Aḥmad—Allah ya yarda da shi—ya gāji daga mahaifinsa wasu gidaje da kuma gidan da yake zaune a ciki. Ya yi hayar gidajen, yana rayuwa da kuɗin hayar, ba tare da yin roƙo ga kowa ba.208 40.1

Aḥmad—God be pleased with him—inherited from his father some tenements and the house where he lived. He rented out the tenements and lived off the rents, without having to ask anyone for anything.208 40.1

[Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ya gaya mini, “Kowace shekara ina duba gidan da nake zaune a ciki, in biya zakkar da ake biya a kansa, bisa abin da ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ya faɗa game da Ƙasar Baƙa a Iraƙi.”209

[Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal told me, “Every year I survey the house I live in and pay the alms-tax on it, following what ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said about the Black Land in Iraq.”209

Aḥmad yana zaune a wani ɓangare na gidan, kuma ya bai wa wasu haya wani ɓangare na shi. Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ya ruwaito cewa wani ya tambaye shi yadda ya sani cewa shi ne mamallakin hakkin.

Aḥmad lived in one part of the property and rented part of it out to others. Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar reported that someone asked him how he knew that he was the rightful owner.

"Wannan wani abu ne da na gada daga wurin mahaifina," ya amsa. "Idan wani ya zo ya tabbatar da cewa nasa ne, zan fita in mika masa shi." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Na ji Aḥmad yana cewa, "Wannan dukiya ba ta isar mana, amma zan ci gaba da zama a cikinta har sai ta samar da wani abu."210 40.2

“It’s something I inherited from my father,” he replied. “If anyone comes and proves it’s his, I’d move out and give it to him.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad say, “This property doesn’t support us, but I’m staying with it until it yields something.”210 40.2

Na ce, “Na ji wani yana bada shawara cewa zai fi so ka bar wannan kuma ka bar wani aboki ya tafiyar da shi maka.” “Wannan gayyatar masifa ce,” in ji Aḥmad, ko kuma abin da ya ce shi ne, “Wannan ba shi da kyau.” Ya ci gaba da cewa: “Da zarar ka saba da irin wannan tsari, ba za ka iya rayuwa ba tare da shi ba.” Ya kara da cewa, “Na fi so a yi shi ta wannan hanya fiye da kowace hanya,” yana nufin dukiyar da ke samar da kudin shiga. A karshe ya ce mini, “Ka sani kudin shiga ba ya isar mana. Ina karbarsa ne kawai saboda dole ne.” [Al-Baladī:] Sau daya, yayin da nake zaune tare da Aḥmad, daya daga cikin masu haya nasa ya kawo masa dirhami daya da rabi. Da zarar ya shiga hannunsa, ya tashi ya bar ni inda nake, ya shiga gidansa yana murmushi. Na ji kamar yana bukatar kudin ne don wani muhimmin abu. 40.3

I said, “I heard someone suggest that he’d like it better if you gave it up and let a friend manage it for you.” “That’s an invitation to disaster,” said Aḥmad, or perhaps what he said was, “That’s no good.” He continued: “Once you get used to that sort of arrangement you can’t live without it.” He added, “I’d rather have it this way than any other,” referring to the property that generated the income. Finally he said to me, “You know the income doesn’t support us. I only take it because I have to.” [Al-Baladī:] Once, when I was sitting with Aḥmad, one of his tenants brought him a dirham and a half. As soon as it fell into his hands, he got up, leaving me where I was, and went into his house looking pleased. I had the feeling he needed it for something important. 40.3

Aḥmad wani lokaci yana cikin tsananin bukata har ya kai ga yana tara hatsi daga gonaki.4

Aḥmad was sometimes so needy that he had to glean from the fields.211 40.4

[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] Mutumin da ya ba Aḥmad masauki ya gaya mini: "Lokacin da ya zo ya zauna a nan, ya fita yin tsintar hatsi a gona. Ya dawo da ɗan kaɗan da ya tsinta. Na ce masa, 'Ka ci fiye da abin da ka tsinta!'" Sai ya ce, "Na ga suna yin wani abu da ban iya yi ba: a lokacin da suke tsintar hatsi, sukan yi tafiya a kan hannayensu da gwiwoyinsu. Amma ni na ja kaina zaune." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad ya gaya mini, "Na yi tafiya a ƙafa zuwa iyakar gari, muka je tsintar hatsi. Na ga mutane suna tona gonaki. Amma babu wanda ya kamata ya ketare zuwa ƙasar wani ba tare da izini ba." 40.5

[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] The man who gave lodging to Aḥmad told me: “When he came to stay here he went out to glean. He came back having collected only a little. I said to him, ‘You’ve eaten more than you gleaned!’ “He said, ‘I saw them doing something I couldn’t bring myself to do: when they gleaned, they would crawl on all fours. But I dragged myself along sitting down.’” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad told me, “I walked out to the frontier on foot and we went gleaning. I saw people tearing up the fields. But no one should cross onto another’s land without permission.” 40.5

Ya kuma gaya mini, "Na yi tafiya har zuwa Tarsus. Mukan fita mu yi tsinta."

He also told me, “I walked all the way to Tarsus. We used to go out and glean.”

Aḥmad wani lokaci talauci ya kama shi har ya kasa biyan kuɗin rayuwarsa, sai yake rubuta littattafai don samun kuɗi. Sau ɗaya, domin ya biya kuɗin tafiyarsa, ya yi aiki da wasu direbobin raƙuma. Za a bayyana wannan labarin a babin da ke biye, in Allah ya yarda. 40.6

Aḥmad was sometimes so poor that he had to copy manuscripts for a fee. To meet his expenses while traveling, he once hired himself out to some camel drivers. This episode will be described in the next chapter, God willing. 40.6