[Muḥammad ibn Ṭāriq:] Saya sedang duduk di sebelah Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal dan saya bertanya kepadanya sama ada saya boleh menggunakan bekas dakwatnya. 52.1

[Muḥammad ibn Ṭāriq:] I was sitting next to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and I asked him if I could use his inkpot. 52.1

Dia memandang saya. "Tiada seorang pun antara kita yang sebegitu teliti," katanya sambil tersenyum.

He looked at me. “Neither one of us is as scrupulous as all that,” he said with a smile.

[Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:] Saya tidak pernah bertemu dengan orang seperti Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Kami duduk bersamanya selama lima puluh tahun, dan tidak sekali pun dia menunjuk-nunjukkan ketakwaan dan kebaikannya kepada kami. 52.2

[Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:] I never met anyone like Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. We sat with him for fifty years, and never once did he hold his piety and goodness over us. 52.2

[Ṣāliḥ:] Saya sering melihat ayah saya mengambil beliung dan pergi ke bilik-bilik penyewa untuk menguruskan kerja-kerja dengan tangannya sendiri. Dia akan pergi ke kedai runcit dan membeli seikat kayu api atau apa-apa lagi, lalu membawanya pulang sendiri. 52.3

[Ṣāliḥ:] I often saw my father pick up an adze and go over to the tenants’ rooms to take care of jobs with his own two hands. He would go to the grocers and buy a bundle of kindling or whatever, and carry it back himself. 52.3

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Saya masih ingat bahawa setiap kali mana-mana kabilah Quraisy, sama ada muda atau tua, atau sesiapa dari keluarga Nabi ﷺ datang untuk menemui baginda, baginda tidak akan melangkah melalui pintu masjid sehingga mereka telah melepasinya terlebih dahulu. 52.4

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I remember that whenever any tribesman of Quraysh, young or old, or anyone of the Prophet’s family came to see him, he’d refuse to walk through the doorway of the mosque until after they had gone through ahead of him. 52.4

[ʿĀrim ibn al-Faḍl:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal berada di sini bersama kami di Basrah. Dia datang kepadaku dengan membawa sebuah beg galas—atau mungkin sebuah bungkusan yang diikat—yang berisi beberapa dirham, dan dari semasa ke semasa dia datang dan mengambil sedikit daripadanya. Pada suatu hari aku berkata, “Aḥmad, aku dengar kamu seorang Arab. Dari kabilah manakah kamu?” 52.5

[ʿĀrim ibn al-Faḍl:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was here with us in Basra. He had come to me with a knapsack—or maybe a knotted bundle—with some dirhams in it, and every so often he would come and take a little out. One day I said, “Aḥmad, I hear you’re an Arab. What tribe are you from?” 52.5

"Yang miskin," katanya.

“A poor one,” he would say.

Setiap kali dia datang, saya akan bertanya kepadanya soalan yang sama dan dia akan memberi jawapan yang sama. Barulah selepas dia meninggalkan Basrah saya mengetahui kebenarannya.285

Every time he came over, I would ask him the same question and he would give me the same answer. It wasn’t until he left Basra that I found out the truth.285

[Al-Thaqafī:] Kali pertama saya melihat Aḥmad, saya bertanya sama ada saya boleh mencium kepalanya. Dia berkata, "Saya tidak pernah melakukan apa-apa yang layak mendapat penghormatan awak." 52.6

[Al-Thaqafī:] The first time I saw Aḥmad, I asked if I could kiss his head. He said, “I’ve done nothing to deserve your respect.” 52.6

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya bertanya kepada Aḥmad sama ada seseorang boleh memberitahu seorang lelaki secara berhadapan bahawa dia telah menghidupkan sunnah. 52.7

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I asked Aḥmad whether you can tell a man to his face that he’s revived the sunnah. 52.7

"Awak hanya akan membuatnya menjadi sombong," jawabnya.

“You’ll just give him a swelled head,” he replied.

[Ibn Abī Mūsā:] Seorang lelaki dari Khurasan pernah berkata kepada Aḥmad, "Saya bersyukur kepada Tuhan kerana saya dapat bertemu dengan awak!" 52.8

[Ibn Abī Mūsā:] A man from Khurasan once said to Aḥmad, “I thank God that I’ve met you!” 52.8

"Sudahlah," jawabnya. "Apa semua ini? Saya ini bukan sesiapa." [Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥassān:] Kami masuk menemui Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, dan seorang lelaki tua dari Khurasan berkata, "Demi Tuhan, fikirkanlah kami! Kami memerlukan tuan. Tiada lagi orang yang tahu apa-apa. Jika tuan tidak boleh mengajar Hadith, maka jawablah soalan-soalan fiqh. Orang ramai memerlukan bantuan tuan!" 52.9

“Come off it,” he replied. “What’s all this? I’m nobody.” [Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥassān:] We went in to see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and an elderly man from Khurasan said, “For God’s sake, think of us! We need you. There’s no one left who knows anything. If you can’t teach Hadith, then answer legal questions. People need your help!” 52.9

"Saya?" jawabnya. Dia menghela nafas dan wajahnya muram. Bagi saya, dia kelihatan sangat sedih.

“Mine?” he replied. He sighed and his face fell. To me he looked miserable.

Suatu ketika seseorang berkata kepadanya, "Semoga Tuhan membalas jasamu terhadap Islam!" "Tidak," jawabnya, "semoga Tuhan membalas Islam atas apa yang telah dilakukannya untukku!" Kemudian dia menambah, "Siapakah aku? Tiada siapa-siapa!" Pernah seorang lelaki menyerahkan kepadanya sehelai nota yang memintanya mendoakan lelaki itu. "Jika aku berbuat begitu," katanya, "siapa pula yang akan mendoakan aku?" [Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad:] Lebih daripada sekali aku mendengar Aḥmad berkata, "Siapakah aku sehingga kamu datang kepadaku? Siapakah aku sehingga kamu datang kepadaku? Pergilah cari Hadith!" 52.10

Once someone said to him, “May God reward you for all you’ve done for Islam!” “No,” he replied, “may He reward Islam for what it’s done for me!” Then he added, “Who am I? No one!” He was once handed a note from a man asking him to pray for him. “If I do that,” he said, “who will pray for me?” [Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad:] More than once I heard Aḥmad say, “Who am I that you should come to me? Who am I that you should come to me? Go seek Hadith!” 52.10

[Al-Ṭayālisī:] Saya pernah meletakkan tangan saya ke atas Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, lalu saya menggerakkannya ke bawah badan saya untuk mendapatkan keberkatan. Beliau melihat saya melakukannya lalu menjadi sangat marah. Sambil mengibas-ngibaskan tangannya seolah-olah hendak menanggalkan sesuatu daripadanya, beliau berkata, “Siapa yang mengajar kamu melakukan itu?” 52.11

[Al-Ṭayālisī:] I once laid my hand on Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and then ran it down my body for a blessing. He saw me do it and grew furious. Flapping his hands as if to shake something off them, he said, “Who taught you to do that?” 52.11

Jelas bahawa dia sama sekali tidak bersetuju.

It was clear that he didn’t approve at all.

[Khaṭṭāb ibn Bishr:] Abū ʿUthmān al-Shāfiʿī pernah mula memuji Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal dengan melampau, sambil berkata, "Semua orang akan selamat selagi Tuhan membiarkan engkau ada di sisi kami." 52.12

[Khaṭṭāb ibn Bishr:] Abū ʿUthmān al-Shāfiʿī once began lavishing praise on Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, saying things like, “Everyone will be all right as long as God keeps you here with us.” 52.12

"Jangan cakap begitu, Abū ʿUthmān," kata Aḥmad. "Saya bukan sesiapa pun." Pada satu masa yang lain saya bertanya kepadanya tentang sikap berhati-hati dalam agama. Saya melihat wajahnya muram, dan dia memperlihatkan raut penyesalan terhadap diri sendiri yang begitu sayu sehingga saya berasa kasihan kepadanya. Saya berkata kepada seseorang yang bersama saya, "Ada hari-hari dia kelihatan begitu murung, dan apa yang saya lakukan hanyalah menambah kesedihannya." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Pada suatu ketika, selepas menyebut tentang orang-orang yang terkenal kerana sikap berhati-hati mereka, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal berkata, "Saya berharap God tidak memandang hina kepada saya. Bagaimana saya boleh dibandingkan dengan orang-orang seperti itu?" 52.13

“Don’t say those things, Abū ʿUthmān,” said Aḥmad. “I’m no one at all.” Another time I asked him a question about being scrupulous. I saw his face fall and assume such a mournful expression of self-reproach that I felt sorry for him. I said to someone who was with me, “Some days he seems so despondent, and all I did was make him feel worse.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Once, after mentioning men famous for being scrupulous, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said, “I hope God doesn’t despise me. How can I compare with men like that?” 52.13

Suatu kali saya berkata kepadanya, "Ramai orang yang mendoakan kamu!" "Saya takut ia mungkin satu tipu daya untuk membuat saya rasa selesa dengan diri sendiri," katanya. "Saya berdoa kepada Allah supaya Dia menjadikan saya lebih baik daripada apa yang mereka sangkakan tentang saya dan mengampuni dosa-dosa yang mereka tidak tahu telah saya lakukan." Pada kesempatan lain saya memberitahunya bahawa seorang lelaki Hadith pernah berkata, "Aḥmad telah meninggalkan lebih daripada harta: dia juga telah meninggalkan orang lain." "Siapa saya untuk meninggalkan sesiapa?" katanya. "Merekalah yang sepatutnya meninggalkan saya!" [ʿAbd Allāh:] Saya masih ingat bahawa setiap kali mana-mana lelaki daripada suku Quraysh, muda atau tua, atau sesiapa dari keluarga Nabi ﷺ datang menemuinya, dia akan enggan melangkah melalui pintu masjid sehingga mereka telah melepasinya terlebih dahulu. 52.14

Once I said to him, “So many people are praying for you!” “I’m afraid it may be a ruse to make me feel complacent,” he said. “I pray to God to make me better than they think I am and forgive the sins they don’t know I’ve committed.” Another time I told him that a Hadith-man had said, “Aḥmad has given up more than money: he’s given up other people, too.” “Who am I to renounce anyone?” he said. “They should be renouncing me!” [ʿAbd Allāh:] I remember that whenever any tribesman of Quraysh, young or old, or anyone of the Prophet’s family came to see him, he’d refuse to walk through the doorway of the mosque until after they had gone through ahead of him. 52.14

[Al-Abbār:] Saya pernah mendengar seorang lelaki berkata kepada Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “Saya telah bersumpah tetapi saya tidak tahu jenis sumpah apakah itu.” 52.15

[Al-Abbār:] I once heard a man tell Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “I’ve sworn an oath but I don’t know what kind of oath it is.” 52.15

"Jika kamu pernah memahaminya," jawab Aḥmad, "mungkin saya juga akan memahaminya."

“If you ever figure it out,” replied Aḥmad, “maybe I will too.”