These include: 11.1

[Ibn Aktham:] I once heard Maʿrūf say, when Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was mentioned: “To me, Ibn Ḥanbal seemed a young man marked by devotion—one who could convey a great deal in a few words. Once I heard him say: ‘If you remember that you’ll be forgotten when you die, you’ll do good deeds and harm no one.’” 11.8

[Shādhān:] I sent a message to Abū ʿAbd Allāh—meaning Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—asking his permission to transmit the Hadith reported by Ḥammād, citing Qatādah, citing ʿIkrimah, citing Ibn ʿAbbās, citing the Prophet, God bless and keep him: “I saw my Lord, mighty and glorious …”74 11.9

Aḥmad told the messenger, “Tell him to go ahead. That report has been transmitted by learned men.”

[ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī:] My master Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal told me not to recite Hadith except from a written document. 11.16