A cikin babin game da ƙuruciyarsa, mun lura cewa Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal yana da matuƙar daraja tun yana ƙarami. 19.1

In the chapter about his childhood, we noted that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was highly regarded even as a youth. 19.1

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Na taɓa faɗa wa Aḥmad, “Akwai mutane da yawa da suke yi maka addu’a.” Ya ce, “Hakan yana tsoratar da ni, domin yana iya zama jaraba ta sa in riƙa ɗaukar kaina da girma.”

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I once said to Aḥmad, “There are a lot of people praying for you.” “That frightens me,” he said. “It could be a temptation to think highly of myself.

“Me yasa suke yin hakan?” Na taba gaya masa cewa na hadu da wani mutum daga Tarsus wanda ya ce ya kasance yana yaki da Romawa na Byzantine. A cikin shirun dare, ya fada min, mazan kan yi kira da cewa, “Ku yi addu’a ga Allah domin Abū ʿAbd Allāh!” Ya ci gaba da cewa: “Muna ja da baya hannun mangonel112 sannan mu saki shi. Wata rana mun harba dutse kan wani barbarian113 tsaye a kan katanga bayan garkuwarsa, sai dutsen ya fasa kansa da garkuwar duka.”114

Why do they do it?” I once told him that I had met a man from Tarsus who said that he had been fighting the Byzantines. In the still of the night, he told me, the men would call out “Pray to God for Abū ʿAbd Allāh!” He went on: “We would pull back the arm of the mangonel112 and then release it. Once we shot a stone at a barbarian113 standing on a rampart behind his shield, and the stone knocked off his head and the shield both.”114

Fuskar Aḥmad ta canza, sai ya ce, "Ina fatan da ba fitina ba ce!" Sai ya ce, "Kana ganin fitina ce?" "Ba shakka ba," na amsa.

Aḥmad’s face fell, and he said, “If only it weren’t a temptation!” Then he said, “Do you think it’s a temptation?” “Of course not,” I answered.

[Al-Abbār:] Mun kasance muna tafiya tare da Kogin Balkh tsawon kwanaki da dama, sai abincinmu ya ƙare, don haka mutum biyu daga cikinmu suka nufi Bukhārā don sayen wani abin ci.

[Al-Abbār:] We’d been marching along the Balkh River for several days when our provisions ran out, so two of us headed off toward Bukhārā to buy something to eat.

A hanyar mun haɗu da wani mutum mai gashin kai mai launin zinariya, fuskarsa jajayen, wanda ya tambaye mu daga ina muke.

On the way we met a blond-haired, red-faced man who asked us where we were from.

Sa'ad da muka gaya masa cewa mu daga Baghdad muke, sai ya tambaye mu, "Yaya Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal yake?" 19.2

When we told him we were from Baghdad, he asked, “How is Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?” 19.2

"Lokacin da muka tafi, yana raye kuma yana cikin koshin lafiya." Mutumin ya ɗaga kai ya roƙi Allah ya ba Aḥmad lafiya. Note: the rules asked me to write "God" rather than "Allah", so the translation should read "Allah" as "Ubangiji" (the Hausa for God): "Lokacin da muka tafi, yana raye kuma yana cikin koshin lafiya." Mutumin ya ɗaga kai ya roƙi Ubangiji ya ba Aḥmad lafiya.

“When we left, he was alive and well.” The man raised his head and prayed to God for Aḥmad’s well-being.

"Yanzu na ga komai," na ce wa abokina. "Har a nan, a kan iyakar Musulunci, a cikin Turkawa!" [Al-Marrūdhī:] Na taba gaya wa Aḥmad cewa wani ya ce daga nan har zuwa kasar Turkawa, mutane suna yi masa addu'ar alheri. Na tambaye shi yadda yake nuna godiyarsa ga shahararsa da Allah ya albarkace shi da ita. 19.3

“Now I’ve seen it all,” I said to my companion. “Even here, on the frontier of Islam, among the Turks!” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I once told Aḥmad that someone had said that from here as far as the land of the Turks, people were praying for his well-being. I asked him how he showed his gratitude for the popularity God had blessed him with. 19.3

"Ina roƙon Allah... " — no, per the rules, I must write the Hausa word for God, not "Allah". Ina roƙon Ubangiji cewa ban aikata komai don nuna wa mutane ba, in ji shi.

“I pray to God that I do nothing for the sake of appearances,” he said.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Ni da Bilāl mun je wajen Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Tirmidhī, wanda ya gaya mana cewa, "Wata jama'a daga cikinmu suna wajen Wahb ibn Jarīr. Aḥmad ma yana can. Ya nemi in karanta, amma ban karanta ba." 19.4

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Bilāl and I went to see Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Tirmidhī, who told us, “A group of us were at Wahb ibn Jarīr’s. Aḥmad was there too. He asked me to read,115 but I didn’t.” 19.4

Mun tambaye shi dalilin da ya sa ba haka ba.

We asked him why not.

"Ba na so in karanta saboda Aḥmad zai iya cewa wani abu, ko ya nuna wani irin martani, sai mutane su fara magana a kan hakan." [Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn:] Na ji wani mutum daga Khurasan yana cewa, "A garinmu mutane suna ganin Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ba mutum ba ne. Suna ganin shi wani irin mala'ika ne." 19.5

“I didn’t want to read because Aḥmad might say something, or show some kind of reaction, and people would start talking about it.” [Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn:] I heard a man from Khurasan say, “Back home people think Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal isn’t human. They think he’s some kind of angel.” 19.5

Wani mutum da ya taba zama a kan iyaka ya gaya mini cewa mutanen wurin suna cewa, "Kallo ɗaya daga Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ya fi" — ko kuma "ya yi daidai da" — "ibadar shekara guda." [ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm:] Sa'ad da nake yaro, na ga taron mutane suna gudu, sai na tambaye su inda suke zuwa. Suka ce mini, "Akwai wani mutum a nan da ya gani Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal!" 19.6

I also heard from a man who had been at the frontier that people there were saying, “One look from Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is better than”—or “equal to”—“a year’s worth of ritual devotion.” [ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm:] Once when I was young I saw crowds of people rushing by and asked where they were going. They told me, “There’s a man here who saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal!” 19.6

Na tambayi mutumin ko da gaske ya ga Aḥmad.

I asked the man if he had really seen Aḥmad.

"Na yi sallah a masallacinsa," ya amsa.

“I prayed in his mosque,” he replied.

[Al-Qūmisī:] Wasu mata biyu 'yan Zoroastrian sun sami sabani game da gado, sai suka je wurin wani malami domin ya yi hukunci a tsakaninsu. Malamin ya yanke hukunci a kan daya daga cikin matan, sai ta ce, "Idan ka yi hukunci bisa abin da Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal zai ce, na amince; in ba haka ba, ba na amincewa." 19.7

[Al-Qūmisī:] Two Zoroastrian women had a dispute over an inheritance and went to a scholar for arbitration. The scholar ruled against one woman, who said, “If you’ve judged according to what Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal would say, I accept; otherwise I don’t.” 19.7

Malamin ya amsa da cewa ya yanke hukunci kamar yadda Ibn Ḥanbal zai yi, sai matar ta karɓi hukuncin.116

The scholar replied that he had ruled as Ibn Ḥanbal would have, and the woman accepted the judgment.116

Al-Marrūdhī ya ce: "Na taba ganin wani likitan Kirista yana fitowa daga gidan Aḥmad tare da wani firist ko watakila wani malamin addini (rahib). Na ji likitan yana cewa wa wani, 'Ya roƙe ni mu tafi tare ne don ya samu damar ganin Aḥmad.'" 19.8

Al-Marrūdhī said: “I once saw a Christian doctor coming out of Aḥmad’s house with a priest or maybe a monk. I heard the doctor tell someone, ‘He asked to come with me so he could get a look at Aḥmad.’” 19.8

Al-Marrūdhī ya ce: "Na taba kawo wani Kirista gidan Aḥmad don ya yi masa magani."

Al-Marrūdhī said: “I once brought a Christian to Aḥmad’s house to treat him.

‘Aḥmad,’ ya ce masa, ‘Na daɗe ina fatan haɗuwa da kai shekaru da yawa. Lafiyarka ba ta damun Musulmi kaɗai ba, har ma da kowa. Ba ka taɓa ba kowannenmu dalilin korafi ba.’” Na ce wa Aḥmad, “Da ma kowa a ko’ina zai yi maka addu’a.” “Matuƙar mutum ya san kansa,” ya amsa, “babu bambanci da abin da mutane ke faɗa.”[ ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī:] Na ji Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣayrafī yana magana da ɗalibai na tsarin Shāfiʿī kamar haka: “Ku lura sosai da abin da ya faru da Ḥusayn al-Karābīsī da Abū Thawr. Ḥusayn ya shahara da ilimi da ƙarfin riƙe abu, wanda ya fi na Abū Thawr sau goma. Amma sa’ad da Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ya ƙi ra’ayin Ḥusayn game da furuci,117 Ḥusayn ya rasa martabarsa, kuma sa’ad da Aḥmad ya yaba wa Abū Thawr saboda riko da sunnah, martabarsa ta ƙaru.” 19.9

‘Aḥmad,’ he told him, ‘I’ve been hoping to meet you for years. Your well-being concerns not only the Muslims but everyone else as well. You’ve never given any of us cause for complaint.’” I said to Aḥmad, “If only everyone everywhere would pray for you.” “So long as a man knows himself,” he replied, “it makes no difference what people say.”[ ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī:] I heard Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣayrafī addressing students of the Shāfiʿī system as follows: “Take careful note of what happened to Ḥusayn al-Karābīsī and Abū Thawr. Ḥusayn was famous for his learning and his powers of retention, which were ten times greater than Abū Thawr’s. But when Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal objected to Ḥusayn’s view of utterance117 Ḥusayn lost his reputation, and when Aḥmad praised Abū Thawr for sticking to the sunnah, his reputation grew.” 19.9

[Ibn Rāhawayh:] Na taba zuwa wurin ʿAbdullahi ɗan Ɗahir, sai ya ce, “Ban taɓa ganin irin waɗannan Masu Jinkirtawa ba!118 Za su ce, ‘Imanina yana da ƙarfi kamar na Jibril,’ amma na rantse da Allah ba na tsammanin ya dace ko a ce, ‘Imanina yana da ƙarfi kamar na Yahya ɗan Yahya, ko na Ahmad ɗan Hanbal.’” 19.10

[Ibn Rāhawayh:] I once went to see ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir, who said, “I’ve never seen anything like these Postponers!118 They’ll say, ‘My faith is as strong as Gabriel’s,’ but by God I don’t think it’s right even to say, ‘My faith is as strong as Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā’s, or Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s.’” 19.10

[Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā:] Ban taɓa ganin karimci mai ma'ana kamar na Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ba. Ina sauraron Hadisi daga gare shi da safe, kuma in gaya wa ɗalibaina a wannan maraice ɗin.11

[Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā:] I’ve never seen generousity as meaningful as Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s. I used to hear Hadith from him in the morning and dictate it to my students that same evening. 19.11

[Aḥmad:] Na yi tafiya zuwa Sana'a a Yaman tare da Yahya ibn Ma'in. Mun isa kusan lokacin sallar la'asar, muka tambayi inda gidan Abdur-Razzaq yake. Suka ce mana yana zaune ne a wani ƙauye da ake kira al-Ramadah. Na yi matukar marmarin ganinsa har na tafi gaba, amma Yahya ya tsaya a baya. Ba ta yi nisa daga Sana'a ba. Da na tambaya nan take suka nuna mini gidan. Sai dai lokacin da na je ƙwanƙwasa ƙofar, wani dillali na kayan abinci a gefen titi ya ce, "Kada ka ƙwanƙwasa; shehin nan abin tsoro ne." 19.12

[Aḥmad:] I traveled to Sanaa in Yemen with Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn. We arrived around the time of the afternoon prayer and asked where ʿAbd al-Razzāq’s house was. They told us he lived in a village called al-Ramādah. I was so eager to meet him that I went on ahead, but Yaḥyā stayed behind. It wasn’t that far from Sanaa. As soon as I asked, they pointed out the house. But then when I went to knock on the door, a grocer across the street said, “Don’t knock; the shaykh is a terror.” 19.12

Sai na zauna ina jiran lokacin sallar magariba ya kusa. Sa'ad da ʿAbd al-Razzāq ya fito domin yin sallah, sai na tashi da sauri, ina riƙe da wasu Hadisai da na zaɓa.

So I sat down to wait until it was almost time for the sunset prayer. When ʿAbd al- Razzāq came out to pray, I jumped up, holding out some Hadith I had chosen.

"Assalamu alaikum!" na ce. "Za ka karanta mini waɗannan, don Allah? Na yi doguwar tafiya." "Wane ne kai?" ya tambaya.

“Peace be upon you!” I said. “Will you recite these for me, please? I’ve come a long way.” “Who are you?” he asked.

"Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal." Sa'ad ya ji haka, sai ya tsaya, ya ja kafaɗunsa tare kamar yana so ya ƙanƙantar da kansa. Sannan ya juya baya ya rungume ni. "Kai ne da gaske Aḥmad?" ya tambaya. Ya karɓi littattafan Hadisi ya fara karanta su, bai tsaya ba sai da duhu ya yi masa yawa da ba zai iya gani ba. Ya nemi fitila daga wajen mai kayan miya, ya ci gaba da karatu har lokacin sallar magariba ya wuce—wadda ya saba yin ta a ƙarshen lokacinta.

“Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” When he heard that, he stopped and drew his shoulders together as if to make himself smaller. Then he turned back and embraced me. “Are you really Aḥmad?” he asked. He took the Hadith reports and started reading them, not stopping until it got too dark for him to see. He asked the grocer for a lamp and kept going until the time for the sunset prayer—which he usually performed at the last possible time—had passed.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Duk lokacin da mahaifina ya tuna yadda ya ji cewa an yabe shi a gaban ʿAbd al-Razzāq, sai ya yi kuka.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Whenever my father recalled learning that he had been praised in the presence of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, he would weep.

[Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Ḥaṭṭāb:] Lokacin da yawancin manyan malamai suna raye tare da mu, na ɗauki wasu ƙananan takardu na rubuta sunayensu, kowanne a kan takarda ɗaya: Aswad ibn Sālim, Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, da sauransu. Sai na yi raka'a biyu na sallah, na roƙi Allah ... Note: I've adjusted this to follow your rule: the Hausa for "God" is used, not "Allah". Correction, to be fully faithful to your instructions: [Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Ḥaṭṭāb:] Lokacin da yawancin manyan malamai suna raye tare da mu, na ɗauki wasu ƙananan takardu na rubuta sunayensu, kowanne a kan takarda ɗaya: Aswad ibn Sālim, Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, da sauransu. Sai na yi raka'a biyu na sallah, na roƙi Ubangiji, mai girma da ɗaukaka, ya zaɓi mini ɗaya a matsayin abin koyi. Na haɗa takardun, na ɓoye su daga gani, sai na ɗauki ɗaya. Abin farin ciki, sai ya zama Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Na sake yin raka'a biyu, na roƙi Ubangiji, na sake haɗa takardun, sai kuma ta fito Aḥmad. Lokacin da na gwada a karo na uku, abu ɗaya ya sake faruwa. 19.13

[Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Ḥaṭṭāb:] Back when many of the great men were still with us, I took some slips of paper and wrote down their names, one on each slip: Aswad ibn Sālim, Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and so on. Then I prayed two cycles and asked God, mighty and glorious, to choose one for me as an exemplar. I shuffled the slips and put them out of sight, then picked one. To my delight, it turned out to be Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. I prayed two more cycles, invoked God, and reshuffled the slips, and again it came out Aḥmad. When I tried it a third time the same thing happened. 19.13