[Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq:] Saya ingat bahwa Aḥmad tidak suka jika ada orang yang menuliskan pandangan atau putusan-putusannya dalam masalah fikih. 29.1

[Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq:] I remember that Aḥmad hated to have anyone write down his views or his judgments in matters of law. 29.1

[Aḥmad ibn al-Rabīʿ:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal pernah berkata kepada kami, "Aku mendengar bahwa Isḥāq al-Kawsaj mengajarkan jawaban-jawabanku atas pertanyaan-pertanyaan fikih di Khurasan. Saksikanlah, kalian semua: aku berlepas diri dari semuanya!" 29.2

[Aḥmad ibn al-Rabīʿ:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once said to us, “I heard that Isḥāq al- Kawsaj is teaching my answers to legal questions out in Khurasan. Bear witness, all of you: I renounce them all!” 29.2

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Suatu kali saya melihat seorang laki-laki dari Khurasan mendekati Aḥmad dan memberinya satu kuras kertas. Ia memeriksanya, dan ketika melihat bahwa di dalamnya terdapat sebagian dari perkataannya sendiri, ia menjadi marah dan melemparkan dokumen itu. 29.3

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I once saw a man from Khurasan approach Aḥmad and give him a quire. He looked at it and when he saw that it had some of his own words in it, he grew angry and tossed the document away. 29.3

[Aḥmad al-Burjī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal pernah berkata, “Terkadang sebuah topi tinggi jatuh dari langit, dan kamu harus menggerakkan kepalamu seperti ini,” lalu ia menggelengkan kepalanya seakan-akan hendak menghindarkan topi dari menetap di atasnya. 29.4

[Aḥmad al-Burjī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once said, “Sometimes a tall cap falls from the sky, and you have to move your head like this,” and he shook his head as if to keep a cap from settling on it. 29.4

Yang beliau maksudkan adalah bahwa sebagian orang mendapatkan kepemimpinan tanpa mereka inginkan. Beliau juga tampaknya bermaksud bahwa orang-orang baik menundukkan kepala dengan rendah hati ketika hal itu terjadi.

What he meant was that certain people have leadership thrust upon them. He also seems to have meant that good people duck their heads modestly when that happens.

Karena kerendahan hati, Aḥmad pun melarang orang-orang menuliskan perkataannya, namun Tuhan menetapkan agar perkataannya dicatat, disusun, dan dikenal oleh semua orang.172

Out of modesty, too, did Aḥmad forbid people to write his words down, but God decreed that they be recorded, put in order, and made known to all.172