[Ṣāliḥ:] Saya masih ingat melihat ayah saya mengambil kerak roti yang kering, mengibas-ngibaskannya, meletakkannya di dalam pinggan, dan menuangkan sedikit air ke atasnya supaya menjadi lembut. Kemudian dia akan memakannya dengan garam.

[Ṣāliḥ:] I remember seeing my father take dry crusts of bread, dust them off, put them in a dish, and pour some water over them to soften them. Then he’d eat them with salt.

Saya tidak pernah melihat beliau membeli delima, buah berangan, atau buah-buahan lain kecuali tembikai, yang beliau makan bersama roti, serta anggur atau kurma, tetapi hanya itu sahaja. Kadang-kadang orang menyediakan hidangan untuk beliau di dalam ketuhar. Beliau akan memasukkan kacang sup, lemak lembu, dan kurma Shihrīz ke dalam periuk tanah liat, lalu mengetepikan satu hidangan untuk kanak-kanak. Beliau akan memanggil mereka dan meletakkan hidangan itu di hadapan mereka, tetapi mereka akan ketawa dan enggan makan walau sedikit pun. Beliau sering mencicah rotinya dengan cuka. Mereka boleh membeli lemak lembu bernilai satu dirham untuknya, dan ia akan cukup untuk beliau selama sebulan.

I never saw him buy pomegranates, quinces, or any other fruit except for melons, which he’d eat with bread, and grapes or dates, but that’s all. Sometimes people would prepare dishes for him in the oven. He’d put lentils, suet, and Shihrīz dates into a clay pot, and set aside a dish for the children. He would call them and put the dish in front of them, but they would laugh and refuse to eat any of it. He’d often dip his bread in vinegar. They could buy him a dirham’s worth of suet and it would last him a month.

Selepas beliau terlepas daripada al-Mutawakkil, beliau mula berpuasa dan berhenti makan lemak. Saya merasakan bahawa beliau telah bernazar bahawa jika beliau selamat, beliau akan meninggalkan makan lemak. 46.1

After he got away from al-Mutawakkil he started fasting and stopped eating fat. I had the feeling that he had vowed that if he survived he would give up eating fat. 46.1

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Al-Naysābūrī, yang bekerja untuk Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, memberitahu saya bahawa amir berkata, "Apabila keluarga Aḥmad membawa makanan kepadanya, biar saya melihatnya." 46.2

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Al-Naysābūrī, who worked for Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, told me that the emir said, “When Aḥmad’s family brings him a meal, let me see it.” 46.2

Apa yang dibawa kepadanya ternyata dua keping roti leper dan sebiji timun.

What they brought him turned out to be two loaves of flatbread and a cucumber.

Apabila saya menunjukkan makanan itu kepada amir, dia berkata, "Jika dia boleh hidup dengan itu, kita tidak akan pernah dapat memikatnya."249

When I showed the food to the emir, he said, “If he can live on that, we’ll never win him over.”249

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Pada suatu ketika semasa perayaan, saya mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Semalam mereka membeli kacang untuk kami, dan rasanya cukup enak."250 46.3

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Once during the festival I heard Aḥmad say, “Yesterday they bought beans for us, and they were quite good.”250 46.3

[Abū l-Sarī:] Aḥmad dan saya pernah berada di rumah Abū Bakr al-Aḥwal untuk upacara khatan anak lelakinya. Saya duduk di sebelah Aḥmad di meja makan. Dia sedang makan, tetapi apabila mereka membawa keluar puding kacang madu, dia berhenti. Ketika Abū Bakr mendesaknya supaya makan, dengan mengatakan bahawa itu hidangan yang terbaik, dia hanya mengambil sesuap sahaja. 46.4

[Abū l-Sarī:] Aḥmad and I were once at Abū Bakr al-Aḥwal’s house for his son’s circumcision. I was sitting by Aḥmad at the table. He was eating, but then when they brought out a honey nut pudding, he stopped. When Abū Bakr urged him to have some, saying that it was a first-rate dish, he took just one bite. 46.4

[Al-Ḥasan ibn Khalaf:] Semasa Aḥmad sakit, al-Marrūdhī datang kepada saya meminta pertolongan, lalu saya mencari doktor dan kami pergi ke rumah Aḥmad. Doktor itu bertanya kepadanya bagaimana keadaannya. 46.5

[Al-Ḥasan ibn Khalaf:] During Aḥmad’s illness, al-Marrūdhī came to me for help, so I found the doctor and we went to Aḥmad’s house. The doctor asked him how he was feeling. 46.5

"Semalam saya telah berbekam," katanya.

“I had myself cupped yesterday,” he said.

"Apa yang kamu makan selepas itu?" "Roti dan bubur gandum yang difermentasikan."251

“What did you eat afterward?” “Bread and fermented grain paste.”251

“Apa?” seru doktor itu. “Kamu sendiri berbekam lalu hanya makan roti dan bubur bijirin?” “Apa lagi yang patut saya makan?” tanya Aḥmad.

“What?” exclaimed the doctor. “You have yourself cupped and then eat only bread and grain paste?” “What else am I supposed to eat?” asked Aḥmad.

[Ḥanbal:] Apabila Aḥmad jatuh sakit, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān menetapkan minyak badam,252 tetapi beliau enggan meminumnya dan berkata bahawa beliau mahu minyak bijan sebagai gantinya. Keadaannya bertambah teruk, lalu mereka menyediakannya untuk beliau, tetapi apabila beliau menyedari apakah itu, beliau menolaknya. 46.6

[Ḥanbal:] When Aḥmad fell ill, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān prescribed almond oil,252 but he refused to drink it, saying he wanted sesame oil instead. His condition grew worse and so they prepared it for him, but when he realized what it was he pushed it away. 46.6

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Tangan dan kaki saya sejuk. Mungkin ini kerana cuka dan garam yang saya letakkan pada roti saya." 46.7

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad say, “My hands and feet are cold. It must be the vinegar and salt I put on my bread.” 46.7

Ishaq bin Ibrahim bin Hani' meriwayatkan: "Ahmad tidak pernah makan apa-apa yang dimasak dengan lada hitam atau bawang putih. Pernah sekali saya makan malam bersamanya dan beberapa orang saudara-maranya. Semasa kami berbual, saya perasan bahawa selepas setiap suapan, dia akan mengelap tangannya dengan kain lap sambil berkata, 'Alhamdulillah!' Kemudian dia berkata kepada saya, 'Makan dengan bersyukur itu lebih baik daripada makan dengan diam.'" 46.8

Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ reported: “Aḥmad never ate anything cooked with pepper or garlic. Once I had dinner with him and some of his relatives. As we talked, I noticed that after every bite, he would wipe his hand on a napkin and say ‘God be thanked!’ Later he said to me, ‘Eating with thanks is better than eating in silence.’” 46.8