[Al-Warrāq:] Mengkritik sahabat-sahabat Aḥmad bermakna menyerang Aḥmad sendiri. Sesiapa yang berbuat demikian pasti menyimpan dendam dalam hatinya dan dia bukanlah seorang Sunni. 99.1

[Al-Warrāq:] To criticize Aḥmad’s associates is to attack Aḥmad himself. Anyone who does that must be harboring a grudge of some kind and is no Sunni. 99.1

[Al-Athram:] Sahabat-sahabat Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal kadangkala memutuskan untuk meninggalkan perkara-perkara yang tidak mempunyai akibat di sisi Tuhan, demi mengelakkan sebarang kritikan terhadap Aḥmad. 99.2

[Al-Athram:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s associates sometimes decide to give up matters that have no consequence as far as God is concerned in order to avoid provoking any criticism of Aḥmad. 99.2

[Abū l-Faḍl:] Saya mendengar bahawa selepas kematian Aḥmad, seseorang menyebut kepada al-Mutawakkil bahawa keadaan yang tidak menyenangkan berkemungkinan tercetus antara para pengikutnya dengan golongan pembuat bidaah. 99.3

[Abū l-Faḍl:] I heard that after Aḥmad’s death, someone mentioned to al- Mutawakkil that unpleasantness was liable to break out between his partisans and the innovators. 99.3

"Jangan beritahu saya apa-apa lagi tentang mereka," kata al-Mutawakkil kepada pemberi maklumat itu.

“Don’t tell me anything more about them,” al-Mutawakkil told the informant.

"Sebaliknya, berpihaklah kepada mereka. Aḥmad dan kaumnya adalah tuan-tuan kepada umat Muḥammad ﷺ. God mengetahui dengan cukup baik ujian yang Aḥmad tanggung, kerana Dia telah mengangkatnya kepada kemasyhuran semasa hidupnya dan selepas kematiannya; dan para pembelanya adalah yang terbaik yang boleh diharapkan olehnya. Saya rasa God akan memberikan Aḥmad ganjaran yang Dia berikan kepada orang-orang yang benar." [Al-Marrūdhī:] Ibn Suḥt, yang merupakan kerabat melalui perkahwinan kepada Ibn Ḥubāb al-Jawharī, berkata, "Saya bermimpi melihat beberapa orang, dan seorang lelaki berpakaian putih berkata, 'God telah mengampuni Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal dan semua yang mempertahankannya.'" 99.4

“Instead, take their side. Aḥmad and his people are the lords of Muḥammad’s community. God knows well enough the ordeal Aḥmad suffered, since He raised him to fame during his life and after his death; and his partisans are the best he could wish for. I daresay that God will give Aḥmad the reward He gives to the truth-tellers.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Ibn Suḥt, who was Ibn Ḥubāb al-Jawharī’s relation by marriage, said, “I dreamed I saw some people, and a man in white saying, ‘God has forgiven Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and all who defend him.’” 99.4

Abū l-Qāsim: Saya mendengar seorang lelaki soleh menceritakan bahawa salah seorang rakannya muncul dalam mimpi, lalu ditanya bagaimana Tuhan telah menghakiminya. 99.5

[Abū l-Qāsim:] I heard a righteous man relate that one of his fellows appeared in a dream and was asked how God had judged him. 99.5

"Dia telah mengampuni saya," itulah jawapannya.

“He forgave me,” was the reply.

"Jadi siapakah majoriti penduduk Syurga?" "Pengikut al-Shāfiʿī." "Bagaimana pula dengan Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?" "Kamu bertanya kepada saya siapa majoritinya, bukan siapa yang paling tinggi darjatnya. Al-Shāfiʿī mempunyai bilangan yang lebih ramai, tetapi pengikut Aḥmad mempunyai darjat yang lebih tinggi." [Al-Ḥimmānī:] Saya bermimpi bahawa saya sedang duduk di bawah serambi di rumah saya apabila Nabi ﷺ muncul. Baginda berdiri di muka pintu dengan kedua-dua tangannya bertumpu pada ambang pintu, melaungkan azan, dan mengumumkan bahawa solat telah bermula. Kemudian baginda bersabda, "Orang yang selamat itu selamat dan orang yang binasa itu binasa." 99.6

“So who are the majority of people in the Garden?” “Followers of al-Shāfiʿī.” “What about Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?” “You asked me who the majority were, not who the highest ones were. Al-Shāfiʿī has the greater number, but Aḥmad’s people have the higher rank.” [Al-Ḥimmānī:] I dreamed I was sitting under a portico at home when the Prophet appeared. He stood in the doorway with his hands resting on the jamb, issued the call to prayer, and announced that prayer had begun. Then he said, “The saved are saved and the damned damned.” 99.6

“Utusan Tuhan,” tanyaku, “siapakah golongan yang selamat?” “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal dan para pengikutnya.” [Al-Ḥarbī:] Aku bermimpi aku berada dalam suatu kumpulan dan kami ditahan di luar kehendak kami, dan aku berasa tidak senang dengan keadaan itu. Kemudian suara bertanya, “Apakah kamu?” 99.7

“Emissary of God,” I asked, “who are the saved?” “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and his followers.” [Al-Ḥarbī:] I dreamed I was in a group and we were being held against our will and I was unhappy about it. Then a voice asked, “What are you?” 99.7

"Pengikut Ibn Ḥanbal." "Pergilah, kerana para Ḥanbalī tidak boleh dikurung." Kemudian seolah-olah ada suara berkata, "Tiada seorang pun penganut mazhab Ḥanbalī yang pernah dipertanggungjawabkan atas dosa-dosanya." Ibn ʿAqīl—semoga Tuhan merahmatinya!—biasa berkata: 99.8

I said, “Followers of Ibn Ḥanbal.” “Go, then; Ḥanbalīs aren’t to be confined.” Then it felt as if a voice said, “No adherent of the Ḥanbalī school has ever been held accountable for his sins.” Ibn ʿAqīl—God have mercy on him!—used to say: 99.8

"Masalah dengan mazhab kita ialah ahlinya sendiri. Jika seorang bermazhab Ḥanafī atau Shāfiʿī cemerlang dalam pengajiannya, dia dilantik ke jawatan kehakiman atau jawatan lain, dan hasil daripada pelantikan itu dia dapat mencurahkan diri kepada pengajaran dan penyelidikan. Sebaliknya, pengikut Aḥmad hampir tidak dapat mempelajari apa-apa tanpa memutuskan untuk mencurahkan diri kepada amalan kerohanian dan meninggalkan dunia, memandangkan kumpulan itu cenderung kepada ketakwaan yang tinggi. Akibatnya, mereka berhenti menjadi ulama."

“The problem with our school is our own members. If a Ḥanafī or a Shāfiʿī excels in his studies, he’s appointed to a judgeship or some other position and as a result of his appointment can devote himself to teaching and research. Aḥmad’s people, on the other hand, can hardly study anything without deciding to devote themselves to pious exercises and renounce the world, given how godly the group tends to be. As a result, they stop being scholars.”