Ṣāliḥ, yang digelar Abū l-Faḍl, ialah anak sulung Aḥmad. Beliau dilahirkan pada tahun 203 H [818–19 M]. Ayahandanya amat mengasihinya dan melayaninya dengan murah hati. Oleh kerana menanggung tanggungan anak-anak ketika masih muda, Ṣāliḥ tidak dapat meriwayatkan sebanyak mana hadis ayahandanya yang mungkin beliau riwayatkan, namun beliau tetap meriwayatkan cukup banyak, bersama riwayat-riwayat yang beliau pelajari daripada Abū l-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl al-Dhāriʿ (si pengukur gantang),328 dan ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. Yang meriwayatkan daripada beliau pula ialah anaknya Zuhayr, al-Baghawī, dan Muḥammad ibn Makhlad, antara lain. Beliau berpindah ke Isfahan selepas dilantik sebagai hakim di sana, dan di sanalah beliau wafat. 65.1

Ṣālih, who was called Abū l-Faḍl, was the oldest of Aḥmad’s children. He was born in 203 [818–19]. His father loved him and treated him generously. Burdened with children when he was still young, Ṣāliḥ was unable to transmit as many of his father’s reports as he might have, though he still transmitted quite a few, along with reports he learned from Abū l-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl al-Dhāriʿ (the taker of measures),328 and ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. Transmitting in turn from him were his son Zuhayr, al-Baghawī, and Muḥammad ibn Makhlad, among others. He moved to Isfahan after being appointed judge there, and there he died. 65.1

[Al-Khallāl:] Ṣāliḥ sentiasa bersemangat untuk membelanjakan wang. Al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī l-Faqīh memberitahu saya di Miṣṣīṣah bahawa Ṣāliḥ pernah berbekam, kemudian menjemput rakan-rakannya untuk meraikan kesihatannya yang pulih. Dia pasti telah membelanjakan dua puluh dinar untuk wangian dan barang-barang seumpamanya. 65.2

[Al-Khallāl:] Ṣāliḥ was always eager to spend money. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī l-Faqīh told me in Miṣṣīṣah that Ṣāliḥ once had his blood let and afterward invited his friends to celebrate his recovery. He must have spent twenty dinars on scent and that sort of thing. 65.2

Saya juga meriwayatkan bahawa al-Ḥasan yang menceritakan kepada saya perkara berikut.

I think it was also al-Ḥasan who told me the following.

Pada suatu ketika Aḥmad mengetuk pintu. Salah seorang tetamu, Ibn Abī Maryam, berkata kepada Ṣāliḥ, “Turunkan tirai itu supaya kita tidak mendapat masalah dengan ayahmu! Dan jangan biarkan dia menghidu bau wangian itu!” Aḥmad masuk, duduk, dan bertanya kepada Ṣāliḥ bagaimana keadaannya. Kemudian dia berkata, “Ini, ambillah dua dirham ini dan belanjakan untuk dirimu sendiri hari ini.” Setelah itu, dia bangun dan beredar.

At one point Aḥmad knocked on the door. One of the guests, Ibn Abī Maryam, said to Ṣāliḥ, “Let down that curtain so we don’t get in trouble with your father! And don’t let him smell the scent!” Aḥmad came in, sat down, and asked Ṣāliḥ how he was feeling. Then he said, “Here, take these two dirhams and spend them on yourself today.” With that, he got up and left.

"Hai engkau, si fulan!" kata Ibn Abī Maryam kepada Ṣāliḥ. "Bagaimana engkau boleh terfikir hendak mengambil dirham-dirham itu?" [Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī:] Aku bersama Ṣāliḥ ketika dia tiba di Isfahan. Tempat pertama yang dia tuju ialah masjid Jumaat, di mana dia menunaikan solat dua rakaat. Kemudian, apabila para pembesar dan orang tua-tua telah berkumpul, dia duduk untuk mendengar surat pelantikan yang diberikan oleh khalifah kepadanya. Ketika surat itu sedang dibacakan, dia mula menangis tidak terkawal. Tidak lama kemudian, orang tua-tua yang duduk berhampiran dengannya turut menangis. Apabila bacaan itu selesai, mereka mendoakan dia dengan suara yang kuat. "Setiap orang di bandar kami menghargai kenangan Abū ʿAbd Allāh," kata mereka kepadanya, "dan mendoakan yang terbaik untuk kamu." 65.3

“You so-and-so!” said Ibn Abī Maryam to Ṣāliḥ. “How could you think of taking those dirhams?” [Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī:] I was with Ṣāliḥ when he arrived in Isfahan. The first place he went was the Friday mosque, where he prayed two cycles. Then, when the notables and elders had gathered, he sat down to hear the letter of appointment that the caliph had given him. As the letter was being read he began to weep uncontrollably. Soon the elders sitting near him were weeping as well. When the reading was finished, they prayed aloud for him. “Everyone in our town treasures the memory of Abū ʿAbd Allāh,” they told him, “and wishes you the best.” 65.3

“Tahukah kamu,” tanyanya kepada mereka, “mengapa aku menangis? Aku membayangkan ayahku melihatku seperti ini”—yakni berpakaian jubah hitam jabatannya. “Setiap kali seorang pertapa yang berpakaian lusuh datang berkunjung kepadanya, ayahku akan memanggilku agar aku bisa bertemu dengannya. Dia ingin aku menjadi seperti itu—atau tampil seperti itu. Demi Tuhan yang menjadi saksiku, aku tidak punya pilihan lain selain menerima jabatan ini: aku punya utang yang harus dibayar dan semua anak ayahku yang harus dinafkahi.”329

“Do you know,” he asked them, “why I’m crying? I imagined my father seeing me like this”—dressed, that is, in the black robes of his office. “Whenever a shabby ascetic would come to visit him, my father would send for me so I could meet him. He wanted me to be like that—or look like that. As God is my witness, I had no choice but to take this position: I have a debt to pay and all my father’s children to feed.”329

Lebih dari sekali, ketika meninggalkan sesi kehakiman dan menanggalkan jubah hitamnya, Ṣāliḥ berkata kepada saya, "Fikirkanlah: saya mungkin mati dengan pakaian ini!" Ṣāliḥ meninggal dunia pada bulan Ramaḍān 265 [April–Mei 879] di Isfahan.

More than once, as he left the judicial session and removed his black robe, Ṣāliḥ said to me, “Just think: I might die in these clothes!” Ṣāliḥ died in Ramaḍān 265 [April–May 879] in Isfahan.

Anaknya Zuhayr meriwayatkan hadis daripadanya, dan riwayat-riwayat Zuhayr pula diriwayatkan oleh anak saudaranya Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin Ṣāliḥ dan oleh Aḥmad bin Sulaymān al-Najjād. Al-Dāraquṭnī menggambarkan Zuhayr sebagai orang yang dipercayai. Menurut Qadi Aḥmad bin Kāmil, beliau wafat pada Rabiʿ I 303 [September–Oktober 915]. 65.4

His son Zuhayr transmitted reports from him, and Zuhayr’s reports, in turn, were transmitted by his nephew Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṣālih and by Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Najjād. Al-Dāraquṭnī describes Zuhayr as reliable. According to Judge Aḥmad ibn Kāmil, he died in Rabīʿ I 303 [September–October 915]. 65.4

Digelar Abū Jaʿfar, beliau meriwayatkan hadis-hadis yang dipelajarinya daripada ayahnya, bapa saudaranya Zuhayr, dan Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Hisinjānī, antara lain. Yang meriwayatkan daripadanya pula ialah al-Dāraquṭnī. Beliau wafat pada tahun 330 [941–42]. 65.5

Called Abū Jaʿfar, he transmitted reports he learned from his father, his uncle Zuhayr, and Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid al-Hisinjānī, among others. Transmitting in turn from him was al-Dāraquṭnī. He died in 330 [941–42]. 65.5

Dikenali sebagai Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, beliau meriwayatkan lebih banyak riwayat daripada ayahnya berbanding sesiapa pun, dan beliau telah mendengar kebanyakan kitab himpunan serta Hadith ayahnya. Beliau juga meriwayatkan hadis daripada ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Ḥammād, Kāmil ibn Ṭalḥah, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Abū Bakr dan ʿUthman (anak-anak Abū Shaybah), Shaybān ibn Farrūkh, dan ramai lagi. 65.6

Called Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, he transmitted more of his father’s reports than anyone else, having heard most of his compilations and his Hadith. He also heard reports from ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Ḥammād, Kāmil ibn Ṭalḥah, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Abū Shaybah’s sons Abū Bakr and ʿUthman, Shaybān ibn Farrūkh, and many others. 65.6

Beliau mempunyai ingatan yang sangat kuat. Ayahnya biasa berkata, "Anakku ʿAbd Allāh mempunyai bakat untuk belajar"—atau "menghafal"—"Hadith." Dalam sakit terakhirnya, beliau ditanya di mana beliau mahu dikebumikan. Beliau menjawab, "Saya yakin ada seorang nabi dikebumikan di suatu tempat di Qaṭīʿah, dan saya lebih suka berada dekat dengan seorang nabi daripada dekat dengan ayah saya." Beliau meninggal dunia pada hari Ahad, dua puluh satu Jumādā II 290 [22 Mei 903], dan pada waktu petang dikebumikan di perkuburan Pintu Jerami. Anak saudaranya Zuhayr menyembahyangkan jenazahnya dengan disaksikan oleh orang ramai yang besar jumlahnya.

He had a very retentive memory. His father used to say, “My son ʿAbd Allāh has a gift for learning”—or “memorizing”—“Hadith.” In his last illness, he was asked where he wanted to be buried. He replied, “I’m certain that there’s a prophet buried somewhere in the Qaṭīʿah, and I’d rather be near a prophet than near my father.” He died on Sunday, the twenty-first of Jumādā II 290 [May 22, 903], and in the late afternoon was buried in the Straw Gate cemetery. His nephew Zuhayr prayed over him with a great crowd in attendance.

Menurut Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq, Saʿīd dilahirkan kira-kira lima puluh hari sebelum Aḥmad meninggal dunia.

According to Ḥanbal ibn Isḥāq, Saʿīd was born about fifty days before Aḥmad died.

Menurut yang lain, Saʿīd dilantik sebagai hakim di Kufah dan meninggal dunia pada tahun 303 [915–16]. 65.7

According to others, Saʿīd was appointed judge in Kufa and died in 303 [915– 16]. 65.7

[Pengarang:] Ini tidak betul. Saya memetik Abū Manṣūr al-Qazzāz, yang meriwayatkan bahawa beliau mendengar Aḥmad bin ʿAlī bin Thabit berkata bahawa Saʿīd bin Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal meriwayatkan hadis-hadis yang beliau dengar daripada Abū Mujālid Aḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Ḍarīr, dan Hakim Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin al-Qāsim al-Ashyab meriwayatkan hadis-hadis daripadanya. Saʿīd meninggal dunia jauh lebih awal daripada saudaranya ʿAbd Allāh.

[The author:] This is incorrect. I cite Abū Manṣūr al-Qazzāz, who reports hearing Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thabit say that Saʿīd ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal repeated reports he had heard from Abū Mujālid Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ḍarīr, and Judge Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn al-Qāsim al-Ashyab transmitted reports from him. Saʿīd died quite a long time before his brother ʿAbd Allāh.

Saya juga telah menyebutkan, dalam bab tentang para ulama yang memuji Aḥmad, bahawa Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī pernah mengunjungi ʿAbd Allāh untuk menyampaikan ucapan takziah atas kematian saudaranya, Saʿīd.

I have also mentioned, in the chapter on those learned men who praised Aḥmad, that Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī visited ʿAbd Allāh to express his condolences on the death of his brother Saʿīd.

Mengenai al-Ḥasan dan Muḥammad, kami tidak mempunyai sebarang maklumat sama sekali. Adapun Zaynab, kami telah meriwayatkan dalam bab tentang sikap berhati-hati Aḥmad, kisah di mana dia berkata kepada Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, "Ambil ayam ini dan jualkanlah! Ayahku memerlukan bekam tetapi dia tidak mempunyai wang." Maka berkata Isḥāq, "Aku pernah melihat Aḥmad memukul anak perempuannya dan memarahinya kerana bercakap bahasa Arab yang tidak betul."330 65.8

Regarding al-Ḥasan and Muḥammad we have no information at all. As for Zaynab, we have reported, in the chapter on Aḥmad’s scrupulosity, the story where she tells Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, “Take this chicken and sell it! My father needs a cupping but he has no money.” Said Isḥāq, “I saw Aḥmad beat his daughter and scold her for speaking bad Arabic.”330 65.8

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Saya masuk menemui Aḥmad dan mendapati seorang wanita sedang menyisir rambut salah seorang puterinya. 65.9

[Al-Marrūdhī:] I went in to see Aḥmad and found a woman there combing the hair of one of his daughters. 65.9