[Ibn Khashram:] Someone asked Bishr about Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and I heard him reply, “Why should you care what someone like me has to say about Aḥmad? He went into the bellows and came out red gold.”80 13.37
[Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was put into the bellows and came out like a chunk of red gold. 13.38
[Ibn Khashram:] I heard Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith say “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was put into the bellows and came out like a chunk of red gold.” When Aḥmad learned of this, he said, “Thank God Bishr approves of what I did!” 13.39
[Al-Tammār:] When Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was flogged during the Inquisition, Bishr came to see me. “Abū Naṣr,” he said, “today that man has done what everyone else has failed to do. I hope God counts his learning in his favor.” 13.40
[Muḥammad ibn al-Shāh:] After the Inquisition was over, Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith was asked about Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and said, “He’s one of the exemplary leaders of Islam.” 13.41
[Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥārith:] When Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was flogged, Bishr’s associates said, “If only you had gone out and said, ‘I stand with Ibn Ḥanbal!’” 13.42
“Do you want me to do what the prophets did?”81 replied Bishr. “That’s what Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s doing.” [Al-Asadī:] When Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was taken away to be flogged, people went to Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith and said, “They’ve taken Aḥmad and they’ve brought out the whips. You need to speak out.” 13.43
“Do you want me to do what the prophets did?” said Bishr. “I can’t. May God keep Ibn Ḥanbal safe from every danger!” [ʿAbd Allāh:] Bishr was asked—when they were flogging Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—to say something, and he replied, “You’re asking me to stand where the prophets stood?
That’s what Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is doing.” 13.44
[Al-Ṭabbāʿ:] I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Baynūnī, who was a Worshipper, 82 say, “I asked Bishr why he wouldn’t do what Ibn Ḥanbal had done. He said, ‘Do you want me to stand on a level with the prophets?’ or ‘… to lift me up to where the prophets are?
My body’s too weak for that. May God guard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal from every danger before him or behind, above or below, and from either side.’” 13.45
[Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq:] Al-Haytham the Worshipper said, “I was at Bishr’s and someone came in saying, ‘Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s been struck seventeen lashes so far.’ At that, Bishr stuck out his foot and said, ‘How ugly my leg looks without a fetter on it in defense of that man!’” 13.46
Ḥanbal added: One of my teachers, who was himself a Worshipper, told me, “When they took Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, I went to Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith and said, ‘Come on, let’s go help the man.’ He replied, ‘That’s what a prophet does; I can’t.’” [Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ al-Naysābūrī:] Once when I was praying with Bishr ibn al- Ḥārith, I lifted my hands. After the prayer leader had signaled the end of the ritual prayer, Bishr said, “Abū Isḥāq, I’m surprised that you and your teacher Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal lift your hands. I heard Hushaym report, citing Mughīrah, that Ibrāhīm used to tell people to let their hands drop when they pray.”83 13.47
I went to Aḥmad and told him what Bishr had said. He replied, “Seventeen of the Emissary’s Companions used to lift their hands.” Then he recited, «Let those who go against his order beware»84 and remarked, “Lifting one’s hands makes the ritual prayer more beautiful.” So I went back to Bishr and told him what Aḥmad had said. “Who am I compared to him?” he exclaimed. “Who am I compared to him? He knows better. He knows better!” [Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar:] I heard Ibrāhīm report, citing his uncle al-Jahm al- ʿUkbarī, who used to attend both Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, the following: “One day I went to see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. He had draped his breechclout85
over one shoulder but it had slipped down, revealing his scars.” He may have added, “My eyes filled with tears.” He continued: “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal saw me looking and pulled the garment back up. 13.48
“Later I went to see Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith and told him the story. ‘If only you knew!’ he exclaimed. ‘With the hurt and pain they brought him,86 Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal has flown high in Islam.’” I repeated this story to Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī, who liked it and wrote it down.
[Ibrāhīm ibn Ishāq al-Ḥarbi:] I heard Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith say that he heard al- Muʿāfā ibn ʿImrān say that Sufyān al-Thawrī was asked to explain what futuwwah is.
Sufyān replied as follows: “Futuwwah is mindfulness and modesty. It starts with selfdiscipline, and it gains luster by the cultivation of forbearance and good manners. In its highest form, it demands religious knowledge and the scrupulous avoidance of dubious activities. A man of futuwwah prays regularly, treats his parents and relatives kindly, spends freely, and cares for his neighbor. He is not overbearing, nor does he diverge from common practice; he maintains his dignity and avoids looking at things he shouldn’t. He speaks gently, greets others cheerfully, and supports any other rightthinking fityān who know what God wants them to do and not to do. He speaks the truth and avoids swearing oaths. He is friendly, cheerful, convivial, and a good listener.
He knows how to keep a secret, to conceal the shortcomings of others, and to take good care of whatever is entrusted to him. He stabs no one in the back and he keeps his word. He keeps silent in company, though he can hold his own if he must, and walks humbly even when he need not do so. He respects his elders, treats younger people kindly, and does whatever he can to help his fellow Muslims. When things go badly, he suffers patiently; when things go well, he remembers to be grateful. The full perfection of futuwwah is fear of God, mighty and glorious, and anyone who posesses these virtues is a true fatā.” 13.49
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith then said, “According to Sufyān, then, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was a fatā, since he did have all those virtues. Not only that: he wore a breechclout of twisted cloth.”87