[Al-Khiraqī:] Saya mendengar Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal berkata, "Saya memaafkan al-Muʿtaṣim kerana telah menyebatku." 39.1

[Al-Khiraqī:] I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, “I forgive al-Muʿtaṣim for flogging me.” 39.1

[Al-Ṣarrām:] Saya mendengar Ibrāhīm bin Isḥāq meriwayatkan bahawa al-Mutawakkil membawa seorang penyokong ʿAlī yang telah mencela Aḥmad kepada pihak berkuasa, lalu menghantarnya kepada Aḥmad supaya Aḥmad boleh mengesyorkan hukuman baginya. Tetapi Aḥmad memaafkannya, sambil berkata, "Dia mungkin mempunyai anak-anak yang akan berdukacita jika dia dibunuh." 39.2

[Al-Ṣarrām:] I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq report that al-Mutawakkil took the partisan of ʿAlī who had denounced Aḥmad to the government and sent him to Aḥmad so he could recommend a punishment for him. But Aḥmad forgave him, saying, “He may have children who would be grieved if he were killed.” 39.2

Itulah inti kisah tersebut.205

That was the gist of the story.205

[Ibn Hāniʾ:] Saya pernah berada di rumah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal ketika seorang lelaki berkata, “Aḥmad! Saya telah bercakap buruk tentang kamu di belakang kamu. Adakah kamu akan memaafkan saya?” 39.3

[Ibn Hāniʾ:] I was once at Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s when a man said, “Aḥmad! I spoke against you behind your back. Will you forgive me?” 39.3

“Ya, jika kamu tidak mengulanginya lagi.” “Bagaimana dia boleh dimaafkan,” saya membantah, “sedangkan dia telah memfitnah kamu?” “Tetapi saya sudah memintanya supaya tidak mengulanginya lagi,” jawabnya. “Tidakkah kamu nampak?” [Ḥanbal:] Pada suatu ketika, semasa saya solat Zohor bersama Aḥmad, seorang lelaki bernama Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Khuttalī menyertai kami. Selepas itu dia bertanya kepada Aḥmad mengapa dia telah memberitahu orang ramai supaya tidak bercakap dengan Zayd ibn Khalaf. 39.4

“Yes, if you don’t do it again.” “How can you forgive him,” I protested, “when he’s slandered you?” “But I’ve asked him not to do it again,” he answered. “Didn’t you see?” [Ḥanbal:] Once, when I was performing the afternoon prayer with Aḥmad, a man named Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Khuttalī joined us. Afterward he asked Aḥmad why he had told people not to talk to Zayd ibn Khalaf. 39.4

"Orang-orang di sempadan menulis menanyakan tentang dia," jawab Aḥmad. "Saya memberitahu mereka tentang pendapat-pendapatnya dan tentang perkara-perkara luar biasa yang telah dia katakan, dan saya meminta mereka supaya tidak duduk bersamanya." Al-Khuttalī naik berang. "Demi Tuhan yang menjadi saksi saya," jerit dia, "saya akan humban kamu kembali ke penjara!" Dia terus menjerit, berkata perkara seperti, "Saya akan patahkan tulang rusuk kamu satu demi satu!" "Jangan cakap apa-apa," kata Aḥmad kepada saya, "dan jangan susah-susah menjawab dia." Maka tiada seorang pun yang bersuara. Aḥmad mencapai selipar, bangun, lalu masuk ke dalam.

“The people at the frontier wrote asking about him,” replied Aḥmad. “I told them about his opinions and about the unprecedented things he had said, and I asked them not to sit with him.” Al-Khuttalī flew into a rage. “As God is my witness,” he shouted, “I’ll have you thrown back in prison!” He kept on shouting, saying things like, “I’ll break your ribs one by one!” “Don’t say anything,” Aḥmad told me, “and don’t bother answering him.” So no one said anything. Aḥmad picked up his sandals, rose, and went inside.

"Beritahu para penyewa supaya jangan bertengkar dengannya," katanya.

“Tell the tenants not to argue with him,” he said.

Al-Khuttalī terus menjerit untuk beberapa ketika dan akhirnya pergi. Dia dilantik sebagai pemeriksa pasar di Samarra dan meninggal dunia di sana.

Al-Khuttalī went on shouting for a while and finally left. He was made market inspector in Samarra and died there.

[Al-Ājurrī:] Aḥmad dan saya pernah berjalan pulang dari masjid Jumaat ketika saya menyebut Abū Ḥanīfah. Beliau mengibaskan tangannya dengan nada memandang rendah. 39.5

[Al-Ājurrī:] Aḥmad and I were once walking back from the Friday mosque when I mentioned Abū Ḥanīfah. He waved his hand dismissively. 39.5

"Air kencing Abū Ḥanīfah," kataku, "lebih bernilai daripada seluruh dunia yang penuh dengan orang seperti kamu!" Dia memandangku, lalu berkata, "Selamat tinggal."206

“Abū Ḥanifah’s piss,” I said, “was worth more than a world full of people like you!” He looked at me, then said, “Good-bye.”206

Awal pagi esoknya, saya pergi menemuinya dan berkata, "Aḥmad, saya tidak bermaksud mengatakan apa yang saya katakan. Adakah awak akan memaafkan saya?" Dia menjawab, "Saya sudah memaafkan awak semasa saya masih berdiri di situ."

Early the next morning, I went to him and said, “Aḥmad, I didn’t mean to say what I said. Will you forgive me?” “I forgave you while I was standing there,” he replied.

[Al-Ḥarbī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal sentiasa nampak tahu apa yang patut dilakukan. Beliau mempunyai simpanan kesabaran dan kefahaman yang sangat besar. Pada suatu hari, seorang lelaki datang kepadanya dan berkata, “Adakah tuan mempunyai kitab-kitab yang mengandungi bid'ah?”207 39.6

[Al-Ḥarbī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal always seemed to know the right thing to do. He had an enormous reserve of patience and understanding. One day a man came to him and said, “Do you have any books with heresy in them?”207 39.6

Aḥmad duduk diam seketika kemudian berkata, "Tempat yang paling selamat bagi seorang mukmin hanyalah kubur." Pada kesempatan lain, seseorang berkata kepadanya, "Orang berkata bahawa engkau tidak pernah mendengar Hadith daripada Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd," dan beliau langsung tidak memberi sebarang jawapan.

Aḥmad sat silent for a time then said, “The only place a believer is safe is in the grave.” Another time someone said to him, “People say you never heard Hadith from Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd,” and he made no reply at all.

Ibrāhīm juga meriwayatkan: 39.7

Ibrāhīm also reported: 39.7

"Pada suatu hari kami berada di rumah Dāwūd ibn ʿAmr, lalu Dāwūd bertanya kepadanya, 'Aḥmad, bagaimana makan kamu sejak kebelakangan ini? Dan tidur? Dan bagaimana pula dengan hubungan kelamin?' Aḥmad menjawab, 'Saya tidak membenci wanita, dan saya mempunyai tubuh serta roh.' Dia enggan berkata apa-apa lagi."

“One day we were at Dāwūd ibn ʿAmr’s and Dāwūd asked him, ‘Aḥmad, how are you eating these days? And sleeping? And what about sex?’ “Aḥmad replied, ‘I have no aversion to women, and I have a body as well as a spirit.’ “He refused to say any more.”