[Ṣāliḥ:] Ketika Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh bin Ṭāhir datang ke Baghdad, ia mengirim pesan kepada ayahku yang berbunyi, "Aku ingin engkau datang menemuiku. Sebutkan hari yang engkau inginkan, dan aku akan memastikan tidak ada orang lain di sini." 74.1

[Ṣāliḥ:] When Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir came to Baghdad, he sent a message to my father saying, “I’d like you to come and see me. Tell me the day you prefer and I’ll make sure there’s no one else here.” 74.1

Ayahku menjawab, "Aku adalah orang yang tidak pernah bergaul dengan para penguasa. Lagi pula, Amirul Mukminin telah membebaskanku dari melakukan hal-hal yang aku benci. Ini yang aku benci." Muhammad berusaha mengubah pikirannya, tetapi tidak berhasil.

My father replied, “I am a man who has never consorted with rulers. Furthermore, the Commander of the Faithful has exempted me from doing anything I detest. This I detest.” Muḥammad strove to change his mind but to no avail.

Kemudian saya menerima sebuah surat dari Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh yang berbunyi:

I then received a letter from Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh saying:

Saya pergi menemui Ṭāhir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, dan dia memberitahu saya bahwa Muḥammad ﷺ telah mengundang Aḥmad untuk datang menemuinya, tetapi Aḥmad menolak.

I went to see Ṭāhir ibn ʿAbd Allāh and he told me that Muḥammad had invited Aḥmad to call on him but Aḥmad had refused.

"Semoga Tuhan memperbaiki sang amir! Aḥmad telah bersumpah tidak akan pernah lagi mengajarkan Hadis."

I said, “May God correct the emir! Aḥmad has vowed never to teach Hadith again.

"Mungkin dia takut bahwa jika dia pergi, dia akan diminta untuk mengajar." Dia bertanya, "Apakah kamu serius?" Saya menjawab, "Ya, saya serius." Saya memberitahu ayah saya tentang hal ini, tetapi dia tidak mengatakan apa-apa.

Perhaps he was afraid that if he went, he would ask him to teach.” He asked, “Are you serious?” I said, “I am.” I told my father about this but he said nothing.

[Penulis:] Saya kira Aḥmad menolak mengunjungi Ibn Ṭāhir karena ia adalah seorang penguasa. Ia tetap mengunjungi orang-orang selama mereka adalah orang-orang yang bertakwa dan berilmu.

[The author:] I think Aḥmad refused to visit Ibn Ṭāhir because he was a ruler. He did visit people so long as they were men of piety and learning.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Setelah ayahku dibebaskan dari Inkuisisi, beliau khawatir Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh akan datang menemuinya, maka beliau memutuskan untuk pergi menemuinya terlebih dahulu. Belum lama beliau tiba di Rey dan masuk ke sebuah masjid, ketika awan terbuka seperti kantong air. Beliau berlindung di sana hingga malam tiba, lalu beliau diberitahu agar meninggalkan masjid karena mereka hendak menutupnya. 74.2

[ʿAbd Allāh:] After my father was released by the Inquisition, he was worried that Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh would come to see him so he decided to go see him first. No sooner had he reached Rey and gone into a mosque when the clouds opened like waterskins. He sheltered there until night fell and he was told to leave the mosque because they wanted to close it. 74.2

"Ini adalah rumah Tuhan," katanya, "dan aku adalah penyembah Tuhan." "Pergilah," kata mereka, "atau kami akan menyeretmu keluar dengan kakimu. Terserah kau." Ayahku melanjutkan ceritanya:

“This is a house of God,” he said, “and I’m a worshipper of God.” “Either leave,” they said, “or we’ll drag you out by the feet. Your choice.” My father continued the story:

"Selamat tinggal," kataku, lalu keluar ke tengah badai petir tanpa tahu hendak pergi ke mana. Kemudian seorang laki-laki keluar dari rumahnya dan berkata, "Hei, kamu! Hendak pergi ke mana pada saat seperti ini?" "Aku tidak punya tempat tujuan," kataku.

“Good-bye,”451 I said, and went out into the thunderstorm with no idea where to go. Then a man came out of his house and said, “You there! Where are you going at a time like this?” “I have nowhere to go,” I said.

"Masuklah," katanya.

“Come in,” he said.

Dia membawaku masuk, menyuruhku melepas pakaian, dan memberiku pakaian kering untuk kuganti. Aku berwudhu, lalu masuk ke sebuah ruangan yang berisi pemanas penuh bara, selembar permadani dari bulu domba di lantai, dan meja yang penuh hidangan. Anggota keluarga itu mengajakku bergabung bersama mereka. Setelah kami makan, lelaki itu bertanya, "Dari mana asalmu?" Aku menjawab bahwa aku berasal dari Baghdad.

He brought me in, had me undress, and gave me dry clothes to change into. I performed my ablutions and then went into a room where there was a heater full of coals, a blanket of felt on the floor, and a laden table. The members of the family invited me to join them. After we ate, the man said, “Where are you from?” I told them I was from Baghdad.

“Apakah kamu mengenal seorang laki-laki bernama Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?” “Akulah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” “Nah,” kata laki-laki itu, “aku adalah Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh.”452

“Do you know a man named Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?” “I’m Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” “Well,” said the man, “I’m Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh.”452