[Ṣāliḥ:] Baba yangu hakuwahi kumruhusu mtu yeyote mwingine kuteka maji kwa ajili ya wudhuʾ wake.

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father would never let anyone else draw the water for his ablutions.

Kila ndoo ilipojaa ikipanda juu, alisema, "Himdi ni za Mungu!" 58.1

Whenever the bucket came up full, he would say, “Praise God!” 58.1

Nilimuuliza sababu ilikuwa nini.

I asked him what the reason was.

"Mwanangu," alijibu, "hujasikia alichosema Mungu? {Sema: 'Je, mmeona ikiwa maji yenu yatashuka ardhini, basi ni nani atakayekuleteeni maji yanayotiririka?'}"298

“Son,” he replied, “haven’t you heard what God says? «Say, ‘Have you considered if your water were to sink into the ground, who could then bring you flowing water?’»”298

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Baba yangu alikuwa akiswali rakaa mia tatu kila baada ya saa ishirini na nne. Baada ya kupigwa bakora, hakuweza tena kuzitimiza nyingi hivyo, kwa hiyo alianza kuswali rakaa 150 tu. Wakati huo alikuwa karibu na miaka themanini. Kila siku alikuwa akisoma sehemu ya saba ya Qur'an, na kuimaliza yote ndani ya wiki moja; hivyo kila baada ya usiku saba alikuwa amekamilisha usomaji mzima wa Qur'an, pamoja na swala za faradhi alizokuwa amezitekeleza mchana. Alipomaliza swala ya usiku alikuwa akilala usingizi kidogo, kisha akaswali hadi asubuhi. 58.2

[ʿAbd Allāh:] My father used to pray three hundred cycles every twenty-four hours. After he was flogged he could no longer manage so many, so he started doing only 150. At that time he was nearly eighty. Every day he’d read a seventh of the Qurʾan, finishing it all in a week, and so every seven nights he’d have completed a full reading of the Qurʾan in addition to the ritual prayers he’d performed during the daytime. When he’d finish the evening prayer he’d take a nap then pray until morning. 58.2

[Ibn al-Shāfiʿī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal aliniambia mara moja, "Baba yako ni mmoja wa watu sita ninaowaombea kabla ya alfajiri."299 58.3

[Ibn al-Shāfiʿī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once told me, “Your father is one of the six people I pray for just before dawn.”299 58.3

[Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal aliwahi kuniuliza kuhusu wazee wa Rey.

[Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once asked me about the elders of Rey.

"Abū Zurʿah yuko vipi, Mwenyezi Mungu amlinde?" 58.4

“How is Abū Zurʿah, may God protect him?” 58.4

"Yuko salama," nilisema.

“He’s well,” I said.

Alisema: "Kuna watu watano ninaowaombea dua mwishoni mwa kila sala." Aliniambia ni akina nani: wazazi wake, al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Zurʿah, na mmoja mwingine ambaye jina lake nimelisahau.

He said: “There are five people I pray for at the end of every prayer.” He told me who they were: his parents, al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Zurʿah, and one more whose name I’ve forgotten.

[Hilāl ibn al-ʿAlāʾ:] Al-Shāfiʿī, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, na Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal walienda Makka. Mara walipofika mahali walipokuwa wakikaa, al-Shāfiʿī alilala kupumzika, na Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn vilevile. Aḥmad, kwa upande mwingine, alibaki macho akisali. 58.5

[Hilāl ibn al-ʿAlāʾ:] Al-Shāfiʿī, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal went to Mecca. As soon as they reached the place where they were staying, al-Shāfiʿī lay down to rest and so did Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn. Aḥmad, on the other hand, stayed up to pray. 58.5

Asubuhi iliyofuata al-Shāfiʿī alisema, "Nimetatua matatizo mia moja ya kisheria kwa ajili yetu Waislamu." "Umefanya nini?" wakamuuliza Yaḥyā.

The next morning al-Shāfiʿī said, “I’ve worked out a hundred legal problems for us Muslims.” “What did you do?” they asked Yaḥyā.

“Nimekanusha uongo mia moja uliosemwa juu ya Nabii ﷺ.” “Je, wewe vipi?” wakamuuliza Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

“I’ve refuted a hundred lies told of the Prophet.” “What about you?” they asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

"Nilisali rakaa mbili na nikasoma Qur'ani yote."300

“I prayed two cycles and recited the entire Qurʾan.”300

[Ibn Abī Hāshim:] Nilimsikia Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal akisema, "Nimesoma Qur'ani yote kwa siku moja na kuhesabu mara ngapi neno 'subira' linatokea. Ni zaidi ya tisini."301 58.6

[Ibn Abī Hāshim:] I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, “I’ve read through the whole Qurʾan in a day and counted how many times the word ‘fortitude’ comes up. It’s over ninety.”301 58.6

[Ṣāliḥ:] Baba yangu alikuwa na kofia aliyoishona mwenyewe, iliyotiwa pamba ndani. Alipokesha usiku kuswali, alikuwa akiivaa. Mara nyingi nilimsikia akisoma Sura ya Al-Kahf.302 58.7

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father had a cap he had sewed himself, lined with cotton. When he stayed up at night to pray he would wear it. I often used to hear him reciting the Chapter of the Cave.302 58.7

[Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAbd Allāh:] Aḥmad alipokuwa akikimbia mamlaka, alijificha nyumbani kwa Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ. Nilimsikia Ibrāhīm akisimulia kwamba hajawahi kumwona mtu yeyote akijinyima kiasi hicho, akisali kwa bidii hivyo, au akijisukuma kwa juhudi kama Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. 58.8

[Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAbd Allāh:] When Aḥmad was on the run from the authorities, he hid in the house of Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ. I heard Ibrāhīm report that he never saw anyone deny himself so much, pray as earnestly, or push himself as hard as Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. 58.8

"Alifunga swaumu mchana kutwa," alisimulia, "kisha alikula chakula kidogo kwa haraka. Baada ya sala ya magharibi alisali rakaa zaidi kisha alilala usingizi mfupi. Kisha alitawadha na kusali mfululizo hadi alfajiri. Alfajiri alisali rakaa moja ya witri. Huo ndio ulikuwa utaratibu wake wote alipokaa kwangu. Hakuwahi kuacha hata usiku mmoja. Sikuweza kwenda sawa naye. Sikuwahi kumuona akifungua swaumu yake, isipokuwa siku moja alipojitoa damu kwa kikombe cha kupiga kisha akala kitu." [Ibrāhīm ibn Shammās:] Nilimjua Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal alipokuwa mvulana. Hata wakati ule alikuwa akikesha usiku akisali. 58.9

“He would fast all day,” he recalled, “and then have a quick meal. After evening prayer he would do more cycles then take a nap. Then he would perform his ablutions and pray straight through until dawn. At dawn he’d pray a single witr cycle. That was his routine the whole time he stayed with me. He never let up for a single night. I couldn’t keep up with him. I never saw him break his fast, except one day when he had himself cupped and then ate something.” [Ibrāhīm ibn Shammās:] I knew Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal when he was a boy. Even then he’d stay up at night praying. 58.9

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Baada ya baba yangu kuzeeka, alijilazimisha kusoma Qurani mara nyingi zaidi na kwa kuendelea zaidi, na kuswali mara nyingi zaidi kati ya swala ya adhuhuri na swala ya alasiri. Kila nilipoingia chumbani kwake, alisimama kuswali. Wakati mwingine alizungumza nami, na wakati mwingine alikaa kimya. Akiwa kimya, nilimwacha na yeye akarudi kwenye swala zake. Alipokuwa amejificha, nakumbuka nikimwona akitumia muda mwingi kusoma Qurani. 58.10

[ʿAbd Allāh:] After my father grew old, he pushed himself to read the Qurʾan more and more often and to pray more frequently between the noon and late afternoon prayers. Whenever I went into his room he would stop praying. Sometimes he would talk to me and sometimes he would sit quietly. If he was quiet, I’d leave him and he’d go back to his prayers. When he was in hiding, I remember seeing him spend most of the time reading the Qurʾan. 58.10

[Al-ʿIjlī:] Mara ya mwisho nilipomwona Aḥmad, alitoka na kuketi nami katika chumba kidogo cha kusubiria. 58.11

[Al-ʿIjlī:] The last time I saw Aḥmad, he came out and sat with me in an anteroom. 58.11

Nilisema, "Nakumbuka kulikuwa na maswali fulani ya kisheria uliyokuwa ukiyafikiria. Je, umefikia majibu yoyote?" "Huu ndio wakati wa kuharakisha," alisema, "kuishi kwa mujibu wa sheria." Aliendelea katika mtindo huo hadi tulipoinuka kuondoka.

I said, “I remember there were some law questions you were thinking about. Have you reached any answers?” “This is the time to make haste,” he said, “to live by the law.” He continued in that vein until we rose to go.

[Al-Mu'addib:] Niliona Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith akiswali rakaa nne baada ya swala ya Ijumaa bila kuzigawanya kwa kutoa salamu baada ya rakaa mbili za kwanza. Lakini niliona Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal akiswali rakaa sita baada ya swala ya Ijumaa na kutoa salamu baada ya kila rakaa mbili.303 58.12

[Al-Muʾaddib:] I saw Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith pray four cycles after the Friday prayer without breaking them up by doing the salutation after the first two. But I saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal pray six cycles after the Friday prayer and do the salutation after every two.303 58.12

[Abū Bakr ibn ʿAnbar:] Siku moja ya Ijumaa nilimfuata Ibn Ḥanbal hadi msikiti wa al-Manṣūr. Alisimama karibu na Kuba ya Washairi, akaanza kuswali sala za nafila mbili mbili. Ombaomba mmoja alikuja akasimama mbele yake, na Aḥmad akamwashiria kwa hasira aondoke. Kisha ombaomba huyo alijaribu kupita mbele yake, nasi tukakimbilia na kumvuta pembeni.304 58.13

[Abū Bakr ibn ʿAnbar:] One Friday I followed Ibn Ḥanbal to the mosque of al- Manṣūr. He stood by the Poets’ Cupola and started praying supererogatory prayers two cycles at a time. A beggar came and stood in front of him, and Aḥmad gestured at him angrily to go away. Then the beggar tried to pass in front of him, and we rushed over and pulled him aside.304 58.13

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Abū Zurʿah alipofika Baghdad, alikaa kwa baba yangu. Alimfanya awe na shughuli nyingi sana ya kulinganisha riwaya na wapokezi wake305 hata baba yangu akasema siku moja: "Leo sijaswali chochote isipokuwa swala za faradhi. Nimeacha mazungumzo haya ya kulinganisha na Abū Zurʿah yachukue nafasi ya mengine yote."306 58.14

[ʿAbd Allāh:] When Abū Zurʿah came to Baghdad, he stayed with my father. He kept him so busy comparing reports and their transmissions305 that my father said at one point, “Today all I’ve prayed is the ritual prayers. I’ve let all this comparing with Abū Zurʿah take the place of the rest.”306 58.14

Ibn Hāniʾ: Nilimwendea Aḥmad hadi msikiti wa Ijumaa, nikamsikia akisoma Sura ya Al-Kahf.15

[Ibn Hāniʾ:] I went with Aḥmad to the Friday mosque and overheard him reading the Chapter of the Cave.307 58.15