[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard my father say, “The Lord of Glory appeared to me in a dream and I asked Him how best to draw nearer to Him. 91.1

“‘Through my Speech, Aḥmad,’ He said.

“‘Do we have to understand it?’ I asked.

“He said, ‘It works whether you understand it or not.’” [Ṣadaqah ibn al-Faḍl:] I was traveling from Kufa to Baghdad without any money to spend. By the time I reached the Ṣarṣar Canal I was starving. I went into a mosque there and fell asleep. I woke up to find a man joggling me with his foot. It was Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. With him was a porter carrying bread. 91.2

“Last night I had a dream,” he said. “A voice said, ‘Your friend Ṣadaqah ibn al- Faḍl has arrived from Kufa in a bad way so go help him.’”