[Ṣāliḥ:] Na tuna ganin mahaifina yana ɗaukar busassun ɓawon burodi, yana kakkaɓe su, ya sa su a cikin kwano, ya zuba ruwa a kansu don su yi laushi. Sannan yana ci da gishiri.

[Ṣāliḥ:] I remember seeing my father take dry crusts of bread, dust them off, put them in a dish, and pour some water over them to soften them. Then he’d eat them with salt.

Ban taɓa ganin shi yana siyan rumman, ko kwaɗo, ko wani 'ya'yan itace ba, sai dai kankana, wanda yake ci da burodi, da inabi ko dabino, amma wannan kawai. Wani lokaci mutane za su shirya masa abinci a cikin tanda. Yakan sa lentil, da mai mai ƙarfi, da dabinon Shihrīz a cikin tukunyar yumɓu, sannan ya ware wani kwano don yara. Zai kira su ya ajiye kwanon a gabansu, amma sukan yi dariya su ƙi cin komai daga cikinsa. Sau da yawa yakan tsoma burodinsa a cikin vinegar. Za su iya siyan masa dirham na mai mai ƙarfi, sai ya wadata shi na wata ɗaya.

I never saw him buy pomegranates, quinces, or any other fruit except for melons, which he’d eat with bread, and grapes or dates, but that’s all. Sometimes people would prepare dishes for him in the oven. He’d put lentils, suet, and Shihrīz dates into a clay pot, and set aside a dish for the children. He would call them and put the dish in front of them, but they would laugh and refuse to eat any of it. He’d often dip his bread in vinegar. They could buy him a dirham’s worth of suet and it would last him a month.

Bayan da ya tsira daga al-Mutawakkil, ya fara azumi kuma ya daina cin mai. Ina da ra'ayin cewa ya yi alkawari cewa idan ya tsira zai daina cin mai. 46.1

After he got away from al-Mutawakkil he started fasting and stopped eating fat. I had the feeling that he had vowed that if he survived he would give up eating fat. 46.1

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Al-Naysābūrī, wanda ya yi aiki ga Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, ya gaya mini cewa sarki ya ce, "Idan iyalan Aḥmad suka kawo masa abinci, ku bari in gani." 46.2

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Al-Naysābūrī, who worked for Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, told me that the emir said, “When Aḥmad’s family brings him a meal, let me see it.” 46.2

Abin da suka kawo masa ya zama gurasa biyu marasa yisti da kokwamba guda.

What they brought him turned out to be two loaves of flatbread and a cucumber.

Sa'ad da na nuna wa sarki abincin, sai ya ce, "Idan zai iya rayuwa a kan haka, ba za mu taba samun nasarar rinjayar sa ba."249

When I showed the food to the emir, he said, “If he can live on that, we’ll never win him over.”249

Sau ɗaya a lokacin bikin sallah na ji Aḥmad yana cewa, "Jiya sun saya mana wake, kuma sun yi kyau sosai."250 46.3

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Once during the festival I heard Aḥmad say, “Yesterday they bought beans for us, and they were quite good.”250 46.3

[Abū l-Sarī:] Aḥmad da ni mun taɓa kasancewa a gidan Abū Bakr al-Aḥwal don kaciyar ɗansa. Ina zaune kusa da Aḥmad a teburin cin abinci. Yana ci, amma sa'ad da suka fito da wani abinci da ake kira honey nut pudding, sai ya tsaya. Sa'ad da Abū Bakr ya roƙe shi ya ɗan ci, yana cewa abinci ne mai kyau sosai, sai ya ci cizo ɗaya kawai. 46.4

[Abū l-Sarī:] Aḥmad and I were once at Abū Bakr al-Aḥwal’s house for his son’s circumcision. I was sitting by Aḥmad at the table. He was eating, but then when they brought out a honey nut pudding, he stopped. When Abū Bakr urged him to have some, saying that it was a first-rate dish, he took just one bite. 46.4

[Al-Ḥasan ibn Khalaf:] A lokacin rashin lafiyar Aḥmad, al-Marrūdhī ya zo wurina yana neman taimako, sai na nemo likita, muka tafi gidan Aḥmad. Likitan ya tambaye shi yadda yake ji. 46.5

[Al-Ḥasan ibn Khalaf:] During Aḥmad’s illness, al-Marrūdhī came to me for help, so I found the doctor and we went to Aḥmad’s house. The doctor asked him how he was feeling. 46.5

"Jiya na yi hijama da kaina," ya ce.

“I had myself cupped yesterday,” he said.

"Me ka ci bayan haka?" "Burodi da tuwon hatsi da aka yi ferment."251

“What did you eat afterward?” “Bread and fermented grain paste.”251

"Me ka ce?" likitan ya yi ihu. "Kana yi wa kanka hijama, sannan ka ci gurasa da tuwon hatsi kawai?" "To me zan ci?" Aḥmad ya tambaya.

“What?” exclaimed the doctor. “You have yourself cupped and then eat only bread and grain paste?” “What else am I supposed to eat?” asked Aḥmad.

[Ḥanbal:] Lokacin da Aḥmad ya yi rashin lafiya, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ya ba da umarnin a sha man almond,252 amma ya ƙi shansa, yana cewa yana son man sesame. Yanayin lafiyarsa ya ƙara tsananta, don haka suka shirya masa shi, amma da ya gane abin da yake, sai ya tura shi nesa. 46.6

[Ḥanbal:] When Aḥmad fell ill, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān prescribed almond oil,252 but he refused to drink it, saying he wanted sesame oil instead. His condition grew worse and so they prepared it for him, but when he realized what it was he pushed it away. 46.6

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Na ji Aḥmad yana cewa, "Hannuwana da ƙafafuna sun yi sanyi. Tabbas saboda vinegar da gishirin da na sa a kan burodina ne." 46.7

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad say, “My hands and feet are cold. It must be the vinegar and salt I put on my bread.” 46.7

Ishaƙ ɗan Ibrahim ɗan Hani' ya ruwaito: "Aḥmad bai taɓa cin wani abu da aka dafa shi da barkono ko tafarnuwa ba. Sau ɗaya na ci abincin dare tare da shi da wasu daga cikin 'yan uwansa. Yayin da muke hira, na lura cewa bayan kowane loma, yakan goge hannunsa a kan adiko ya ce 'Godiya ta tabbata ga Allah!' Daga baya ya ce mini, 'Cin abinci tare da godiya ya fi cin abinci cikin shiru.'" 46.8

Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ reported: “Aḥmad never ate anything cooked with pepper or garlic. Once I had dinner with him and some of his relatives. As we talked, I noticed that after every bite, he would wipe his hand on a napkin and say ‘God be thanked!’ Later he said to me, ‘Eating with thanks is better than eating in silence.’” 46.8