Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—semoga Tuhan meridainya—mencela penulisan kitab-kitab yang memuatkan implikasi hukum yang berlebihan dan pendapat-pendapat yang dicapai melalui penggunaan ijtihad. Apa yang beliau hargai ialah keteguhan berpegang kepada riwayat-riwayat yang disampaikan. 28.1

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—may God be pleased with him—deplored the writing of books that drew excessive legal implications and opinions reached through the exercise of independent judgment. What he cherished was firm adherence to transmitted reports. 28.1

[ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd:] Ibn Ḥanbal pernah berkata kepadaku, "Jangan lihat kitab-kitab ʿUbayd, atau apa sahaja yang ditulis oleh Isḥāq, Sufyān, al-Shāfiʿī, dan Mālik. Kembalilah kepada sumbernya!" 28.2

[ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd:] Ibn Ḥanbal once said to me, “Don’t look at ʿUbayd’s books, or whatever Isḥāq, Sufyān, al-Shāfiʿī, and Mālik have written. Go back to the source!” 28.2

[Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib:] Saya mendengar Salamah ibn Shabīb berkata kepada Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal bahawa para ahli hadis sedang menyalin kitab al-Shāfiʿī. 28.3

[Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib:] I heard Salamah ibn Shabīb tell Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal that the Hadith scholars were copying the book of al-Shāfiʿī. 28.3

Beliau berkata, "Saya rasa mereka tidak sepatutnya begitu." [Ibn Hāniʾ:] Saya bertanya kepada Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal tentang apa yang ditulis oleh Abū Thawr, dan beliau berkata: "Itu sebuah karya yang memperkenalkan bid'ah-bid'ah yang buruk!" 28.4

He said, “I don’t think they should.” [Ibn Hāniʾ:] I asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal about what Abū Thawr had written, and he said: “It’s a work where he comes up with bad novelties!” 28.4

Dia tidak menyetujui penulisan buku. "Berpegang teguhlah pada Hadis!" katanya.

He didn’t approve of writing books. “Stick to Hadith!” he said.

[Al-Khāqānī:] Bapa saudara saya ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān memberitahu saya bahawa beliau mendengar disebut tentang Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal bahawa beliau menyuruh orang menyalin Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ karya Mālik dan berkata bahawa dibolehkan merujuk kepadanya (atau kata-kata yang seerti dengannya), tetapi tidak boleh membaca Al-Jāmiʿ karya Sufyān.170 Bapa saudara saya memberitahu bahawa beliau bertanya kepada Aḥmad yang mana antara keduanya yang lebih beliau sukai. 28.5

[Al-Khāqānī:] My uncle ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān reported to me that he heard it said of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal that he was telling people to copy The Well- Trodden Path by Mālik and saying that it was acceptable to consult it (or words to that effect), but not to read the Compendium of Sufyān.170 My uncle told me that he asked Aḥmad which of the two he liked more. 28.5

"Tidak keduanya," jawabnya. "Berpegang sahajalah pada riwayat!" Menurut satu riwayat lain, seorang lelaki bertanya kepada Aḥmad sama ada dia patut menyalin kitab-kitab yang memuatkan pendapat yang dicapai melalui ijtihad.

“Neither one,” he answered. “Stick to reports!” According to another story, a man asked Aḥmad whether he should copy books containing opinions arrived at through the exercise of independent judgment.

"Tidak," jawabnya.

“No,” he answered.

"Tetapi Ibn al-Mubārak menyalinnya." "Ibn al-Mubārak tidak jatuh dari langit," kata Aḥmad. "Dari situlah kita mengambil ilmu kita."

“But Ibn al-Mubārak copied them.” “Ibn al-Mubārak didn’t fall from heaven,” said Aḥmad. “That’s where we get our learning from.”