[Al-Būshanjī:] Suatu ketika saat Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal mendiktekan hadis kepada kami, seorang laki-laki dari Marv bernama Abū Yaʿqūb bertanya kepadanya tentang sebuah hadis. Aḥmad menyuruh putranya, ʿAbd Allāh, masuk ke dalam untuk mengambil Kitāb Nukat yang Berguna.155 ʿAbd Allāh membawanya keluar, lalu Aḥmad membolak-baliknya, tetapi ia tidak menemukan riwayat yang ia cari. Maka ia bangkit, meninggalkan masjidnya, dan masuk ke dalam rumah.156 Tak lama kemudian, ia kembali membawa setumpuk kuras, lalu duduk dan mulai memeriksanya. Setelah beberapa saat, laki-laki yang bertanya itu berkata, "Sudahlah, Aḥmad! Ini terlalu merepotkan." 26.1

[Al-Būshanjī:] Once when Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was dictating for us, a man from Marv named Abū Yaʿqūb asked him about a Hadith. Aḥmad told his son ʿAbd Allāh to go inside and get the Book of Useful Points.155 ʿAbd Allāh brought it out and Aḥmad looked through it, but he couldn’t find the report he wanted. So he got up, left his mosque and went inside the house.156 A short time later, he came back carrying a stack of quires, sat down, and started looking through them. After a while, the man who had asked the question said, “Never mind, Aḥmad! This is too much trouble.” 26.1

“Bukan begitu,” jawabnya. “Akulah yang perlu tahu.” Kami menyadari bahwa dia telah masuk ke dalam rumah dan memeriksa setiap berkas yang dia kira mungkin berisi laporan itu, lalu—karena dia tidak ingin tinggal di dalam rumah untuk mencari laporan itu—dia membawa kertas-kertasnya keluar agar tidak terkesan dia repot-repot. Sulit membayangkan contoh adab yang lebih baik.

“No it isn’t,” he replied. “It’s me who needs to know.” We realized that he had gone into the house and looked at every quire where he thought the report might be, and then—because he didn’t want to stay inside looking for the report—he had brought the papers out so that it wouldn’t seem as if he were putting himself to a lot of trouble. It’s hard to imagine a better example of courtesy.

[Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī:] Ketika pertama kali saya bertemu Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, pada tahun 213 H, saya melihatnya pergi ke salat wajib dengan membawa Kitab al-Īmān 157 dan Kitab al-Asyribah.158 Ia selesai salat lalu menunggu, tetapi tidak seorang pun bertanya kepadanya, maka ia membawa kembali kitab-kitab itu. Pada hari lain, saya melihat ia mengeluarkannya lagi. Saya menduga alasannya membawa kitab-kitab tertentu itu adalah bahwa Kitab al-Īmān menjadi dasar agama, dan Kitab al-Asyribah berisi upaya menjauhkan orang dari hal-hal buruk, karena mabuk adalah akar dari segala keburukan.159 26.2

[Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī:] When I first met Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, in 213, I saw him go out to the ritual prayer carrying the Book of Belief 157 and the Book of Drinks.158 He finished praying and waited, but no one asked him a question so he took the books back with him. Another day, I saw that he had taken them out again. I suspect that his reason for having those particular books with him was that the Book of Belief provides the basis of religion and the Book of Drinks is about turning people away from bad things—since drunkenness is the root of all evil.159 26.2

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad pernah dikunjungi oleh Abū l-ʿAlāʾ si Pelayan,160 seorang lelaki tua yang rendah hati, yang berjalan dengan lengan baju dan ujung celananya digulung,161 tampak seperti seorang pembaca Al-Qur'an. Ketika ia tiba di gerbang masjid, Aḥmad keluar untuk menyambutnya. 26.3

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad once had a visit from Abū l-ʿAlāʾ the Servant,160 who was a humble old man who went around with his sleeves and pant legs rolled up161 looking like a Qurʾan-reader. When he arrived at the gate of the mosque, Aḥmad came out to welcome him. 26.3

Kebetulan ada juga seorang asing di masjid itu: seorang laki-laki yang berpakaian compang-camping dan membawa perlengkapan menulis. Ketika ia duduk, Aḥmad kebetulan menoleh ke sekeliling. Begitu melihat orang asing itu, ia berkata kepada Abū l-ʿAlāʾ, “Aku tidak ingin engkau sampai terjebak di luar dalam panas ini,” lalu Abū l-ʿAlāʾ bangkit dan pergi.

It so happened that there was also a stranger in the mosque: a man dressed in rags and carrying a writing kit. As he sat down, Aḥmad happened to look around. As soon as he noticed the stranger, he said to Abū l-ʿAlāʾ, “I wouldn’t want you to get caught outside in the heat,” and Abū l-ʿAlāʾ got up and left.

Kemudian Aḥmad mulai melirik ke arah orang asing itu, menunggu dia mengajukan pertanyaan, tetapi orang itu tidak mengatakan apa-apa. Akhirnya Aḥmad bertanya, “Ada yang bisa saya bantu?” “Ajarkanlah kepadaku sebagian dari apa yang telah Tuhan ajarkan kepadamu.” Aḥmad bangkit, masuk ke dalam, lalu kembali dengan beberapa buku. “Kemarilah,” katanya, lalu mulai mendiktekan Hadis kepada orang itu, berhenti sejenak untuk berkata, “Bacakan kembali apa yang telah kamu tulis.”

Then Aḥmad began looking over at the stranger expecting him to ask a question, but the man said nothing. Finally Aḥmad asked, “Can I help you?” “Teach me some of what God has taught you.” Aḥmad rose, went inside, and came back with some books. “Come over here,” he said, then began dictating Hadith to the man, stopping to say, “Read back what you’ve written down.”