[Ṣāliḥ:] Setiap kali seseorang mendoakan ayahku, beliau berkata, "Jangan sebut seseorang berbahagia sebelum amalnya selesai." 56.1

[Ṣāliḥ:] Whenever someone said a prayer for my father, he would say, “Call no man blessed until his work is done.” 56.1

Sering kali saya mendengar beliau berkata, "Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita! Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita!" Saya juga mendengar beliau meriwayatkan bahwa ia mendengar Yūnus ibn Muḥammad meriwayatkan bahwa ia mendengar Ḥammād ibn Zayd meriwayatkan bahwa Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd mengklaim bahwa Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab biasa berkata, "Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita! Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita!" Saya juga mendengar beliau meriwayatkan bahwa ia mendengar Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb meriwayatkan bahwa ia mendengar ʿAyyāsh ibn ʿUqbah meriwayatkan bahwa ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz sering berkata, "Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita! Semoga Allah menyelamatkan kita!" [ʿAbd Allāh:] Yang saya inginkan hanyalah keluar dari urusan ini dengan selamat, tanpa menang atau kalah.295 56.2

I often heard him say, “God save us! God save us!” I heard him report that he heard Yūnus ibn Muḥammad report that he heard Ḥammād ibn Zayd report that Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd claimed that Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab used to say, “God save us! God save us!” I also heard him report that he heard Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb report that he heard ʿAyyāsh ibn ʿUqbah report that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al- ʿAzīz often used to say, “God save us! God save us!” [ʿAbd Allāh:] All I want is to come out of this even, without winning or losing.295 56.2

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya membawa Ibrāhīm al-Ḥuṣarī, seorang laki-laki yang saleh, untuk menemui Aḥmad. Ibrāhīm memberitahunya bahwa ibunya bermimpi tentang dirinya dan mengatakan sesuatu tentang Surga. "Saudaraku," kata Aḥmad, "Orang-orang dahulu biasa mengatakan hal serupa tentang Sahl ibn Salāmah, tetapi ia kemudian menumpahkan darah." Ia menambahkan, "Seorang mukmin hendaknya bergembira dengan mimpi, tetapi jangan pernah mempercayainya." 56.3

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I brought Ibrāhīm al-Ḥuṣarī, who was a righteous man, to meet Aḥmad. Ibrāhīm told him that his mother had dreamed of him and said something about the Garden. “Brother,” said Aḥmad, “People used to say the same kind of thing about Sahl ibn Salāmah, but he went on to shed blood.”296 He added, “A believer should find joy in dreams but never trust them.” 56.3

[Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim:] Suatu ketika saat aku berada di rumah Aḥmad, seorang lelaki tua datang menemuinya. "Aḥmad," katanya, "aku mendengar beberapa orang membicarakanmu dan mengatakan bahwa engkau termasuk yang terbaik." Aḥmad mengabaikannya. 56.4

[Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim:] Once when I was at Aḥmad’s an elderly man came to see him. “Aḥmad,” he said, “I overheard some people talking about you and saying you were among the best.” Aḥmad ignored him. 56.4

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Suatu ketika saya mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Saya terlalu takut kepada Tuhan untuk makan atau minum, dan sekarang saya tidak ingin makan sama sekali." 56.5

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I once heard Aḥmad say, “I’m too fearful of God to eat or drink, and now I don’t want to eat at all.” 56.5

Selama sakit terakhirnya, Aḥmad perlu buang air kecil dan memanggil sebuah baskom. Saya membawakannya, dan melihat bahwa air kencingnya berwarna merah terang. Ketika saya menunjukkannya kepada ʿAbd al-Raḥmān sang tabib, ia berkata, "Itu adalah orang yang isi perutnya terkoyak oleh kekhawatiran," atau "oleh kesedihan." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Suatu pagi saya masuk menemui Aḥmad dan menanyakan kabarnya. 56.6

During his final illness, Aḥmad needed to urinate, and called for a basin. I brought one, and saw that his urine was bright red. When I showed ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the healer, he said, “That’s a man with innards torn apart by worry”—or “by sorrow.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] One morning I went in to see Aḥmad and asked him how he was. 56.6

“Bagaimana mungkin seseorang bisa,” jawabnya, “sementara Tuhannya membebankan kewajiban, Nabinya menuntutnya untuk mengikuti sunnah ﷺ, kedua malaikatnya menunggu amal kebaikan, jiwanya meronta-ronta menginginkan apa yang diinginkannya, Setan menghasutnya ke arah syahwat, Malaikat Maut mengincar nyawanya, dan keluarganya meminta uang?”

“How can a man be,” he answered, “with his Lord imposing obligations, his Prophet demanding that he follow the sunnah, his two angels waiting for good deeds, his soul clamoring for what it wants, the Devil goading him to lust, the Angel of Death seeking his life, and his family asking for money?”