Teladan kita Aḥmad dilahirkan di Baghdad, sebagaimana telah kami sebutkan, dan dibesarkan di sana.

Our exemplar Aḥmad was born in Baghdad, as we have mentioned, and grew up there.

Selepas menuntut ilmu bersama guru-guru dan ahli hadis di kota itu, beliau bermusafir untuk mencari ilmu di tempat-tempat lain juga. 3.1

After studying with the teachers and Hadith scholars of the city, he set out to seek learning elsewhere as well. 3.1

Rumah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal mempunyai Sungai Tigris Bermata Satu di belakangnya secara langsung. 3.2

[Ibn Kurdī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s house had the One-Eyed Tigris15 directly behind it. 3.2

[Abū ʿAfīf:] Aḥmad bersama kami di sekolah al-Qur'an ketika dia masih kecil.

[Abū ʿAfīf:] Aḥmad was with us in Qurʾan school when he was just a little boy.

Walaupun begitu, dia tetap menonjol. Ketika itu, khalifah tinggal di al-Raqqah dan para pembesar istana yang menyertainya di sana mula menulis surat kepada keluarga mereka di Baghdad.

Even then he stood out. At that time, the caliph was living in al-Raqqah and the courtiers who joined him there began writing letters to their families in Baghdad.

Apabila mereka hendak membalas sepucuk surat, kaum wanita mereka akan meminta guru sekolah kami menghantar Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ke rumah mereka. Guru itu akan menghantarnya keluar dan dia pun pergi sambil memandang tanah dengan teliti. Kaum wanita itu sering mengucapkan kata-kata lucah, tetapi dia tidak akan menuliskannya. 3.3

When they wanted to reply to a letter, their womenfolk would ask our schoolmaster to send Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal to their homes. The teacher would send him out and off he’d go, looking carefully at the ground. The women often dictated obscene words but he wouldn’t write them down. 3.3

[Abu Sirāj:] Ketika kami berada di sekolah al-Qur'an bersama Aḥmad, wanita-wanita akan mengirim pesan kepada guru sekolah yang berbunyi, "Hantarkan Ibn Ḥanbal untuk menulis bagi kami supaya kami dapat membalas surat-surat yang telah kami terima." Setiap kali dia masuk ke tempat wanita-wanita itu berada, dia akan menundukkan kepalanya supaya tidak memandang mereka.

[Abū Sirāj:] When we were in Qurʾan school with Aḥmad, women would send messages to the schoolmaster saying, “Send Ibn Ḥanbal to write for us so we can reply to the letters we’ve received.” Whenever he went in to where the women were, he would keep his head down so as not to look at them.

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Abū Sirāj juga berkata bahawa ayahnya, yang namanya disebut olehnya, sangat kagum dengan budi pekerti Aḥmad yang baik: "Pada suatu hari ayahku berkata kepada kami, 'Aku membelanjakan wang untuk mengupah guru-guru bagi anak-anakku dengan harapan mereka akan belajar berkelakuan baik, tetapi nampaknya ia tidak membawa apa-apa manfaat. Ambil sahaja Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal: dia seorang yatim, namun lihatlah betapa baiknya dia membesar!'"16 Dia terus kagum selama beberapa ketika. 3.4

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Abū Sirāj also said that his father, whose name he gave, was impressed by how well Aḥmad conducted himself: “One day my father said to us, ‘I spend money to hire tutors for my children hoping they’ll learn to behave properly, but it doesn’t seem to do any good. Then take Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal: he’s an orphan, but look how well he’s turned out!’16 He went on marveling for some time.” 3.4

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad memberitahu saya, "Ketika saya masih kanak-kanak, saya biasa pergi ke sekolah al-Qur'an, dan kemudian apabila saya berusia empat belas tahun saya mula memikul tugas."17 3.5

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad told me, “When I was a boy, I would go to the Qurʾan school, and then when I was fourteen I took up duties.”17 3.5

[Abū l-Munabbih:] Kali pertama kami mendengar tentang Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ialah ketika bapa saudaranya menerima sepucuk surat daripada pihak berkuasa. Beliau menulis balasan lalu memberikannya kepada Aḥmad, yang sepatutnya menyerahkannya kepada seorang kurier yang sedang menunggu. Tetapi bukannya menyerahkan surat itu, Aḥmad meletakkannya di dalam relung yang terdapat di rumah mereka. Apabila kurier itu meminta surat tersebut, bapa saudaranya menjawab bahawa dia telah pun menghantarnya. Kemudian beliau bertanya kepada Aḥmad, "Di manakah surat yang saya suruh kamu berikan kepada lelaki di pintu itu?" 3.6

[Abū l-Munabbih:] The first we heard of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was when his uncle received a letter from the authorities. He wrote a reply which he gave to Aḥmad, who was supposed to pass it on to a courier who was waiting for it. But instead of handing it over, Aḥmad put it inside an alcove18 they had in the house. When the courier asked for it, the uncle replied that he had already sent it out. He then asked Aḥmad, “Where’s the letter I asked you to give the man at the door?” 3.6

"Dia memakai jubah berlengan panjang,"19 jawabnya. "Surat kamu akan kamu temui di ceruk."20

“He was wearing a long-sleeved gown,”19 he replied. “You’ll find your letter in the alcove.”20

[Al-ʿAbbās:] Dāwūd ibn Bisṭām menceritakan kepadaku: "Pada suatu ketika, apabila laporan dari Baghdad tertangguh, aku mengirim pesan kepada bapa saudara Aḥmad, menyatakan bahawa aku berharap dapat menulis kesemua surat-menyurat untuk dihantar kepada khalifah, tetapi laporannya belum juga sampai. Dia membalas bahawa dia telah menghantar anak saudaranya untuk menyampaikannya. Kemudian dia memanggil Aḥmad, yang ketika itu hanyalah seorang budak. 3."7

[Al-ʿAbbās:] Dāwūd ibn Bisṭām told me: “Once when the briefing from Baghdad was delayed, I sent word to Aḥmad’s uncle telling him I was hoping to write up all the dispatches to forward to the caliph but his still hadn’t arrived. He replied that he had sent his nephew to deliver it. Then he sent for Aḥmad, who was only a boy at the time. 3.7

"Bukankah aku telah menyuruhmu menyampaikan laporanku?" tanyanya.

“‘Didn’t I tell you to deliver my report?’ he asked.

"Ya," jawab Aḥmad.

“‘Yes,’ replied Aḥmad.

"Kenapa tidak?" "Saya dahulu biasa membawa laporan-laporan itu, tetapi tidak lagi. Saya membuangnya ke dalam air." Ibn Bisṭām kemudian membacakan «Sesungguhnya kami kepunyaan Allah dan sesungguhnya kepada-Nya kami kembali!», lalu menambah: "Apabila seorang budak memiliki sikap berhati-hati seperti itu, di manakah kedudukan kita?"23

“‘Why didn’t you, then?’ “‘I used to carry those reports but not any more.21 I threw it into the water.’” Ibn Bisṭām then recited «We are of God, and to Him we return!»22 adding: “When a boy has such scruples, where does that leave us?”23

[Yūnus al-Muʾaddib:] Saya melihat Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal semasa Hushaym masih hidup, dan ketika itu pun dia sudah sangat dihormati. 3.8

[Yūnus al-Muʾaddib:] I saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal while Hushaym was still alive, and even then he was already well respected. 3.8

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Ketika Hushaym meninggal dunia, saya berusia dua puluh tahun."24

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad say, “When Hushaym died I was twenty years old.”24

[Seorang rakan pencari Hadis:] Aḥmad sentiasa menonjol. Pada suatu hari, saya sedang menunggunya di tempat Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah. Ketika itu, Aḥmad belum pun berusia tiga puluh tahun. Namun apabila dia masuk, semua orang cuba mengosongkan ruang untuknya sambil memanggil, "Mari duduk di sini!" 3.9

[A fellow Hadith-seeker:] Aḥmad always stood out. One day, I was waiting for him at Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah’s. At the time, Aḥmad was not yet thirty. But when he came in, everyone tried to clear a space for him, calling out, “Come sit over here!” 3.9