the Prophet, God bless and keep him, said, ‘Don’t give away anything you don’t eat.’”