[Ṣāliḥ:] Apabila Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh bin Ṭāhir tiba di Baghdad, dia menghantar pesanan kepada ayahku yang berbunyi, “Saya ingin awak datang berjumpa saya. Beritahu saya hari yang awak pilih dan saya akan pastikan tiada orang lain di sini.” 74.1

[Ṣāliḥ:] When Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir came to Baghdad, he sent a message to my father saying, “I’d like you to come and see me. Tell me the day you prefer and I’ll make sure there’s no one else here.” 74.1

Ayahku menjawab, "Saya seorang lelaki yang tidak pernah bergaul dengan para penguasa. Tambahan pula, Amirul Mukminin telah membebaskan saya daripada melakukan apa-apa yang saya benci. Ini yang saya benci." Muhammad berusaha mengubah pendiriannya, tetapi tidak berhasil.

My father replied, “I am a man who has never consorted with rulers. Furthermore, the Commander of the Faithful has exempted me from doing anything I detest. This I detest.” Muḥammad strove to change his mind but to no avail.

Kemudian saya menerima sepucuk surat daripada Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh yang berbunyi:

I then received a letter from Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh saying:

Saya pergi menemui Ṭāhir ibn ʿAbd Allāh dan dia memberitahu saya bahawa Muḥammad ﷺ telah menjemput Aḥmad untuk datang menemuinya, tetapi Aḥmad telah menolak.

I went to see Ṭāhir ibn ʿAbd Allāh and he told me that Muḥammad had invited Aḥmad to call on him but Aḥmad had refused.

"Semoga Tuhan memperbaiki sang amir! Aḥmad telah bernazar untuk tidak lagi mengajar Hadis selama-lamanya."

I said, “May God correct the emir! Aḥmad has vowed never to teach Hadith again.

Mungkin dia takut bahawa jika dia pergi, dia akan meminta orang itu untuk mengajarnya." Dia bertanya, "Adakah kamu serius?" Saya menjawab, "Ya, saya serius." Saya memberitahu ayah saya tentang perkara ini tetapi dia tidak berkata apa-apa.

Perhaps he was afraid that if he went, he would ask him to teach.” He asked, “Are you serious?” I said, “I am.” I told my father about this but he said nothing.

Saya rasa Aḥmad enggan melawat Ibn Ṭāhir kerana beliau seorang pemerintah. Beliau sebenarnya melawat orang-orang selagi mereka adalah insan yang bertakwa dan berilmu.

[The author:] I think Aḥmad refused to visit Ibn Ṭāhir because he was a ruler. He did visit people so long as they were men of piety and learning.

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Selepas ayah saya dibebaskan oleh Inkuisisi, beliau bimbang Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh akan datang menemuinya, lalu beliau memutuskan untuk pergi menemui Isḥāq terlebih dahulu. Belum pun sampai ke Rey dan masuk ke dalam sebuah masjid, awan tiba-tiba terbuka seperti kantung air yang pecah. Beliau berteduh di situ sehingga malam menjelang, lalu beliau diberitahu supaya keluar dari masjid kerana mereka hendak menutupnya. 74.2

[ʿAbd Allāh:] After my father was released by the Inquisition, he was worried that Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh would come to see him so he decided to go see him first. No sooner had he reached Rey and gone into a mosque when the clouds opened like waterskins. He sheltered there until night fell and he was told to leave the mosque because they wanted to close it. 74.2

"Ini adalah rumah Tuhan," katanya, "dan saya adalah hamba Tuhan." "Sama ada tinggalkan tempat ini," kata mereka, "atau kami akan menyeret kamu keluar dengan kaki. Terpulang kepada kamu." Bapa saya meneruskan ceritanya:

“This is a house of God,” he said, “and I’m a worshipper of God.” “Either leave,” they said, “or we’ll drag you out by the feet. Your choice.” My father continued the story:

"Selamat tinggal," kata saya, lalu keluar ke dalam ribut petir tanpa tahu hendak pergi ke mana. Kemudian seorang lelaki keluar dari rumahnya dan berkata, "Awak di sana! Hendak ke mana pada waktu begini?" "Saya tidak ada tempat hendak pergi," jawab saya.

“Good-bye,”451 I said, and went out into the thunderstorm with no idea where to go. Then a man came out of his house and said, “You there! Where are you going at a time like this?” “I have nowhere to go,” I said.

"Masuklah," katanya.

“Come in,” he said.

Dia membawa saya masuk, menyuruh saya menanggalkan pakaian, dan memberi saya pakaian kering untuk saya tukar. Saya mengambil wuduk, kemudian masuk ke sebuah bilik yang mempunyai pemanas penuh arang, permaidani daripada bulu di atas lantai, dan sebuah meja yang penuh dengan hidangan. Ahli keluarga itu menjemput saya untuk makan bersama mereka. Selepas kami makan, lelaki itu bertanya, "Dari mana kamu berasal?" Saya memberitahu mereka bahawa saya berasal dari Baghdad.

He brought me in, had me undress, and gave me dry clothes to change into. I performed my ablutions and then went into a room where there was a heater full of coals, a blanket of felt on the floor, and a laden table. The members of the family invited me to join them. After we ate, the man said, “Where are you from?” I told them I was from Baghdad.

"Adakah anda kenal seorang lelaki bernama Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?" "Saya Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal." "Baiklah," kata lelaki itu, "saya Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh."452

“Do you know a man named Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?” “I’m Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” “Well,” said the man, “I’m Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh.”452