[Al-Ḥarbī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal alikuwa akikubali mialiko ya ndoa, harusi, na tohara, na kula alichopewa. 53.1

[Al-Ḥarbī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal would accept invitations to marriages, weddings, and circumcisions, and eat what was served. 53.1

[Al-Daʿʿāʾ:] Mtu mmoja alimwalika Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal kwenye tukio fulani, naye Aḥmad akakubali. Baadaye, alijaribu kujiondoa, lakini mtu yule hakukubali kusikia hapana.

[Al-Daʿʿāʾ:] A man once invited Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal to an event and Aḥmad accepted. Later, he tried to back out of it, but the man wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Kwenye hafla hiyo, yule mwanaume alienda akamketisha Aḥmad karibu na mtu ambaye hakutaka kukaa naye. "Ibn Sīrīn, Mungu amrehemu, alikuwa sahihi," alisema Aḥmad. "Alisema, 'Usijaribu kumheshimu ndugu yako kwa kufanya jambo litakalomsababishia taabu.' Hicho ndicho ndugu yangu huyu alichonifanyia mimi." 53.2

At the event the man went and seated Aḥmad next to someone he did not want to sit with. “Ibn Sīrīn, God bless him, had it right,” said Aḥmad. “He said, ‘Never try to honor your brother by doing something that will cause him hardship.’ That’s what this brother of mine has done to me.” 53.2

[Ṣāliḥ:] Kulikuwa na mtu aliyeitwa Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥakam al-ʿAṭṭār ambaye alikuwa akihudhuria halaqa ya ʿAffān. Ilipofika wakati wa yeye kumtahiri mmoja wa wanawe, aliwaalika Yaḥyā, Abū Khaythamah, na baadhi ya wanaume wengine wa Hadith, akiwemo baba yangu. Wengine walitangulia, na baba yangu pamoja nami tukaja baada yao. Tulipofika, tuliketishwa katika chumba pamoja na wanaume wengine kadhaa wa Hadith. Wakati fulani mmoja wao alisema, "Aḥmad, hapa kuna kitu kilichotengenezwa kwa fedha." Baba yangu aligeuka na kuona kiti. Hivyo akasimama na kuondoka, na kila aliyekuwa katika chumba pamoja naye akamfuata nje. 53.3

[Ṣāliḥ:] There was man called Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥakam al-ʿAṭṭār who used to frequent the circle of ʿAffān. When it came time for him to circumcise one of his sons, he invited Yaḥyā, Abū Khaythamah, and a number of other Hadith-men, including my father. The others went ahead and my father and I came along after them. When we arrived, we were given a seat in a room with several other Hadith-men. At some point one of them said, “Aḥmad, there’s something made of silver here.” My father turned and saw a chair.286 So he got up and left, and everyone who was in the room with him followed him out. 53.3

Baada ya kusikia haya, mwenyeji, al-ʿAṭṭār, alikimbia nje na kumfikia, akiapa kwamba hakuwa ameleta kitu hicho ndani wala hakujua kama kilikuwepo, na akamwomba baba yangu arudi. Baba yangu alikataa. ʿAffān alipofika, al-ʿAṭṭār alimwomba azungumze na baba yangu na kumshawishi arudi. ʿAffān alizungumza naye lakini haikusaidia, na al-ʿAṭṭār alisikitika sana.

Hearing of this, the host, al-ʿAṭṭār, rushed out and caught up with him, swearing that he hadn’t brought the item in and didn’t know it was there, and asking my father to come back. My father refused. When ʿAffān came along, al-ʿAṭṭār asked him to speak with my father and persuade him to return. ʿAffān spoke with him but it did no good, and al-ʿAṭṭār was devastated.

[Al-Sawwāq:] Tulikuwa kwenye karamu katika Lango la Wafanyakazi wa Lami287 wakati Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal alipofika. Mara tu alipoingia nyumbani, aliona kiti chenye mapambo ya fedha, akatoka tena. Mwenye nyumba alimfuata nje, lakini Aḥmad alimpungia mkono akamwacha, akisema, “Mapambo ya Wamajusi! Mapambo ya Wamajusi!” 53.4

[Al-Sawwāq:] We were at the banquet at the Pitch-Worker’s Gate287 when Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal arrived. As soon as he set foot in the house, he saw a chair with silver ornamentation, and went out again. The host came out after him, but Aḥmad waved him away and left, saying, “Magian finery! Magian finery!” 53.4