Abin lura shi ne cewa Aḥmad—Allah... — wait, the rule says never write "Allah"; the original says "God", so use the Hausa word for God. Abin lura shi ne cewa Aḥmad—Ubangiji Allah ya yarda da shi—yana bayar da fatawa a kan al'amuran shari'a koda a lokacin ƙuruciyarsa, kuma yana karanta Hadisi idan an tambaye shi, ba tare da damuwa da shekarunsa ba, kamar yadda muke koya daga wannan riwaya ta gaba. 25.1

It is noteworthy that Aḥmad—God be pleased with him—would sometimes give legal opinions even in his youth and would recite Hadith if asked, without being concerned about his age, as we learn from the following report. 25.1

[Al-Qūmisī:] A shekarar 198 [814], na ga Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal yana jingina da minaret ɗin masallacin al-Khayf.153 Da malaman Hadisi suka zo, sai ya fara koya musu Hadisi da hukunce-hukuncen shari'a, yana amsa tambayoyinsu game da ayyukan aikin Hajji.

[Al-Qūmisī:] In 198 [814], I saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal leaning against the minaret at the mosque of al-Khayf.153 When the Hadith scholars arrived, he began teaching them Hadith and legal implications and answering their questions about the pilgrimage rites.

[Al-Qūmisī:] A shekarar 198 [814], lokacin da Ibn ʿUyaynah yana raye, na ga Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal a masallacin al-Khayf, yana bayar da fatawoyi kan kowane irin batu. Ban taɓa ganinsa a baya ba, sai na shiga cikin ƙungiyar da ke kewaye da shi, na tambayi wani wane ne shi. 25.2

[Al-Qūmisī:] In 198 [814], when Ibn ʿUyaynah was still alive, I saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal at the mosque of al-Khayf, delivering legal opinions on all kinds of subjects. I had never seen him before, so I joined the group around him and asked someone who he was. 25.2

"Ba ka fito daga nan ba, ko?" "A'a." "Wannan Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ne." Na jira har ƙungiyar ta watse, sannan na kama hannunsa na gaishe shi. Tun daga lokacin muke sane da juna.

“You’re not from here, are you?” “No.” “That’s Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” I waited until the group had broken up, then took his hand and greeted him. We’ve known each other ever since then.

Duk da haka, ya kamata a lura cewa abin koyi namu Aḥmad—Allah ya yarda da shi—bai fara ɗaukar kansa a matsayin mai koyar da Hadisi da bayar da fatawa ba sai da ya kai shekara arba'in. 25.3

[The author:] It should nevertheless be noted that our exemplar Aḥmad—God be pleased with him—did not put himself forward to teach Hadith and give legal opinions until he was forty years old. 25.3

[Ibn al-Shāʿir:] Na je wurin Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal a shekara ta 203 [818–19] na roƙe shi ya koyar da ni Hadith, amma ya ƙi, sai na fita don yin karatu wurin ʿAbd al-Razzāq. Sa'an nan, a shekara ta 204, na dawo na tarar da Aḥmad ya cika shekara arba'in, ya fara koyarwa, kuma mutane sun karɓe shi a matsayin majiyi.154

[Ibn al-Shāʿir:] I went to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal in 203 [818–19] and asked him to teach me Hadith, but he refused so I went out to study with ʿAbd al-Razzāq. Then, in ’04, I came back and found that Aḥmad had turned forty and begun teaching, and people had accepted him as an authority.154

[Al-Ṣayrafī:] Ina a ƙofar Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, sai ya ambaci wani Hadisi da ʿAbd al-Razzāq ya riwaito. Sai na roƙe shi ya dictate min shi. 25.4

[Al-Ṣayrafī:] I was at Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s door and he mentioned a Hadith transmitted by ʿAbd al-Razzāq. I asked him to dictate it to me. 25.4

"Me me za ka yi da shi, idan ya fito daga gare ni?" ya tambaya. "ʿAbd al-Razzāq yana nan da rai!" "Zan iya gaya maka wani abu?" "Ka faɗa." "Na rantse da cewa idan ka koya mini shi, sannan na bar ƙofarka na tarar da ʿAbd al-Razzāq da kansa a bakin ƙofar zaurenka, ba zan tambaye shi game da shi ba." [Marubucin:] Ko a lokacin da yake koyar da Hadisi, Aḥmad yana kwadaitar da mutane su tuntuɓi waɗancan manyan masu ruwaito hadisi waɗanda har yanzu suna raye. Misali: 25.5

“What would you do with it, coming from me?” he asked. “ʿAbd al-Razzāq is still alive!” “Can I tell you something?” “Go ahead.” “I swear that if you taught it to me and then I left your door and found ʿAbd al- Razzāq himself at the gate of your alley, I wouldn’t ask him about it.” [The author:] Even when he was teaching Hadith, Aḥmad would urge people to consult those senior transmitters who were still alive. For example: 25.5

[Ibn ʿAlī l-Warrāq:] A shekarar 213 [828–9] mun je wajen Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, na roƙe shi ya koya mana Hadisi.

[Ibn ʿAlī l-Warrāq:] In ’13 [828–9] we went to see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and I asked him to teach us Hadith.

"Za ku ji shi daga wurina ne," in ji shi, "alhali kuwa mutane irin Abū ʿĀṣim suna raye? Ku je wurinsa!"

“You’d hear it from me,” he said, “when men like Abū ʿĀṣim are still alive? Go to him!”