[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal pernah menjatuhkan sepasang gunting kuku ke dalam perigi. Salah seorang penyewa tanahnya datang lalu mengeluarkannya. Aḥmad serta-merta memberikan kepadanya sejumlah wang, kira-kira setengah dirham. 42.1

[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once dropped a pair of clippers219 into the well. One of his tenants came along and fished it out. Aḥmad immediately handed him some money—half a dirham, more or less. 42.1

"Gunting itu tidak bernilai lebih dari satu qīrāṭ," kata lelaki itu. "Saya tidak akan mengambil apa-apa." Beberapa hari kemudian, Aḥmad bertanya kepadanya, "Berapa sewa yang masih engkau hutang untuk kedai engkau?" "Tiga bulan," jawab lelaki itu, "pada kadar tiga dirham sebulan."221

“The clippers aren’t worth more than a qīrāṭ,”220 said the man. “I won’t take anything.” A few days later, Aḥmad asked him, “How much rent do you owe on your shop?” “Three months’ worth,” said the man, “at three dirhams a month.”221

"Anggap sudah dibayar," kata Aḥmad sambil mencoret akaunnya.

“Consider it paid,” said Aḥmad, drawing a line through his account.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Abū Saʿīd ibn Abī Ḥanīfah al-Muʾaddib memberitahu saya, "Setiap kali saya datang menemui ayahmu, dia sering memberi saya sesuatu dan berkata, 'Ini separuh daripada apa yang kita ada di rumah.' Pada suatu hari saya datang dan tinggal lama. Dia mengeluarkan empat keping roti dan berkata, 'Ini separuh daripada apa yang kita ada.' 42."2

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Abū Saʿīd ibn Abī Ḥanīfah al-Muʾaddib told me, “When I used to come see your father, he would often give me things and say, ‘This is half of what we’ve got in the house.’ One day I came and stayed for a long time. He brought out four loaves of bread and said, ‘This is half of what we have.’ 42.2

“‘Saya lebih suka empat ini daripadamu,’ kataku kepadanya, ‘daripada empat ribu dari sesiapa pun yang lain.’” [Al-Warrāq:] Pada suatu ketika saya pergi berjumpa Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh bin Numayr untuk meminta bantuan. Dia memberi saya empat atau lima dirham, sambil berkata, “Ini adalah separuh daripada apa yang aku ada.” 42.3

“‘I’d rather have these four from you,’ I told him, ‘than four thousand from anyone else.’” [Al-Warrāq:] I once went to Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Numayr to ask for help. He gave me four or five dirhams, saying, “This is half of what I have.” 42.3

Di lain waktu saya pergi menemui Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal. Beliau mengeluarkan empat dirham dan berkata, "Inilah sahaja yang saya ada." [Al-Mustamlī:] Pernah saya memberitahu Aḥmad bahawa kami tidak mempunyai apa-apa lagi. Beliau memberi saya lima dirham dan berkata, "Inilah sahaja yang saya ada." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad sering memberi makanan kepada orang lain. Pada suatu hari, Abū Saʿīd al-Ḍarīr datang untuk meminta bantuan. 42.4

Another time I went to Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal. He took out four dirhams and said, “This is all I have.” [Al-Mustamlī:] I once told Aḥmad that we had nothing left. He gave me five dirhams and said, “This is all I’ve got.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad often used to give away food. One day, Abū Saʿīd al-Ḍarīr came to ask for help. 42.4

"Yang ada padaku hanyalah batang pokok ini," kata Aḥmad, "bawalah seorang kuli dan ambillah ia."222

“All I’ve got,” said Aḥmad, “is this tree trunk. Bring a porter and take it.”222

Saya menjualnya dengan harga sembilan dirham dan dua dāniq.223

I sold it for nine dirhams and two dāniqs.223

Aḥmad memiliki peribadi yang paling baik dan merendah diri, dan dia sentiasa gembira apabila memberi sesuatu kepada orang lain.

Aḥmad was of the kindest and most unassuming disposition, and it always made him happy to give things away.

[Al-Nasāʾī:] Pada suatu hari raya, Aḥmad menjemput saya masuk. Saya pun masuk dan melihat sebuah meja makan serta sebuah hidangan yang berisi beberapa tulang di atas dulang berkaki, dan sebuah periuk di sebelah. 42.5

[Al-Nasāʾī:] Once during a feast day, Aḥmad invited me in. I went in and saw a table table and a dish with some bones in it sitting on a footed tray, and a pot off to the side. 42.5

“Makanlah sesuatu,” katanya. Melihat saya terlalu malu untuk turut makan bersamanya, dia berkata, “Al-Ḥasan biasa berkata, ‘Marilah kita makan, demi Tuhan!’ Dan Ibn Sīrīn biasa berkata, ‘Makanan memang ada untuk dimakan.’ Ibrāhīm ibn Adham pula biasa menjual sebahagian pakaiannya dan membelanjakan wangnya untuk kawan-kawannya. Bagi dia, perkara-perkara dunia ini tidak lebih bernilai daripada itu,” sambil menunjuk ke arah sepotong batang pokok kurma yang telah dibuang.

“Have something to eat,” he said. Seeing that I was too shy to join him, he said, “Al-Ḥasan used to say, ‘Let us eat, by God!’ And Ibn Sīrīn used to say, ‘Food is there to be eaten.’ And Ibrāhīm ibn Adham used to sell pieces of his clothing and spend the money on his friends. For him, the things of this world were worth no more than that,” pointing to a discarded length of palm trunk.

Mendengar semua itu, saya merasa tenang dan makan.

Hearing all that, I relaxed and ate.

[ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā:] Saya solat Jumaat di sebelah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Selepas imam membubarkan jemaah, seorang pengemis bangun dan meminta sedekah. Aḥmad menemui sekeping duit lalu memberikannya kepadanya. Kemudian seorang lelaki berkata kepada pengemis itu, "Saya akan memberimu satu dirham untuk duit itu." Dia terus menaikkan jumlahnya sehingga akhirnya mencapai lima puluh dirham sebelum pengemis itu berkata, "Saya tidak akan melepaskannya. Saya mahu duit itu kerana sebab yang sama seperti awak!"224 42.6

[ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā:] I prayed the Friday prayer next to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. After the imam had dismissed the congregation, a beggar stood up and asked for alms. Aḥmad found a coin and gave it to him. A man then said to the beggar, “I’ll give you a dirham for that coin.” He kept upping the amount and finally reached fifty dirhams before the beggar said, “I’m not giving it up. I want it for the same reason you do!”224 42.6

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aku pernah bersama Aḥmad dalam perjalanan ke Samarra, lalu kami berhenti di sebuah perhentian. Aku mengeluarkan sekeping roti leper dan meletakkan sebekas air di hadapannya. Kemudian seekor anjing datang. Ia berdiri di sisinya dengan dua kaki belakangnya dan mula mengibas-ngibaskan ekornya. Dia melemparkan sedikit makanan kepadanya. Tidak lama kemudian, setiap kali dia menyuap makanan untuk dirinya sendiri, dia akan melemparkan sedikit juga untuk anjing itu.

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I was with Aḥmad on the way to Samarra when we stopped at a way station. I took out a loaf of flatbread and put a jug of water before him. Then a dog appeared. It stood beside him on its hind legs and started wagging its tail. He tossed it a bit of food. Soon he was tossing it a bit to eat for every bite he took himself.

Bimbang jika begitu keadaannya Aḥmad akan kelaparan, saya bangun dan menghalau anjing itu. Kemudian saya lihat wajah Aḥmad merah padam kerana malu. "Biarkan sahaja," katanya.

Afraid that at that rate Aḥmad would starve, I got up and shooed the dog away. Then I looked and saw that Aḥmad was red with embarrassment. “Let it be,” he said.

"Menurut Ibn ʿAbbās, mereka mempunyai jiwa yang jahat."225 42.7

“According to Ibn ʿAbbās, they have malicious souls.”225 42.7