[Ṣāliḥ:] Saya masih ingat melihat ayah saya mengambil kerak roti yang kering, membersihkannya dari debu, meletakkannya di dalam piring, lalu menuangkan sedikit air di atasnya agar melunak. Kemudian beliau memakannya dengan garam.

[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.

Saya tidak pernah melihat beliau membeli delima, buah kuince, atau buah apa pun selain melon, yang biasa beliau makan bersama roti, serta anggur atau kurma, tetapi hanya itu saja. Terkadang orang-orang menyiapkan hidangan untuk beliau di dalam oven. Beliau biasa memasukkan kacang lentil, lemak, dan kurma Shihrīz ke dalam periuk tanah liat, lalu menyisihkan satu piring untuk anak-anak. Beliau akan memanggil mereka dan meletakkan piring itu di hadapan mereka, tetapi mereka tertawa dan menolak untuk memakan sedikit pun darinya. Beliau sering mencelupkan roti ke dalam cuka. Mereka bisa membelikan beliau lemak senilai satu dirham, dan itu akan cukup untuknya selama sebulan.

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.

Setelah ia lolos dari al-Mutawakkil, ia mulai berpuasa dan berhenti makan lemak. Saya merasa bahwa ia telah bernazar bahwa jika ia selamat, ia akan meninggalkan makan lemak. 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, yang bekerja untuk Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, memberitahuku bahwa sang amir berkata, "Ketika keluarga Aḥmad membawakannya makanan, perlihatkan kepadaku." 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

Ternyata yang mereka bawakan kepadanya adalah dua potong roti pipih dan sebuah timun.

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

Ketika saya menunjukkan makanan itu kepada sang amir, dia berkata, "Jika dia bisa hidup dengan itu, kita tidak akan pernah bisa mengambil hatinya."249

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

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Suatu kali saat hari raya, saya mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Kemarin mereka membelikan kami kacang-kacangan, dan rasanya cukup enak."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 dan saya pernah berada di rumah Abū Bakr al-Aḥwal untuk acara khitanan putranya. Saya duduk di samping Aḥmad di meja. Ia sedang makan, tetapi ketika mereka menghidangkan puding kacang madu, ia berhenti. Ketika Abū Bakr mendesaknya untuk mencicipinya, dengan mengatakan bahwa itu adalah hidangan kelas satu, ia hanya mengambil satu gigitan. 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:] Ketika Aḥmad sedang sakit, al-Marrūdhī datang kepadaku meminta bantuan, maka aku mencarikan dokter dan kami pergi ke rumah Aḥmad. Dokter itu bertanya kepadanya bagaimana keadaannya. 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

"Kemarin saya berbekam," katanya.

“I had myself cupped yesterday,” he said.

“Apa yang kamu makan setelah itu?” “Roti dan bubur gandum yang difermentasi.”251

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

“Apa?” seru sang dokter. “Engkau berbekam, lalu hanya makan roti dan bubur gandum?” “Lalu apa lagi yang harus kumakan?” tanya Aḥmad.

“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:] Ketika Aḥmad jatuh sakit, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān meresepkan minyak almond,252 tetapi ia menolak meminumnya, dengan mengatakan bahwa ia menginginkan minyak wijen sebagai gantinya. Kondisinya semakin memburuk sehingga mereka menyiapkannya untuknya, tetapi ketika ia menyadari apa itu, ia mendorongnya menjauh. 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:] Aku mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Tangan dan kakiku dingin. Mungkin ini karena cuka dan garam yang aku taruh di roti." 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

Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ meriwayatkan: "Aḥmad tidak pernah makan apa pun yang dimasak dengan lada atau bawang putih. Suatu kali saya makan malam bersamanya dan beberapa kerabatnya. Selama kami berbincang, saya memperhatikan bahwa setelah setiap suapan, ia akan mengelap tangannya dengan serbet dan berkata, 'Alhamdulillah!' Kemudian ia berkata kepada saya, 'Makan sambil bersyukur lebih baik daripada makan dalam diam.'" 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