The Life Of Ibn Hanbal by Ibn Al-Jawzi

On Wednesday, with six nights left in Dhu l-Hijjah 232 [August 11, 847], al- Mutawakkil ʿalā llāh, who was then twenty-six years of age, succeeded al-Wāthiq as caliph. Through him God brought about the triumph of the sunnah and put an end to the suffering caused by the Inquisition, much to the gratification of the people. 73.1

[Al-Taymī:] There were three great caliphs: Abū Bakr, who fought the apostates until they surrendered; ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, who made good the abuses of the Umayyads; and al-Mutawakkil, who abolished heretical innovations and publicly proclaimed the sunnah. 73.2

[ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm:] The Caliph al-Mutawakkil sent for me and said, “ʿAlī, I dreamed I saw the Prophet. I rose to greet him, and he said, ‘You’re rising for me even though you’re a caliph?’” 73.3

“It’s a good dream, Commander of the Faithful,” I said. “Your rising for him symbolizes your standing up for the sunnah. And he called you a caliph!” Al-Mutawakkil was pleased.

[ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl:] In Tarsus I dreamed that I saw al-Mutawakkil sitting in a place full of light. 73.4

“Al-Mutawakkil?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“What has God done with you?” “He forgave me.” “Why?” “Because of the little bit of sunnah I was able to restore.” [The author:] Al-Mutawakkil extinguished the fires of heretical innovation and lit the lamps of sunnah.

[Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad:] In 234 [848–49], al-Mutawakkil chose a number of jurists and Hadith-men, including Muṣʿab al-Zubayrī, Isḥāq ibn Abī Isrāʾīl, Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Harawī, and ʿAbd Allāh and ʿUthmān, the sons of Ibn Abī Shaybah, to receive awards and regular stipends, and ordered them to hold public Hadith sessions to teach the reports that refute the Secessionists and the followers of Jahm, as well as the reports that describe seeing God. ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah had a pulpit set up for him to lead a session inside the City of al-Manṣūr. Some thirty thousand people gathered to hear him. Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah held his session in the mosque of al- Ruṣāfah, where another thirty thousand gathered to hear.423 73.5

[Ghulām Khalīl:] In ʿAbbādān, after the end of the Inquistion, Abū Jaʿfar al- Khawwāṣ recited for me: 73.6

The heretics’ rope has frayed and snapped.

Their turn in power come and gone.

And gone with them is the Devil’s horde.

That gathered round to cheer them on.

Tell me, friends: In all that lot.

Was there an exemplar? Even one?

One like Sufyān of Thawr, who taught us all.

What to accept and what to shun?

Or Sulaymān of Taym, who never slept.

For fear of God’s all-seeing gaze?

Or like Mālik, that sea, that pasture-ground.

Where the jurists come to graze?

Or Ibn Ḥanbal, Islam’s brave young man.

As stout a heart as God e’er made.

Who, though ringed about with whip and sword.

Faced their clamor unafraid.424

Five months into his reign, al-Mutawakkil sent for Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. 73.7

[Ṣāliḥ:] Al-Mutawakkil ordered Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm to send my father to him. So Isḥāq summoned my father and said: “The Commander of the Faithful requires your presence. Prepare yourself for a journey!” My father said: 73.8

Isḥāq also asked me to forgive him for being present when I was flogged. I told him that I had already forgiven everyone who was there. Then he said he wanted to ask me about the Qurʾan—not to test me, but because he genuinely wanted to know.

“Just between us, then: What do you say about the Qurʾan?” “It’s the speech of God,” I told him, “uncreated.” “Why uncreated?” “God has said, «His is the creation, His the command,»425 which shows that what He creates is not the same as what He commands.” “But His command is created,” said Isḥāq.

“God help us!” I said. “Can one created thing create another?” “But what authority tells you it isn’t created?” “Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad says, ‘It is neither a creator nor a created thing.’” He fell silent.

The next night, he sent for me and asked, “How do you feel about going?” “That’s up to you.” [Ṣāliḥ continued:] 73.9

When al-Mutawakkil sent for my father, a number of Helpers and Hāshimī dignitaries came to see him and asked whether he would really speak to him.

“I had made up my mind to speak to him,” said my father, “about his family, about the Helpers and Emigrants, and about the best interests of the Muslims.” It was in 237 [851–52] that my father was sent to al-Mutawakkil. He was taken out of Baghdad and made it as far as a place called Buṣrā, where we spent the night in a mosque. In the middle of the night, al-Naysābūrī arrived and said, “He says, ‘Go back!’” “I hope this is for the best,” I said.

“I’ve been praying all this time,” he said.

After Aḥmad was taken to see al-Mutawakkil and then sent back again, Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm died and was succeeded by his son, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Isḥāq. Then Aḥmad’s enemies denounced him to al-Mutawakkil, claiming that he was harboring a partisan of ʿAlī.426 73.10

[Ṣāliḥ:] The Caliph al-Mutawakkil sent a message to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Isḥāq, the new governor in Baghdad, telling him to warn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal against hiding anything from the caliph. The caliph then dispatched his chamberlain, Muẓaffar, as well as the chief of the courier service, a man named Ibn al-Kalbī, to whom he had sent the same message. Late at night, after most people had gone to bed, al-Muẓaffar and Ibn al-Kalbī confronted Aḥmad and passed on the message that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Isḥāq had conveyed to them: that is, that he should be wary of hiding anything from the caliph. 73.11

[Ṣāliḥ:] There was a knock, and my father, who was dressed only in his breechclout, answered the door. The callers read aloud a message from the caliph suggesting that he was harboring a partisan of ʿAlī. He said, “I don’t know what he means. I believe that obedience is due him in good times and bad, willingly or not, even if he should favor others over me. I regret not being able to pray with my fellow Muslims, attend Friday prayers, or address the community.”427 73.12

Before he died, Isḥāq had told my father to remain at home and not to come out for Fridays or other group prayers, warning him that if he did, he would suffer what he had suffered under al-Muʿtaṣim.

Ibn al-Kalbī then said: “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered me to ask you to swear that you are not concealing anyone.” “If you want me to swear,” he said, “I will.” They made him swear by God, and to swear that he would divorce his wife if he was not telling the truth.

Then Ibn al-Kalbī said, “I want to search your house and your son’s”—meaning mine—“as well.” Muẓaffar and Ibn al-Kalbī searched the house while two women who had come with them searched the women. Then they did the same with my house. They even lowered a candle into the well and looked down it. They also sent women into the women’s quarters. Finally they left.

Two days later came a letter from ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm saying: “The Commander of the Faithful is reassured of your innocence of the slanderous accusations made against you and praises God, who did not allow your enemies to succeed in their plan. He herewith asks you to come to see him, and calls upon you in the name of God not to plead for exemption or to return the money he sends you.”428

[Al-ʿUkbarī:] In 236 [850–51], I went to look for Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal to ask him about a problem. I asked where to find him and was told that he had gone out to pray, so I sat down and waited. Upon his return, I greeted him and he returned my greeting.

Then he headed down an alley and I walked along beside him. At the end of the alley was a door. As he pushed it open and went through, he said, “Leave now, with God’s blessing!” 73.13

I asked my question again, but again he asked me to go. Then another man came out. I asked him why Ibn Ḥanbal was dodging me. He said, “Someone went to the authorities and accused him of harboring a partisan of ʿAlī. So Muḥammad ibn Naṣr came and searched the whole neighborhood without finding anyone. Now Aḥmad won’t talk to people who aren’t scholars.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say: “I had a visit from Abū ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā429 ibn Khāqān, who told me that he had received a letter from the Commander of the Faithful sending me his regards and then saying: ‘If anyone should remain safe from harm, it is you. I must nevertheless inform you that a man held here as our prisoner claims that he is an associate of yours and that you sent him to receive a partisan of ʿAlī who recently arrived from Khurasan. If you wish, I can flog this associate of yours, lock him up, or send him to you.’” 73.14

Aḥmad said, “I told Abū ʿAlī, ‘I don’t know what this supposed associate of mine is talking about, so my reply to the letter is: let the man go unharmed!’” I said, “But why should you care if something happens to him? He’s threatened your life!” “What he’s after,” said Aḥmad, “is to rip us out, root and branch. But he must have someone—a mother, or brothers, or daughters—who would care if something happens to him. That’s why I asked them to let him go.” [Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq:] Al-Mutawakkil took the partisan of ʿAlī who denounced Aḥmad to the authorities and sent him to Aḥmad to repeat the accusation. But Aḥmad forgave him, saying, “He might have boys who would mourn if he were killed.” 73.15

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father received a letter from ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm saying: “The Commander of the Faithful herewith sends you Yaʿqūb, called Qawṣarrah, with a gift for you, and orders you to come to him. He calls upon you in the name of God not to plead for exemption or to return the money he has sent you, for doing so will strengthen the hand of those working against you.” 73.16

The next day, Yaʿqūb returned and went in to see him. “Abū ʿAbd Allāh,” he said, “the Commander of the Faithful conveys his greetings to you and says: ‘I am now convinced of your innocence. Desiring, as I do, the comfort of your presence and the blessing of your prayers, I herewith send to you ten thousand dirhams to cover the expenses of your journey.’” Yaʿqūb then brought out a bag with a knotted pouch containing about two hundred dinars and the rest filled with untrimmed dirhams. My father didn’t even look at it.

Yaʿqūb tied it back up, saying, “I’ll be back tomorrow to find out what you’ve decided to do.” He added, “Praise God, who prevented the innovators from rejoicing in your downfall.” Then he left.

I brought in a green washtub,430 turned it over, and dropped it on top of the bag.

When it was time for the evening prayer, my father said, “Ṣāliḥ, take this and put it in your house.” So I put it on the roof next to where I slept. Early the next morning I heard him calling me so I got up and went over. He told me he hadn’t slept. When I asked him why not, he began weeping and said, “Here I thought I’d escaped them, but now they’ve come to torment me at the end of my life!” He went on, “I’ve decided to give that thing away as soon as it’s morning.” “That’s up to you,” I said.

In the morning al-Ḥasan al-Bazzāz and the elders came to see him. “Ṣāliḥ,” he told me, “bring me a scale.” Then he added, “Send for the descendants of the Emigrants and Helpers. And send for So-and-So, and So-and-So, and tell them to distribute the money in their neighborhoods.” So it went, until he had given all the money away and emptied the bag. This was at a time when we were living in a state of deprivation best known to God. At one point one of my little boys came over, looked at me, and said, “Daddy, give me a dirham!” So I got out a coin and gave it to him.

The chief courier reported that my father had given the money away that very day.

He even gave away the bag.

ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm said: 73.17

I told the caliph that Aḥmad had given the money away. People did see him accept the gift, but they also knew that he had no use for it: “He lives on a loaf of flatbread!” The caliph said, “You’re right, ʿAlī.” Sāliḥ said: 73.18

After my father gave away the money, they escorted us outside. It was nighttime, and there were guardsmen with us carrying torches. When it grew light out, my father asked me if I had any dirhams. I told him I did, and he said, “Give them something.” So I gave each guardsman a dirham.431

When we reached the grain merchants’ district, Yaʿqūb said, “Stop here.” Then he sent word to al-Mutawakkil that we had arrived. My father kept his eyes on the ground as we entered Samarra.

At that moment Waṣīf came past, heading for the palace. Seeing the mass of people gathered there, he asked, “What’s all this?” “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s here,” he was told.

After my father had been checked through by Yaḥyā ibn Harthamah,432 Waṣīf sent him a message saying, “The Commander of the Faithful conveys his salutations and expresses his gratitude to God for preventing the heretics from rejoicing in your downfall. You are aware of where Ibn Abī Duʾād stood, and must therefore understand how important it is for you to state a position satisfactory to God.”433

We were given lodgings in Ītākh’s palace. My father’s first visitor was ʿAlī ibn al- Jahm, who told me that the Commander of the Faithful had sent ten thousand dirhams to replace the money my father had given away. The caliph had also forbidden anyone to tell my father about the gift, which would only upset him. 73.19

The next visitor was Aḥmad ibn Muʿāwiyah, who told my father, “The Commander of the Faithful is always talking about you and wishing you were here close to him. He wants you to live here and teach Hadith.” “I’m not well enough,” my father said. He laid his finger on his teeth. “I haven’t told my sons,” he said, “but some of my teeth are loose.” Later he was sent a question: “Say two beasts fight. If one is gored by the other, falls to the ground, and is slaughtered, may it be eaten?” He replied: “If it can blink and move its tail, and if it is bleeding, then yes.” The next visitor was Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān, who said, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered me to escort you to see his son al-Muʿtazz. I need to have a suit, a cowl, and a cap made for you in black, so you’ll have to tell me what kind of cap you wear.” I said I had never seen him wear a cap. “The Commander of the Faithful is going to grant you one of the higher ranks and place al-Muʿtazz in your care.” Then he turned to me. “He’s also ordered a stipend of four thousand dirhams for you and the other members of the family.” 73.20

The next day Yaḥyā came to see us again. He asked my father, “Will you ride with us?” “That’s up to you,” he answered.

“Put it in God’s hands, then, and come along.” My father put on his breechclout and his shoes. The shoes were about fifteen years old and had been repaired many times over. Yaḥyā signaled that he should put on a cap.

“He doesn’t have one,” I said. “I’ve never seen him wear one.” “He can’t go in bareheaded!” We asked for a mount. Yaḥyā said, “Make it a muṣallī.”434

My father sat down on the ground, reciting, «From the earth We have created you and We will return you thereto.»435 Then he mounted a mule belonging to a merchant.

We joined him as he rode to the heir apparent’s palace, where he was given a seat in a room adjoining the entryway. Yaḥyā came to take his arm and escort him inside. There was a partition there, but it was removed so we could see him. My father sat down and Yaḥyā said, “The Commander of the Faithful has brought you here to derive blessing from your presence and to place his son in your care.” One of the staff later told us that al-Mutawakkil had been sitting behind a screen.

When my father came in, the caliph had said to his mother, “Look, Mother! He lights up the whole room.”436

Then a servant appeared carrying a bundle. Yaḥyā took it and pulled out a lined outer garment with a shirt inside it. He put my father’s arm into one sleeve, then took him by the arm and lifted him up to get the neck-hole of the garment over his head.

After that he reached into the garment and pulled my father’s right hand, then his left, out through the sleeves, with my father doing nothing to help him. Finally Yaḥyā took a cap and put it on my father’s head and draped a cowl over his shoulders. The one thing they didn’t bring was a pair of shoes, so he was left wearing his old ones.

As soon as my father was dismissed and we returned to the place where we were staying, he tore the clothes off, then burst into tears. “I kept myself well away from these people for sixty years, but now at the end of my life they’ve come to torment me! I don’t think I can get out of attending that boy, not to mention all the people I’ll have to advise from the moment I lay eyes on them to the moment I leave.” Then he said: “Ṣāliḥ, send these clothes to Baghdad, have them sold, and give the money away in alms. I don’t want any of you buying anything with it.” I sent the clothes back to be sold, and he gave the money away.

[Zuhayr:] I was the first to meet Aḥmad when he got out of the boat. He disembarked wearing the wrap they had put on him. It slipped off and fell, but instead of putting it back on and adjusting it, he dragged it along after him. 73.21

[Ṣāliḥ:] After we sent the clothes away, we told my father that the house where we were staying belonged to Ītākh. 73.22

“Write a note to Muḥammad ibn al-Jarrāḥ,” he said, “and ask him to let us stay somewhere else.” After we wrote the note, al-Mutawakkil gave us permission to leave. But the new place he assigned us was available only because he had evicted the people living there, so my father wouldn’t go there either. Next the caliph rented a property for two hundred dirhams for us to stay in, with delivery of food and ice. Punkahs437 were installed and carpets from Ṭabaristān spread out on the floor. When my father saw the punkahs and the carpets, he left the place and threw himself down on a quilt he had with him.

At one point my father had something wrong with his eye, but then it cleared up.

“Isn’t that something?” he said. “My eye was bothering me for a while, but look how quickly it got better.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] When we were in Samarra, Aḥmad told me at one point that he had gone eight nights without eating or drinking anything except some barley water— less than a quarter-measure. He would go three nights without eating. On the fourth, I would put an eighth-measure of barley water in front of him. Sometimes he would finish it and sometimes he’d leave some. If there was anything bothering him, he wouldn’t eat at all, and break his fast with only a drink of water. 73.23

[Ṣāliḥ:] In Samarra my father started fasting for three days at a time and breaking his fast with Shihrīz dates. He did this for fifteeen days, eating every third day. Then he started eating every other night, but only a loaf of flatbread. Whenever a table was brought in, they set it down in the anteroom where he wouldn’t see it and the rest of us would eat. 73.24

Whenever the heat got too much for him, he would lay a wet rag on his chest.

Every day al-Mutawakkil would send Ibn Māsawayh over to examine him. “Abū ʿAbd Allāh,” he would say, “I like you and I like the people you have with you. There’s nothing wrong with you except inanition and infrequent bowel movements. You know, we often tell our monks to eat sesame oil to relax the bowels.” He started bringing him things to drink but he would pour them out. 73.25

Among his other visitors were Yaʿqūb and ʿAttāb, who would come to ask him on behalf of the caliph what he thought should be done with Ibn Abī Duʾād and his estate, but he would never answer. They started coming every day to tell him how the case was coming along. Finally it was testified that Ibn Abī Duʾād’s estates could be sold off, and he himself was sent down to Baghdad. 73.26

Yaḥyā would sometimes come to see him, and wait in the anteroom until he was finished praying. When ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm came to see my father, he would remove his sword and cap before coming in. 73.27

At one point al-Mutawakkil ordered a house to be bought for us. My father called me over and said, “Ṣāliḥ, if you let them buy a house I’ll never speak to you again. All they want is to find a way to keep me here for good.” He remained so obstinate that the idea was finally dropped.

At one point the caterer came to me and said, “Would you rather I stopped sending food over and give you the three thousand dirhams a month instead?” I told him no.

Al-Mutawakkil’s messengers continued coming over to ask after my father and then going back to the caliph and saying that he didn’t look well. Meanwhile they would tell my father that the caliph needed to see him. My father would say nothing.

After they left, he would say, “Isn’t that strange? How would they know whether he needs to see me or not?” 73.28

Then Yaʿqūb came over and said, “The Commander of the Faithful is eager to see you. Think about when you can come see him, and let me know.” “That’s up to you,” my father replied.

“He has Wednesday free,” said Yaʿqūb, and went out.

The next day Yaʿqūb came back and said, “Good news! The Commander of the Faithful sends his regards and informs you that he has excused you from wearing the black, attending the heirs apparent, and coming to the palace. If you prefer to wear cotton or wool, you may do so.” My father praised God for this turn of events.

Then Yaʿqūb said, “I have a son who’s dear to my heart. I wonder if you would recite some Hadith for him.” My father said nothing. After Yaʿqūb left, he said to me, “Doesn’t he see what I’m going through?” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Yaʿqūb, the caliph’s messenger, ask Abū ʿAbd Allāh, “If my son comes here between sunset and evening prayers, would you teach him one or two Hadith?” 73.29

“No,” said Abū ʿAbd Allāh. “Tell him not to come.” After Yaʿqūb had left, I heard Aḥmad say, “Even if his nose touched the sky I wouldn’t teach him. Does he want me to put my own head through a noose?”438

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father would start reading the Qurʾan every Friday and finish it by the following Friday. Whenever he finished a reading, he would make a supplication and we would say, “Amen!” Then he would say, “God, guide me,” over and over. Finally I asked him what he was concerned about and he said, “Whether to make a vow to God, knowing that I’ll be held accountable for it. «Believers, fulfill your obligations.»439 I’m considering a vow never to recite a full Hadith report again for the rest of my life—not to anyone, not even all of you.” 73.30

Then ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm arrived. When we told my father, he said, «We belong to God and to Him we shall return»440 and ʿAlī reported this back to al-Mutawakkil.

My father told us, “They want me to recite Hadith so they can keep me here. The scholars who ended up staying here were the ones who accepted what they were offered for teaching Hadith, or obeyed when they were ordered to teach.” Meanwhile my father continued to receive visits from Yaḥyā, Yaʿqūb, ʿAttāb, and others. They would talk and he would sit with his eyes closed as if ill. He gradually became very feeble. When his condition was reported to al-Mutawakkil, the stricken caliph sent message after message asking about his health. All the while, he continued to send us money, telling the messengers, “Give it to the family without telling the father. What does he expect of them? He might not care about the things of this world, but why should he stop his family from enjoying them?” 73.31

“He won’t eat any of the food you give him,” the caliph was told. “He won’t sit on your carpets, and he declares what you drink to be forbidden.” “Even if al-Muʿtaṣim himself came back to life and spoke against Aḥmad,” said the caliph, “I wouldn’t listen.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I once heard Aḥmad say, “For some time I’ve been asking God to guide me on whether I should vow not to teach Hadith any more.” 73.32

He added, “I’ve stopped teaching, but they still won’t leave me alone.” [Ṣāliḥ:] Some time later I went back down to Baghdad and left ʿAbd Allāh there with our father. Not long afterward ʿAbd Allāh appeared, bringing with him the clothes I had left in Samarra. I asked him what was going on. 73.33

ʿAbd Allāḥ replied: “He said, ‘Go back, and tell Ṣāliḥ not to come back here. All of you are the cause of my troubles. If I could do it all over again, I would have left you in Baghdad and come here by myself. If you hadn’t been here, they wouldn’t have brought us food or laid down carpets or started sending us you-know-what every month.’”441

So I wrote to my father telling him what ʿAbd Allāh had said. He wrote back in his own hand:

In the name of God, full of compassion, ever-compassionate May God give you a just reward and protect you from all misfortune.

I am writing to tell you the same thing I told ʿAbd Allāh: all of you need to stay away. If you do they may forget that I’m here, but as long as you’re with me I’ll be the center of attention. We even had people coming to see you so they could report back about what we’re doing. That’s why I’m asking, not because I’m angry at you. Please understand, son, that if you and your brother stay in Baghdad and stop coming here you’ll be doing what I want. So don’t worry and don’t be upset with me.

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God, and His blessings.

Then I received another letter in his handwriting addressed to me. It said: 73.34

In the name of God, full of compassion, ever-compassionate May God give you a just reward and in His mercy protect you from all harm.

I write to you enjoying successive blessings from God, whom I ask to complete them and to aid me in expressing my gratitude for them. I’ve been released from some of my obligations.442 Only those who were offered rewards and accepted them remained in confinement here. They were given stipends and ended up where you see them now.

They’ve taught Hadith and consorted with those people. I ask God to protect us from them and to free us from this predicament. If you could see the wretched state I’m in, you would gladly give up your property and your families to free me. But don’t let what I’m telling you trouble you. Just stay home; perhaps God will find a way to set me free.

Peace and the blessings of God.

Later I got another letter similar to the one above.

After we left, the food stopped being delivered and the carpets, cushions, and other items put there for us were removed.

Then my father made a will: 73.35

In the name of God, full of compassion, ever-compassionate This is the testament of Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal.

He declares that there is no god but God, alone, without partner; and that Muḥammad is His servant and Emissary, bringing right guidance and a true religion that he carried to victory over all other cults and creeds despite the resistance of the polytheists.

All those members of his family willing to heed him he enjoins to partake with the likeminded in worshipping and praising God and in giving good counsel to the Muslim community.

He testifies that he accepts God, mighty and glorious, as his lord; Islam as his religion; and Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, as his prophet.

I declare that I owe ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, known as Fūrān, approximately fifty dinars; he is to be believed when he says so.443 Let him be repaid out of the income from the house, God willing. Once the debt is paid, let ten dirhams be given to each of Ṣāliḥ’s children,444 male and female, after the money due Abū Muḥammad is paid back.

Witnessed by Abū Yūsuf as well as Ṣāliḥ and ʿAbd Allāh, sons of Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal.

[Al-Marrūdhī:] One night after he had been fasting continuously, Aḥmad woke me up. He was sitting up and saying, “I’m so hungry that my head’s spinning. Find me something to eat!” 73.36

I found part of a loaf of flatbread for him and he ate it.

“If I weren’t afraid of helping them break my resistance,” he said, “I wouldn’t eat at all.” He would often get out of bed and try to leave the house but then find himself so weakened by hunger that he would have to sit down and rest. Sometimes I would have to moisten a rag and give it to him to lay on his face in order to revive him. At one point he was so weak—from starvation, not illness—that he made a will and had it witnessed. Here’s what I heard him say when making his will in Samarra:

In the name of God, full of compassion, ever-compassionate This is the testament of Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad.

He declares that there is no god but God, alone, without partner; and that Muḥammad is His servant and Emissary, bringing right guidance and a true religion that he carried to victory over all other cults and creeds despite the resistance of the polytheists.

All those members of his family willing to heed him he enjoins to partake with the likeminded in worshipping God and giving good counsel to the Muslim community.

He testifies that he accepts God, mighty and glorious, as his lord; Islam as his religion; and Muḥammad as his prophet.

He also testified that he owed fifty dinars, to be repaid out of the income of the rental property.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] My father spent sixteen days at the caliph’s palace in Samarra without eating anything but a quarter-measure of barley meal. Every night he would have a drink of water, and every third night eat a handful of meal. Even after he came home it took him six months to recover. The inner corners of his eyes seemed to have receded toward the pupil.445 73.37

[Al-Marrūdhī:] When we were in Samarra, Aḥmad used to ask me if I could find him some bean broth. Many times I would moisten some bread in water and he would eat it with salt. From the time we entered Samarra to the time we left, he tasted no cooked food or any fat. 73.38

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once said to me, “All day long I hope for death.

I’m afraid of being tempted by the things of this world. Yesterday I was thinking that it’s been two trials. Before, they tested my religion, and this time they’re trying me with the things of this world.” 73.39

Once in Samarra he said, “Isn’t it surprising? Before this, I lived on bread, and stopped craving food altogether. When I was in jail, I ate. To me, that meant that my faith had increased. But now it seems to have decreased.” On another occasion he said, “Today makes eight days I’ve gone without eating or drinking anything except some barley meal—less than a quarter-measure.” He would go three days without eating—and I was with him all the time. On the fourth night I would serve him an eighth-measure of barley meal. Sometimes he would drink it and sometimes he wouldn’t. For fourteen or fifteen days, he survived on less than two quarter-measures of barley meal. Whenever he was upset about something he wouldn’t eat at all and would drink only water. People tried to make him stop doing what he was doing to himself, suggesting that if he asked for a cooked meal he would feel much better.

“You can enjoy a cooked meal,” he replied, “only if you’re sure of being saved.

Abū Dharr lived for thirty days on nothing but water from the well of Zamzam, Ibrāhīm al-Taymī went for days without eating. Ibn al-Zubayr could go for seven.” [Ṣāliḥ:] Al-Mutawakkil had rented a house for them, but my father asked to move out of it and rented another place himself. When al-Mutawakkil asked how my father was faring, he was told that he was ill. “I had hoped to keep him close, but I grant him leave to go. ʿUbayd Allāh! Give him a thousand dinars to distribute, and tell Saʿīd to prepare a boat to take him back to Baghdad.” 73.40

Late that night, ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm arrived, followed by ʿUbayd Allāh with the thousand dinars.

“The Commander of the Faithful has exempted me from doing anything I don’t want to do,” said Aḥmad. “So take the money back.” Then he said, “I don’t like the cold. It would be more comfortable for me to travel by land.” A document of safe passage was written up for him as well as a letter to Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh instructing him to take care of him. He arrived back home that afternoon.

[Ibn al-Ashʿath:] Al-Mutawakkil wrote to his deputy ordering Aḥmad to be sent to him. When Aḥmad arrived, al-Mutawakkil had a palace vacated and furnished for his use, with food of various kinds delivered every day. He wanted Aḥmad to teach his son Hadith, but Aḥmad refused. He also refused to sit on the carpets or look at the food provided him even though he was fasting. When it came time to break the fast, he told his companion to buy him some bean broth. He went on this way for some days.

Then, ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm, who was a Sunni and favorable to Aḥmad, said to the caliph, “A renunciant like him is no good to you. Would you consider giving him permission to leave?” 73.41

So the caliph gave his permission, and Aḥmad came home.

[Al-Marrūdhī:] While we were in Samarra, I heard Isḥāq ibn Ḥanbal pleading with Aḥmad to go see the caliph so he could command him to do right and forbid him to do wrong.446 73.42

“He would listen to you,” said Isḥāq. “Look at Ibn Rāhawayh: Doesn’t he preach to Ibn Ṭāhir?” “Ibn Rāhawayh is no example because I think what he’s doing is wrong. As far as I’m concerned he does no good, and he thinks the same of me. If there’s anyone who needs to hear me preach, it’s him. Consorting with the high and mighty is a trial.

We’ve tried to steer clear of them, but still they’ve managed to cause trouble for us.

Think how much worse it’ll be if we start associating with them.” Al-Marrūdhī also said: 73.43

I heard Ibn al-Mubārak’s nephew IsmāʿīI arguing with Aḥmad and trying to persuade him to go see the caliph.

“Your uncle,” said Abū ʿAbd Allāh, “said, ‘Keep away from them, and if you can’t, speak the truth.’ I’m afraid of not speaking the truth.” I also heard Aḥmad say, “If I were to see the caliph, the only subject I’d raise is the Emigrants and the Helpers.”447

According to another account, Aḥmad’s uncle said, “Why don’t you go see the caliph? He thinks highly of you.” “That’s what worries me,” said Aḥmad.

[Ibn al-Munādī:] Eight years or so before he died, Aḥmad stopped teaching Hadith. As far as I know, the reason was that al-Mutawakkil sent him a message conveying his greetings and asking him to take his son al-Muʿtazz as a pupil and teach him Hadith. Aḥmad replied: “Convey my greetings to the Commander of the Faithful and tell him that I have sworn a solemn oath never to recite a complete Hadith again as long as I live. The Commander of the Faithful has exempted me from doing anything I detest, and this is something I detest.” 73.44

Hearing this, the messenger departed.

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father used to receive visits from messengers conveying al-Mutawakkil’s greetings and asking after his health. We were happy to receive the visitors, but my father would shudder so violently that we had to bundle him up in heavy clothes. He would bunch his fingers together and say, “If I had my soul in my hand, I would let it go,” then open his hand. 73.45

Some time later, al-Mutawakkil and his entourage were passing through al- Shammāsiyyah on their way to al-Madāʾin. My father told me that he didn’t want me to go to them or send them word of any kind. I said I wouldn’t.

The next day I was sitting outside and there right in front of me—even though it was a rainy day—appeared Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān, who had come, rain and all, with a vast entourage.

“Is this any way to act?” he said, dismounting just outside our alley. “You didn’t come and convey your father’s greetings to the Commander of the Faithful, so he sent me to you.” I tried to persuade him to come through the alley on horseback, but he refused and began sloshing his way through the mud instead. When he reached the door, he removed the galoshes he was wearing over his boots and went into the house.

My father was sitting in the corner wearing a patched wrap and a turban. The only curtain across the door was a strip of burlap. Yaḥyā greeted him, kissed him on the forehead, and asked after his health.

“The Commander of the Faithful conveys his greetings and asks, ‘How are your spirits and how is your health?’ He says that he took comfort in having you close by and asks you to pray for him.” “Not a day passes,” says my father, “that I don’t pray for him.” “He’s sent along a thousand dinars for you to distribute to those in need.” “Abū Zakariyyā,” he replied, “I don’t leave the house and I don’t see anyone. And he’s exempted me from doing what I detest, and this is something I detest.” “Abū ʿAbd Allāh! Caliphs will only tolerate so much.” “Do what you can to handle it discreetly, Abū Zakariyyā.” Yaḥyā wished him well and rose. On the way out he turned around and came back.

“Would you say the same thing if it was one of your associates who was giving you the money?” “Yes.” When we reached the anteroom, he said, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered me to give you the money to distribute to your families.” “Keep it with you for now,” I said. After that a messenger came from al- Mutawakkil nearly every day.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard my father say, “All I wish for is death. Living this way is worse than dying. What happened before was a test of faith. Flogging and prison I could stand, since I was the only one who suffered. But now we’re being tested by the things of this world,” or words to that effect. 73.46

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard my father say, “This time it’s worse. Flogging and prison I could stand, since I was the only one involved. But now we’re being tested by the things of this world.” 73.47

Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad told me, “Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān came bearing that pittance of his,” and went on about how meager a sum it was. 73.48

“But I heard he brought a thousand dinars,” I said.

“That’s right,” he said. He went on: “I wouldn’t take it from him. He got as far as the door and then turned around and asked, ‘If one of your associates brought you something, would you take it?’ I told him I wouldn’t. He said he had asked so he would know what to tell the caliph.” “But would it have been so wrong,” I asked, “if you had accepted the money and then given it away?” He glowered at me. “If I did that, what do you think it would mean? Am I supposed to be his housekeeper?” [Ṣāliḥ:] ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā wrote to my father saying, “The Commander of the Faithful has ordered me to write and ask you about the Qurʾan—not to test you, but instead to learn from you and benefit from your insight.” 73.49

In response, Aḥmad dictated the following letter to me, for delivery to ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā:448

In the name of God, full of compassion, ever-compassionate May God reward you, Abū l-Ḥasan, as you deserve, in all matters; and in His mercy stave off all that is hateful in this world and the next. I am writing to you—may God be pleased with you!—to convey such thoughts as occur to me in response to the question posed by the Commander of the Faithful. I ask God to perpetuate the guidance with which He has favored him, inasmuch as the people had waded deep into the treacherous waters of falsehood and disagreement and were floundering there until the Commander of the Faithful succeeded to the caliphate and God, acting through him, banished every heretical innovation. The wretchedness, suffering, and constraint endured by the community vanished all at once, swept away by a Commander of the Faithful doing God’s will; and great was the rejoicing of the Muslims, who pray for his well-being. I pray God answer every righteous prayer for the caliph, strengthen his good intentions, and aid him in his quest.

Of Ibn ʿAbbas it is related that he said, “Do not strike one verse of God’s Book against another for doing so will cast doubt into your hearts.” 73.50

Citing ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr it is related that a group of people were sitting at the door of the Prophet’s house. One said, “Did God not say such-and-such?” Another said, “But did He not also say such-and-such?” Overhearing them, the Prophet came out, looking as if a pomegranate had been split open and spattered his face with bitter juice.

“Is this what you’ve been told to do?” he asked. “To strike the verses of God’s Book one against another? That’s how the nations before you went astray. What you’re doing has no place here. Look to what you are enjoined to do, and do it; look to what is forbidden you, and forbid yourself to do it!” Aḥmad cited additional Hadith reports, then said: 73.51

God—exalted be He—has said «so that he may hear the word of God»449 and «His is the creation, His the command»450 thereby conveying that command and creation are two different things.

After citing additional verses, he wrote:

I am no man for Disputation. I do not approve of speculation regarding any of these matters except what is in the Book of God or in reports of what was believed by the Prophet—may God bless and keep him—his Companions, or their Successors.