Ṣāliḥ, yang dipanggil Abū l-Faḍl, adalah anak tertua Aḥmad. Ia lahir pada tahun 203 H [818–819 M]. Ayahnya sangat menyayanginya dan memperlakukannya dengan murah hati. Karena sudah dibebani tanggungan keluarga sejak masih muda, Ṣāliḥ tidak dapat meriwayatkan sebanyak yang mungkin ia riwayatkan dari ayahnya, meskipun ia tetap meriwayatkan cukup banyak, bersama riwayat-riwayat yang ia terima dari Abū l-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl al-Dhāriʿ (si pengambil ukuran),328 dan ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. Yang meriwayatkan darinya antara lain putranya Zuhayr, al-Baghawī, dan Muḥammad ibn Makhlad. Ia pindah ke Isfahan setelah diangkat menjadi hakim di sana, dan di sanalah ia wafat. 65.1

Ṣālih, who was called Abū l-Faḍl, was the oldest of Aḥmad’s children. He was born in 203 [818–19]. His father loved him and treated him generously. Burdened with children when he was still young, Ṣāliḥ was unable to transmit as many of his father’s reports as he might have, though he still transmitted quite a few, along with reports he learned from Abū l-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl al-Dhāriʿ (the taker of measures),328 and ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. Transmitting in turn from him were his son Zuhayr, al-Baghawī, and Muḥammad ibn Makhlad, among others. He moved to Isfahan after being appointed judge there, and there he died. 65.1

[Al-Khallāl:] Ṣāliḥ selalu bersemangat menghabiskan uang. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī l-Faqīh pernah menceritakan kepadaku di Miṣṣīṣah bahwa Ṣāliḥ suatu ketika dibekam, lalu setelah itu ia mengundang para sahabatnya untuk merayakan kesembuhannya. Ia pasti menghabiskan dua puluh dinar untuk wewangian dan semacamnya. 65.2

[Al-Khallāl:] Ṣāliḥ was always eager to spend money. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī l-Faqīh told me in Miṣṣīṣah that Ṣāliḥ once had his blood let and afterward invited his friends to celebrate his recovery. He must have spent twenty dinars on scent and that sort of thing. 65.2

Saya juga mendengar dari al-Ḥasan yang menceritakan hal berikut kepada saya.

I think it was also al-Ḥasan who told me the following.

Pada suatu saat Aḥmad mengetuk pintu. Salah seorang tamu, Ibn Abī Maryam, berkata kepada Ṣāliḥ, "Turunkan tirai itu agar kita tidak mendapat masalah dengan ayahmu! Dan jangan biarkan dia mencium wanginya!" Aḥmad masuk, duduk, lalu menanyakan kabar Ṣāliḥ. Kemudian ia berkata, "Ini, ambillah dua dirham ini dan belanjakanlah untuk dirimu sendiri hari ini." Setelah itu ia berdiri dan pergi.

At one point Aḥmad knocked on the door. One of the guests, Ibn Abī Maryam, said to Ṣāliḥ, “Let down that curtain so we don’t get in trouble with your father! And don’t let him smell the scent!” Aḥmad came in, sat down, and asked Ṣāliḥ how he was feeling. Then he said, “Here, take these two dirhams and spend them on yourself today.” With that, he got up and left.

“Celaka kau!” kata Ibnu Abi Maryam kepada Shalih. “Bagaimana mungkin engkau berpikir untuk mengambil dirham-dirham itu?” [Muhammad bin ʿAli:] Aku bersama Shalih ketika ia tiba di Isfahan. Tempat pertama yang ia datangi adalah masjid Jumat, tempat ia shalat dua rakaat. Kemudian, ketika para tokoh dan orang-orang tua telah berkumpul, ia duduk untuk mendengarkan surat pengangkatan yang diberikan khalifah kepadanya. Ketika surat itu sedang dibacakan, ia mulai menangis tersedu-sedu. Tak lama kemudian, para tetua yang duduk di dekatnya ikut menangis. Setelah pembacaan selesai, mereka mendoakannya dengan suara keras. “Setiap orang di kota kami menjunjung tinggi kenangan Abu ʿAbdillah,” kata mereka kepadanya, “dan mengharapkan yang terbaik bagimu.” 65.3

“You so-and-so!” said Ibn Abī Maryam to Ṣāliḥ. “How could you think of taking those dirhams?” [Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī:] I was with Ṣāliḥ when he arrived in Isfahan. The first place he went was the Friday mosque, where he prayed two cycles. Then, when the notables and elders had gathered, he sat down to hear the letter of appointment that the caliph had given him. As the letter was being read he began to weep uncontrollably. Soon the elders sitting near him were weeping as well. When the reading was finished, they prayed aloud for him. “Everyone in our town treasures the memory of Abū ʿAbd Allāh,” they told him, “and wishes you the best.” 65.3

"Tahukah kalian," tanyanya kepada mereka, "mengapa aku menangis? Aku membayangkan ayahku melihatku seperti ini," yakni mengenakan jubah hitam kebesaran jabatannya. "Setiap kali seorang zahid yang berpakaian lusuh datang berkunjung kepadanya, ayahku akan memanggilku agar aku bisa menemuinya. Ia menginginkan aku menjadi seperti itu, atau tampak seperti itu. Demi Tuhan yang menjadi saksiku, aku tidak punya pilihan lain selain menerima jabatan ini: aku punya utang yang harus dibayar dan semua anak ayahku yang harus kuberi makan."329

“Do you know,” he asked them, “why I’m crying? I imagined my father seeing me like this”—dressed, that is, in the black robes of his office. “Whenever a shabby ascetic would come to visit him, my father would send for me so I could meet him. He wanted me to be like that—or look like that. As God is my witness, I had no choice but to take this position: I have a debt to pay and all my father’s children to feed.”329

Berkali-kali, ketika ia keluar dari sidang peradilan dan melepas jubah hitamnya, Ṣāliḥ berkata kepadaku, "Bayangkan saja: aku mungkin mati dengan pakaian ini!" Ṣāliḥ wafat pada bulan Ramaḍān 265 [April–Mei 879] di Isfahan.

More than once, as he left the judicial session and removed his black robe, Ṣāliḥ said to me, “Just think: I might die in these clothes!” Ṣāliḥ died in Ramaḍān 265 [April–May 879] in Isfahan.

Putranya, Zuhayr, meriwayatkan hadis darinya, dan riwayat-riwayat Zuhayr kemudian diriwayatkan oleh keponakannya Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṣālih serta Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Najjād. Al-Dāraquṭnī menggambarkan Zuhayr sebagai orang yang terpercaya. Menurut Qadhi Aḥmad ibn Kāmil, ia wafat pada bulan Rabīʿ I tahun 303 H [September–Oktober 915 M]. 65.4

His son Zuhayr transmitted reports from him, and Zuhayr’s reports, in turn, were transmitted by his nephew Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṣālih and by Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Najjād. Al-Dāraquṭnī describes Zuhayr as reliable. According to Judge Aḥmad ibn Kāmil, he died in Rabīʿ I 303 [September–October 915]. 65.4

Dikenal dengan nama Abū Jaʿfar, ia meriwayatkan hadis yang dipelajarinya dari ayahnya, dari pamannya Zuhayr, dan dari Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Hisinjānī, di antara yang lainnya. Yang meriwayatkan darinya antara lain al-Dāraquṭnī. Ia wafat pada tahun 330 H [941–42 M]. Usianya 65 tahun.5

Called Abū Jaʿfar, he transmitted reports he learned from his father, his uncle Zuhayr, and Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Hisinjānī, among others. Transmitting in turn from him was al-Dāraquṭnī. He died in 330 [941–42]. 65.5

Dipanggil Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, ia meriwayatkan lebih banyak riwayat dari ayahnya dibandingkan siapa pun, dan telah mendengar sebagian besar kitab kompilasi serta hadisnya. Ia juga meriwayatkan hadis dari ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Ḥammād, Kāmil ibn Ṭalḥah, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, dua putra Abū Shaybah yaitu Abū Bakr dan ʿUthman, Shaybān ibn Farrūkh, dan banyak lainnya. 65.6

Called Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, he transmitted more of his father’s reports than anyone else, having heard most of his compilations and his Hadith. He also heard reports from ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Ḥammād, Kāmil ibn Ṭalḥah, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Abū Shaybah’s sons Abū Bakr and ʿUthman, Shaybān ibn Farrūkh, and many others. 65.6

Beliau memiliki daya ingat yang sangat kuat. Ayahnya biasa berkata, "Putraku ʿAbd Allāh memiliki bakat dalam belajar"—atau "menghafal"—"hadis." Ketika sakit terakhirnya, beliau ditanya di mana ia ingin dimakamkan. Beliau menjawab, "Aku yakin ada seorang nabi yang dimakamkan di suatu tempat di Qaṭīʿah, dan aku lebih ingin berada di dekat seorang nabi daripada di dekat ayahku." Beliau wafat pada hari Ahad, tanggal dua puluh satu Jumādā al-Ākhirah 290 [22 Mei 903], dan pada sore hari dimakamkan di pemakaman Bāb al-Tibn. Keponakannya, Zuhayr, menshalatkannya bersama kerumunan orang yang sangat banyak.

He had a very retentive memory. His father used to say, “My son ʿAbd Allāh has a gift for learning”—or “memorizing”—“Hadith.” In his last illness, he was asked where he wanted to be buried. He replied, “I’m certain that there’s a prophet buried somewhere in the Qaṭīʿah, and I’d rather be near a prophet than near my father.” He died on Sunday, the twenty-first of Jumādā II 290 [May 22, 903], and in the late afternoon was buried in the Straw Gate cemetery. His nephew Zuhayr prayed over him with a great crowd in attendance.

Menurut Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq, Saʿīd lahir sekitar lima puluh hari sebelum Aḥmad wafat.

According to Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq, Saʿīd was born about fifty days before Aḥmad died.

Menurut yang lain, Saʿīd diangkat menjadi hakim di Kufah dan wafat pada tahun 303 [915–16]. 65.7

According to others, Saʿīd was appointed judge in Kufa and died in 303 [915– 16]. 65.7

[Penulis:] Ini tidak benar. Saya mengutip Abū Manṣūr al-Qazzāz, yang meriwayatkan bahwa ia mendengar Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thabit berkata bahwa Saʿīd ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal meriwayatkan hadis yang ia dengar dari Abū Mujālid Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḍarīr, dan Hakim Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn al-Qāsim al-Ashyab menyampaikan riwayat darinya. Saʿīd wafat jauh lebih dahulu daripada saudaranya, ʿAbd Allāh.

[The author:] This is incorrect. I cite Abū Manṣūr al-Qazzāz, who reports hearing Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thabit say that Saʿīd ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal repeated reports he had heard from Abū Mujālid Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḍarīr, and Judge Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn al-Qāsim al-Ashyab transmitted reports from him. Saʿīd died quite a long time before his brother ʿAbd Allāh.

Saya juga telah menyebutkan, dalam bab tentang para ulama yang memuji Aḥmad, bahwa Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī pernah berkunjung kepada ʿAbd Allāh untuk menyampaikan belasungkawa atas wafatnya saudaranya, Saʿīd.

I have also mentioned, in the chapter on those learned men who praised Aḥmad, that Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī visited ʿAbd Allāh to express his condolences on the death of his brother Saʿīd.

Mengenai al-Ḥasan dan Muḥammad, kami sama sekali tidak memiliki informasi. Adapun Zaynab, kami telah meriwayatkan, dalam bab tentang kehati-hatian Aḥmad, kisah ketika ia berkata kepada Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, "Ambil ayam ini dan jual! Ayahku memerlukan bekam, tetapi ia tidak punya uang." Isḥāq berkata, "Aku melihat Aḥmad memukul putrinya dan memarahinya karena berbicara dengan bahasa Arab yang buruk."330 65.8

Regarding al-Ḥasan and Muḥammad we have no information at all. As for Zaynab, we have reported, in the chapter on Aḥmad’s scrupulosity, the story where she tells Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, “Take this chicken and sell it! My father needs a cupping but he has no money.” Said Isḥāq, “I saw Aḥmad beat his daughter and scold her for speaking bad Arabic.”330 65.8

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya masuk menemui Aḥmad dan mendapati seorang wanita di sana sedang menyisir rambut salah satu putrinya. 65.9

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I went in to see Aḥmad and found a woman there combing the hair of one of his daughters. 65.9