[Ṣāliḥ:] Wata rana na dawo gida, sai na ji cewa mahaifina ya aika a kira ni tun jiya. Da na sameshi, sai ya ce, "Akwai wani mutum nan jiya da nake so ka sadu da shi. Lokacin tsakar rana ne; ina zaune a nan sai na ji wani mutum a ƙofa."

[Ṣāliḥ:] One day I came home and heard that my father had sent for me the day before. When I found him, he said, “There was someone here yesterday I wanted you to meet. It was around noon; I was sitting here and I heard a man at the door.

Wata hanyar da ban sani ba, na ji ina sha'awar sa. Na tashi na bude kofar. A tsaye a wurin akwai wani mutum da rana ta kone, sanye da rigar gashin dabba da wani yagaggen zane a kansa. Ba shi da riga a karkashin rigar, kuma bai rike jakar ruwa ta fata ko sanda ba. Na gayyace shi ciki, sai ya shiga dakin gaba. 18.1

Somehow I felt drawn to him. I got up and opened the door. Standing there was a sunburned man wearing a cloak of fur and a ragged piece of cloth on his head. He had no shirt on under the cloak, and he wasn’t carrying a leather water bottle or a staff. I invited him in and he came into the anteroom. 18.1

"Daga ina kake zuwa?" na tambaya.

“‘Where are you coming from?’ I asked.

"Daga gabas," ya ce, "kuma ina nufin gabar teku. Da ba don kai ba, da ban shiga birnin ba, amma ina so in gaishe ka." "Kana tafiya da irin wannan tufafi?" "Eh." Sai ya tambaye ni: "Me kake fahimta da kaucewa duniya?" "Rashin ɗaukar komai a matsayin abin da aka tabbatar," na amsa, cikin mamaki.

“‘From the east,’ he said, ‘and I’m heading for the coast. If not for you, I wouldn’t have come into the city, but I wanted to pay my respects.’ “‘Do you travel dressed like that?’ “‘I do.’ Then he asked me: ‘What do you understand by renunciation of the world?’ “‘Not taking anything for granted,’ I answered, surprised.

“Sai na yi tunani a raina, ‘Ba ni da azurfa ko zinariya da zan ba shi.’ Sai na shiga gida, na sami burodi guda huɗu, na fito da su.”

“Then I thought to myself, ‘I have no silver or gold to give him.’ So I went into the house, found four loaves of bread, and brought them out.

"Ba ni da azurfa ko zinariya," na ce masa, "amma wannan ne abin da nake ci." "Shin zai faranta maka rai idan na karɓe su?" "Eh," na ce. Sai ya karɓe su, ya sa su a ƙarƙashin hannunsa, ya ce, "Ina ganin yanzu zan sami isasshen abinci da zai kai ni al-Raqqah. Sai an jima!" "Ban iya daina kallonsa ba har sai da ya bar gidan." Bayan haka, mahaifina yakan yi magana a kansa sau da yawa.

“‘I have no silver or gold,’ I told him, ‘but this is what I eat.’ “‘Would it make you happy if I took them?’ “‘Yes,’ I said. So he took them and put them under his arm and said, ‘I think now I’ll have enough food to get me TO al-Raqqah. Good-bye!’ “I couldn’t stop staring at him until he left the house.” Afterward my father spoke of him often.

[Ibn Sāfirī:] Lokacin da muke ƙanana, muna yin salla da kame kai a Masallacin Mai Turare. Wasu daga cikinmu suna saƙa zaren dabino, wasu suna yin sanduna, da sauransu. Wani memba a cikin ƙungiyar wani saurayi ne mai ƙarfi wanda ya ba mu wannan labari. "Muna yin kamun kifi a kusa da Dujayl," ya ce. "Wata rana, yayin da rana ke faɗuwa, wani mutum sanye da tsoffin tufafi ya wuce. Na bi shi da gudu amma ban iya kama shi ba. Sai na kira shi." 18.2

[Ibn Sāfirī:] When we were young, we used to pray and practice austerities at the Perfumer’s Mosque. Some of us would weave palm fibers, others would make spindles, and so on. One member of the group was a strapping young man who told us this story. “We used to fish around Dujayl,” he said. “One day, as it was getting dark, a man dressed in rags walked by. I ran after him but couldn’t catch him. So I called him over. 18.2

"Kai!" na ce. "Kai ne ɗaya daga cikin Al-Abdal?"108

“‘Hey you!’ I said. ‘Are you one of the Substitutes?’108

"'Eh.' "'Ina za ka?' "'Sham.' "'Daga ina kake zuwa?' "'Daga wajen Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.' "'Me kake yi a can?' "'Ina yi masa tambaya,' ya ce. 'Aḥmad yana cikinmu, amma ya fi kowa sani daga cikinmu.' "Lokaci ya yi da za a yi sallar magariba, don haka muka yi ta, sannan muka yi sallar isha'i. Da ya gama, sai na ce, 'Ka ci wannan kifi kaɗan; mu ne muke kama shi da kanmu.'"109

“‘Yes.’ “‘Where are you going?’ “‘Syria.’ “‘Where are you coming from?’ “‘Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s.’ “‘What were you doing there?’ “‘Asking him a question,’ he said. ‘Aḥmad is one of us, but he knows more than any of us.’ “It was time to pray the sunset prayer, so we did, and then prayed the evening prayer. When he finished, I said, ‘Have some of this fish; we catch it ourselves.’109

“‘Ba ma ci abinci,’ ya amsa, sannan ya ɓace kamar ƙasa ta haɗiye shi.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Wata rana wani mai zuhudu ya zo wurinmu, sai na shigar da shi wurin Aḥmad. Yana sanye da wata tsohuwar riga ta gashi da kuma guntun zane a kansa, kuma bai sa takalmi ba duk da tsananin sanyi. Ibn Ḥanbal ya gaishe shi, shi kuma ya amsa, “Na yi tafiya mai nisa, amma abin da nake so kawai shi ne in gaishe ka. Ina hanyar zuwa ʿAbbādān, kuma idan na dawo daga can, ina so in sake zuwa in gan ka.” 18.3

“‘We don’t eat,’ he replied, and then vanished as if the earth had swallowed him up.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] One day a renunciant approached us, and I took him in to see Aḥmad. He was wearing a ragged cloak of fur and a scrap of cloth on his head, and wore no shoes despite the bitter cold. Ibn Ḥanbal greeted him and he replied, “I’ve come a long way, but all I want to do is pay my respects. I’m heading for ʿAbbādān, and if I return from there, I’d like to come and see you again.” 18.3

"Idan ka dawo, to," in ji Ibn Ḥanbal.

“If you return, then,” said Ibn Ḥanbal.

Mutumin ya tashi ya yi wa Aḥmad sallama, wanda yake zaune.

The man rose and said good-bye to Aḥmad who was sitting down.

Ita ce kaɗai lokacin da na taɓa ganin wani ya tashi ya fita kafin Aḥmad ya tashi tsaye.

It was the only time I ever saw anyone get up and leave before Aḥmad had stood up.

"Yana kama da ɗaya daga cikin Abdal, ko ba haka ba?" in ji Aḥmad; ko kuma, "Yana sa ni tuna Abdal." Sai ya kawo wa mutumin wasu abinci—burodi huɗu da aka yanke aka cika su da porridge na hatsi da aka yi wa fermentation110. "Da ma ina da wani abu da zan ba ka fiye da haka, da na ba ka," ya ce. [Ismāʿīl al-Daylamī:] Ina wurin Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal sai wani ya ƙwanƙwasa ƙofa. Na fita don in ga wanene, sai na ga wani matashi sanye da rigar gashi mai yagaggen jiki. 18.4

“He looks like one of the Substitutes, doesn’t he?” said Aḥmad; or perhaps, “He makes me think of the Substitutes.” Then he brought some food—four loaves split and filled with fermented grain paste110—out to him. “If I had anything more to give you,” he said, “I would.” [Ismāʿīl al-Daylamī:] I was at Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s when someone knocked on the door. I went out to see who it was and found a young man wearing a ragged hair shirt. 18.4

"Me kuma kana so me?" na tambaya.

“What do you want?” I asked.

"Ina son Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal," ya ce.

“I want Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal,” he said.

Lokacin da na gaya wa Aḥmad cewa akwai wani saurayi sanye da riga mai kauri, mai tsagewa, yana neman sa, sai ya fita ya gaishe shi.

When I told Aḥmad that there was a young man in a ragged hair shirt asking for him, he went out and greeted him.

"Ahmad," mutumin ya ce, "ka gaya mini ma'anar zuhd (kaurace wa duniya)." "Na ji Sufyan yana ruwaitowa, yana kawo al-Zuhri, cewa zuhd na nufin kada mutum ya dauki komai a matsayin tabbas." "Ka ƙara bayyana mini," in ji saurayin, wanda yake tsaye a rana duk da cewa akwai wani inuwa a gabansa kai tsaye.

“Aḥmad,” the man said, “tell me what renunciation of the world means.” “I heard Sufyān report, citing al-Zuhrī, that renunciation of the world means not taking anything for granted.” “Tell me more,” said the young man, who was standing in the sun even though there was a patch of shade directly in front of him.

"Yana nufin rashin tabbatar da cewa idan ka bar rana, za ka rayu har ka kai inuwa." Mutumin ya juya zai tafi, amma Aḥmad ya ce, "Dakata!" Ya shiga gida, ya dawo yana miƙa wani ƙaramin ɗaure.

“It means never being sure that if you leave the sun you’ll live long enough to reach the shade.” The man turned to leave, but Aḥmad said, “Wait!” He went into the house and came back holding out a little bundle.

"Ban yi tsammanin zan rayu har in kai ga inuwa ba," in ji mutumin. "Me zan yi da ita?" Sannan ya juya ya yi tafiyarsa.

“I don’t count on living long enough to reach the shade,” said the man. “What would I need that for?” Then he turned and walked away.

[Aḥmad:] Da safiyar wata rana na fita da wuri, sai na haɗu da wani mutum da wani zane a fuskarsa. Ya miƙa mini wata takarda. Da hasken rana ya isa in gani, sai na ciro ta na karanta abin da aka rubuta a kanta: 18.5

[Aḥmad:] Early one morning I went out and came across a man with a cloth over his face. He handed me a slip of paper. When the light had grown strong enough to see by, I took it out and read what was written on it: 18.5

Ga kowane farin ciki, duniya tana kawo baƙin ciki, Ga bukkar talaka da ƙofar mai arziki; Alhali waɗanda ke nazari Ba don koyo suke yi ba, Sai don su yi fahariya, su kuma dagula abokan karatunsu da muhawara banza.111

For each delight, the world brings a grief To the pauper’s hut and the rich man’s gate; While those who study Seek not to learn, But to vaunt, and vex their peers with vain debate.111

Na yi tunanin cewa lallai Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā l-Dhuhlī ne ya ba ni takardar. Daga baya, duk da haka, na sami Muḥammad na tambaye shi game da ita, sai ya ce, "Ban taɓa ganin ka ba, kuma ban taɓa ba ka wata takarda ba." A lokacin ne na fahimci cewa waƙar ta kasance gargaɗi.

I thought it must have been Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā l-Dhuhlī who had handed me the paper. Later, though, I found Muḥammad and asked him about it, and he said, “I never saw you and I never gave you a piece of paper.” It was then that I realized that the poem had been an admonition.