Kumbuka—Mwenyezi Mungu akuongoze kwenye njia iliyo sawa!—kwamba unapokabiliwa na uamuzi mgumu, njia pekee ya kutambua hatua sahihi ya kuchukua ni kuweka kando hisia zako za kibinafsi na upendeleo, na kutafuta ukweli kwa utaratibu, bila kumtegemea kupita kiasi majina na sifa za wahusika. Ukifanya hivyo, ukungu wa mashaka utatoweka. Lakini ukijiruhusu kupotoshwa na mielekeo yako, itakuwa vigumu kurudi tena kwenye njia iliyonyooka. 98.1

Recall—may God lead you aright!—that when faced with a difficult choice, the only way to discern the right course of action is to put personal feelings and partisanship aside and search systematically for the truth, without undue deference to the names and reputations of those involved. If you do this, the fog of perplexity will dissipate. If, on the other hand, you allow yourself to be led astray by your inclinations, it will be difficult to find your way back to the straight and narrow. 98.1

Zingatia, basi, kwamba baada ya kuchunguza msingi wa ushahidi wa Sheria na misingi ya fiqh, na kuchimbua wasifu wa wale waliotumia akili zao kwa niaba ya Sheria, nimeona kwamba mtu wetu huyu alikuwa mjuzi zaidi katika fani hizo. 98.2

Note, then, that after examining the evidentiary basis of the Law and the foundations of jurisprudence, and delving into the biographies of those who exercised their faculties on behalf of the Law, I find our man to have been the most knowledgeable in those fields. 98.2

Kwanza kabisa, alikuwa mwenye bidii katika kuhifadhi na kueneza Kitabu cha Mwenyezi Mungu. 98.3

To begin with, he was active in the preservation and transmission of the Book of God. 98.3

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Baba yangu Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal alinifundisha Qur'ani yote kwa hiari yake mwenyewe.530 98.4

[ʿAbd Allāh:] My father Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal taught me the entire Qurʾan by his own choice.530 98.4

Aḥmad mwenyewe alisoma matini pamoja na Yaḥyā ibn Ādam, ʿUbayd ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ, Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar, na wengineo—huku orodha ya wapokezi wao ikiachwa hapa. Alipokuwa akisoma, hakuruhusu matamshi ya herufi ʾalif kuwa karibu na sauti ya i, akitoa hoja kwa Hadith: “Qurʾani iliteremshwa kwa matamshi yaliyo karibu zaidi na u kuliko na i, basi isomeni hivyo.” Hakuunganisha herufi zilizo karibu kwa pamoja isipokuwa katika neno ittakhadhtum (“mmechukua”)531 na mengine kama hilo, kama alivyofanya Abū Bakr. Pia alirefusha sauti ndefu kwa kiasi cha wastani.532

Aḥmad himself read the text with Yaḥyā ibn Ādam, ʿUbayd ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ, Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar, and others—omitting here the list of their authorities. When reading, he would not let the pronunciation of a approximate that of i, citing the Hadith: “The Qurʾan was revealed with a pronounced closer to u than to i, so recite it that way.” He would not assimilate adjacent letters except in the word ittakhadhtum (“you have taken”)531 and the like, as did Abū Bakr. And he would extend long vowels to a moderate extent.532

Pia alikusanya pia kazi za elimu za Qur'ani, zikiwemo tafsiri, nasikh (kufuta hukumu), na mansukh na mambo kama hayo, kama tulivyoyaeleza katika sura kuhusu maandishi yake.

He also compiled works on the Qurʾanic sciences, including exegesis, abrogation, transposition, and the like, as we have noted in the chapter on his writings.

Kuhusu Hadith, kuna makubaliano ya jumla kwamba yeye alikuwa wa kipekee hata miongoni mwa wenzake mashuhuri, kwa wingi mkubwa wa Hadith alizokariri pamoja na uwezo wake wa kutofautisha zilizo sahihi na zenye shaka. Miongoni mwa wanazuoni wa zamani, Mālik alijua Hadith nyingi kuliko mtu yeyote aliyemtangulia. Ili kuona kwamba Aḥmad naye alimzidi Mālik, mtu anahitaji tu kulinganisha Musnad ya Aḥmad, yaani Al-Musnad ya Aḥmad, na Al-Muwaṭṭa' ya Mālik. 98.5

Turning to Hadith, there is universal agreement that he was unique even among his fellow exemplars in the sheer amount he memorized as well as his ability to distinguish the authentic from the dubious. Among earlier men of learning, Mālik knew more Hadith than anyone who came before him. To see that Aḥmad in turn outdid Mālik, one need only compare Aḥmad’s Authenticated Reports with Mālik’s Well-Trodden Path. 98.5

Iwapo angeulizwa, zaidi ya hayo, kuhusu sifa za wapokezi wa Hadith, Aḥmad angeweza kutaja fadhila zao na kasoro zao kutoka kumbukumbu yake kila alipoulizwa, kwa urahisi kama vile angeweza kusoma sura ya ufunguzi wa Qur'an. Yeyote anayeangalia Kasoro zilizokusanywa na Abū Bakr al-Khallāl ataona hili mara moja. Hakuna mmoja wa wenzake aliyeweza kumlingana katika jambo hili, wala hakuna aliyeweza kushindana naye katika umahiri wake wa hukumu za kisheria, fadhila za pekee, mambo ya makubaliano, na tofauti za maoni zilizohusishwa na Maswahaba wa Mtume ﷺ.

If asked, furthermore, about the reputations of Hadith transmitters, Aḥmad could list their virtues and defects from memory whenever he was asked as easily as he might recite the opening chapter of the Qurʾan. Anyone who looks at the Defects compiled by Abū Bakr al-Khallāl will see this immediately. None of his colleagues could match him in this respect, nor could any contest his mastery of the legal opinions, special virtues, points of agreement, and differences of opinion attributed to the Companions of the Prophet.

Kuhusu kujifunza lugha ya Kiarabu, Aḥmad mwenyewe alikuwa akisema, "Nimeandika Kiarabu zaidi ya Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī." 98.6

As for the study of the Arabic language, Aḥmad himself used to say, “I’ve written more Arabic than Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī.” 98.6

Kuhusu hukumu za masuala ya kisheria kwa msingi wa qiyās (kulinganisha), Aḥmad ana matukio mengi ya uwezo wa kukata hitimisho kwa mantiki ambayo hayawezi kutoshea hapa, lakini mifano kadhaa inaweza kupatikana katika sura kuhusu uwezo wake wa akili. 98.7

As for ruling on legal questions on the basis of analogy, Aḥmad has more feats of deductive reasoning to his credit than we have room for, but several examples may be found in the chapter on his powers of intellect. 98.7

Pamoja na elimu hizi zote za kitaaluma, alikuwa na nguvu ya tabia ya kuukataa ulimwengu na kujiwekea nidhamu kali ya kujizuia ambayo hakuna miongoni mwa wenzake aliyeweza kuifikia. Hakuna mwanachuoni mwingine anayeelezwa kuwa alikataa kwa msimamo mkali usiolegea zawadi alizopewa na marafiki zake, pamoja na malipo na manufaa yaliyotolewa na watawala.

In addition to all of these scholarly attainments, he had the force of character to renounce the world and impose on himself a scrupulousness that none of his fellows could match. No other scholar is described as declining with such unremitting severity the gifts offered by his friends as well as the emoluments dangled by the authorities.

Ningekuwa tayari kuhatarisha sifa zao, ningeweza kutoa mifano ya zawadi zilizokubaliwa na wanazuoni wengine wakubwa, na kueleza utayari wao wa kulegeza misimamo yao katika mambo kama hayo. Aḥmad, kinyume chake, aliacha hata mambo yaliyohalalishwa, kama kitabu hiki kimeonyesha kwa undani wa kutosha. 98.8

Were I willing to risk the danger to their reputations, I could cite examples of gifts accepted by the other major figures and describe their willingness to relax their standards in such cases. Aḥmad, conversely, renounced even permitted things, as this book has shown in more than sufficient detail. 98.8

Zaidi ya hayo yote, Aḥmad alijithibitisha kuwa na uwezo wa kuvumilia majaribu makubwa na ya kutisha katika kutumikia haki, jambo ambalo halikufikiwa na yeyote miongoni mwa wenzake.

In addition to all of the above, Aḥmad proved himself capable of suffering great and terrible ordeals in the service of truth, a feat unmatched among his comrades.

[Al-Shāfiʿī:] Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan aliniuliza ni nani aliyekuwa bora: kielelezo chake au kielelezo changu?533 Nilimuuliza kama alitaka kumpa kila mtu haki yake au alitaka tu mashindano ya kujisifu. Alijibu kwamba alitaka kulinganisha kwa haki. 98.9

[Al-Shāfiʿī:] Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan asked me who was better: his exemplar or mine?533 I asked him if he wanted to give each man his due or merely have a boasting match. He replied that he wanted a fair comparison. 98.9

"Katika hali hiyo," nilisema, "niambie mtu wenu anafaulu wapi." "Katika Kitabu, ijmaa, sunnah, na qiyās." "Sasa sema ukweli, huku Mungu akiwa shahidi wako! Ni nani anayelijua Kitabu cha Mungu vizuri zaidi: mtu wetu au wenu?" "Kwa kuwa niko chini ya kiapo, basi ni mtu wenu." "Vipi kuhusu sunnah ya Nabii ﷺ?" "Tena mtu wenu." "Na maoni ya Maswahaba?" "Tena mtu wenu." "Basi umebaki na nini isipokuwa qiyās?" "Hakuna." "Na hata hapo, sisi tuna haki zaidi ya kutumia qiyās kuliko ninyi. Tofauti ni kwamba sisi tunatoa qiyās kwa msingi wa maandiko yaliyofunuliwa, ili hoja yake iwe wazi." Ulinganisho hapa ni baina ya Abū Ḥanīfah na Mālik ibn Anas.

“In that case,” I said, “tell me where your man excels.” “In the Book, consensus, sunnah, and analogy.” “Tell the truth now, with God as your witness! Who knows the Book of God better: our man or yours?” “Well, if I’m under oath, then it’s your man.” “What about the sunnah of the Prophet?” “Your man again.” “And the opinions of the Companions?” “Your man again.” “So what have you got left besides analogy?” “Nothing.” “And even there, we have better claim to using analogy than you. The difference is that we draw analogies on the basis of revealed texts so that the reasoning is clear.” The comparison here is between Abū Ḥanīfah and Mālik ibn Anas.

Kwa kuripoti mazungumzo haya, al-Shāfiʿī anatuokoa usumbufu wa kujadiliana na wafuasi wa Abū Ḥanīfah. Ubora wa Aḥmad juu ya Mālik unakubaliwa, kwa kuwa Aḥmad alijifunza kila kitu alichokijua Mālik kisha akaongeza juu yake, kama inavyothibitishwa na ulinganisho wowote wa Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ na Al-Musnad ya Hadithi zilizothibitishwa. Al-Shāfiʿī, kwa upande wake, alikuwa mjuzi wa fani mbalimbali za elimu, lakini alikubali ubingwa wa Aḥmad katika kupokea Hadithi; na Hadithi ndiyo kitovu ambacho mjadala wa kisheria hugeuka. 98.10

By reporting this exchange, al-Shāfiʿī saves us the trouble of debating with the partisans of Abū Ḥanīfah. Aḥmad’s superiority to Mālik is acknowledged, Aḥmad having learned everything Mālik knew and then added to it, as attested by any comparison of the Well-Trodden Path and the Authenticated Reports. Al-Shāfiʿī, for his part, was well versed in the various fields of learning but conceded Hadith transmission to Aḥmad; and Hadith is the pivot upon which legal reasoning turns. 98.10

[Aḥmad:] Al-Shāfiʿī aliniambia, "Wewe unajua Hadith kuliko mimi. Kila Hadith itakapothibitika kuwa sahihi, nijulishe ili niikubali."98.11

[Aḥmad:] Al-Shāfiʿī told me, “You know Hadith better than I do. Whenever a Hadith turns out to be sound, let me know so I can adopt it.” 98.11

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Nilimsikia baba yangu akisema, "Al-Shāfiʿī aliwahi kuniambia, 'Aḥmad, kila simulizi kuhusu Mjumbe wa Mwenyezi Mungu ﷺ inapothibitika kuwa sahihi, nijulishe ili niitumie.'" 98.12

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard my father say, “Al-Shāfiʿī once said to me, ‘Aḥmad, whenever a report about the Emissary of God proves to be sound, let me know so I can use it.’” 98.12

[ʿAbd Allāh:] Nilimsikia baba yangu akisema, "Muḥammad bin Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī aliwahi kuniambia, 'Aḥmad, wewe unajua vizuri kuliko mimi ni hadithi zipi ni sahihi. Kila unapopata iliyo sahihi, iwe kutoka Kufa, Basra, au Syria, nijulishe ili niikubali.'" 98.13

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard my father say, “Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī once said to me, ‘Aḥmad, you know better than I which reports are sound. Whenever you find a sound one, whether from Kufa, Basra, or Syria, let me know so I can adopt it.’” 98.13

Kila mahali katika kitabu chake ambapo al-Shāfiʿī anasema, "Ninanukuu chanzo kinachoaminika" au "Nilimsikia chanzo kinachoaminika kikisimulia," anamaanisha baba yangu.

Whenever in his book al-Shāfiʿī says, “I cite a trustworthy source” or “I heard a trustworthy source report,” he means my father.

Hii ndiyo sababu kitabu ambacho al-Shāfiʿī alikiandika Baghdad kina hoja zilizopangwa vizuri zaidi kuliko kile alichoandika Misri. Alipokuwepo hapa, alikuwa akimuuliza baba yangu, ambaye alikuwa akimrekebisha; lakini Misri hakukuwa na mtu wa kumkamata pale alipotumia hadithi dhaifu. Nilimsikia baba yangu akisema, "al-Shāfiʿī alijifunza mengi kutoka kwangu kuliko nilivyojifunza kutoka kwake." [Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh:] Nilimsikia baba yangu akisema, "al-Shāfiʿī hakuwahi kukutana na mtu kama Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal." 98.14

This is why the book al-Shāfiʿī wrote in Baghdad is better argued than the one he wrote in Egypt.534 When he was here, he would ask my father, who would correct him; but in Egypt there was no one to catch him when he used a weak report. I heard my father say, “Al-Shāfiʿī learned more from me than I did from him.” [Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh:] I heard my father say, “Al-Shāfiʿī never met anyone like Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” 98.14

[Aḥmad ibn Kāmil:] Baadhi ya wenzake Aḥmad waliniambia kwamba alikuwa akisema, "Al-Shāfiʿī alijifunza zaidi kutoka kwetu kuliko sisi tulivyojifunza kutoka kwake." 98.15

[Aḥmad ibn Kāmil:] Several of Aḥmad’s associates told me that he used to say, “Al-Shāfiʿī learned more from us than we did from him.” 98.15

[Abū Ḥātim:] Ningependa kumtanguliza Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal mbele ya al-Shāfiʿī. Kwa kuwa al-Shāfiʿī alikuwa mwanafiqhi na si mtaalamu wa Hadith, alijifunza Hadith kutoka kwa Aḥmad. Mara nyingi alimwuliza, “Je, hii riwaya ni thabiti? Je, watu wanaijua?” Aḥmad akisema kuwa ni thabiti, alii chukua na kuijengea hukumu zake. 98.16

[Abū Ḥātim:] I’d give Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal precedence over al-Shāfiʿī. Being a jurist and not a Hadith expert, al-Shāfiʿī learned about Hadith from Aḥmad. He would often ask him, “Is this report strong? Do people know it?” If Aḥmad said it was, he would take it and build on it. 98.16

[Al-Athram:] Mara moja tulipokuwa katika halaqa ya al-Buwayṭī, alitusomea, akimnukuu al-Shāfiʿī, kwamba tayammum inajumuisha mapigo mawili.535 Lakini nilipoisoma Hadith ambayo ʿAmmār anamnukuu Mtume ﷺ akisema, "Tayammum inajumuisha pigo moja,"536 alifuta "mapigo mawili" kwenye kitabu chake na kubadilisha kuwa "pigo moja," kama katika riwaya ya ʿAmmār. 98.17

[Al-Athram:] Once when we were in al-Buwayṭī’s circle, he read to us, citing al- Shāfiʿī, that ablution with sand consists of two passes.535 But when I recited the Hadith where ʿAmmār quotes the Prophet as saying, “Ablution with sand consists of one pass,”536 he rubbed “two passes” out of his book and changed it to “one pass,” as in the report of ʿAmmār. 98.17

Pia alisema, "Kila utakapokuta hadithi sahihi kutoka kwa Mtume, ipendelee kuliko chochote ambacho huenda nilisema. Ikubali Hadithi hiyo na uitumie kana kwamba imetoka kwangu." [Al-Būshanjī:] Ninamwona Aḥmad kuwa na elimu zaidi na busara zaidi kuliko Sufyān al-Thawrī. Baada ya yote, Sufyān hakuwahi kupitia mateso ya kutisha kama yale ambayo Aḥmad aliyapitia. Pia, Sufyān na wanazuoni wengine wa eneo lake la wakati ule hawawezi kuwa walijua kama Aḥmad alivyojua, kwani Aḥmad alijua kila kitu ambacho wote wao walijua pamoja. Alikuwa pia na ufahamu wa wazi zaidi wa nani kati yao alisimulia kwa usahihi na nani alifanya makosa, bila kusahau ni nani aliyekuwa mkweli na nani aliyesema uongo. 98.18

He also said, “Whenever you find a reliable account of the Prophet, prefer it to whatever I might have said. Adopt the Hadith and use it as if it had come from me.” [Al-Būshanjī:] I think of Aḥmad as more learned and more insightful than Sufyān al-Thawrī. After all, Sufyān never had to suffer an ordeal as terrible as the one Aḥmad went through. Also, Sufyān and the other local scholars of his time cannot have known as much as Aḥmad did, since Aḥmad knew what all of them knew put together. He also had a clearer sense of which of them transmitted accurately and which ones made mistakes, not to mention which were honest and which ones lied. 98.18

[Mwandishi:] Yaliyotangulia yanapaswa kutoa picha wazi ya ubora wa kielimu ambao umewashawishi wengi kujiunga na mapokeo ya tafsiri ya Aḥmad. Wale kati ya wanafunzi wake wanaojitahidi kujua Sharia hawamwigi tu. Badala yake, wanatenda kulingana na maana iliyojificha katika hukumu zake. Katika kufanya hivyo, wanaweza kupendelea riwaya moja ya maoni yake kuliko nyingine, na hata kuchagua msimamo ambao haukuwahi kupitishwa na wanasheria wa awali wa madhehebu hiyo, mradi unaendana na maana iliyojificha katika hukumu zake. Msimamo huo unaweza kuhusishwa na madhehebu ya Aḥmad kwa maana tu kwamba unaendana na roho ya jumla ya kauli zake. 98.19

[The author:] The foregoing should give a clear idea of the scholarly preeminence that has persuaded so many to join Aḥmad’s interpretive tradition. Those of his associates who strive to know the Law do not merely imitate him. Rather, they act in accordance with the implication of his rulings. In doing so, they may favor one report of his view over another, and even choose a position that was never adopted by the original jurists of the school so long as it is consistent with the implication of his rulings. The position may thus be attributed to Aḥmad’s school only in the sense that it conforms to the general spirit of his statements. 98.19

Je, ikiwa wafuasi wa Abū Ḥanifah wanajivunia kwamba kiongozi wao alikutana na baadhi ya Maswahaba? 98.20

What if partisans of Abū Ḥanifah boast that their exemplar knew some of the Companions? 98.20

Jibu la kwanza ni kumnukuu al-Dāraquṭnī, aliyesema, "Abū Ḥanīfah hakukutana na mmoja wa Maswahaba," na Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb, aliyesema, "Alimwona Anas ibn Mālik." Jibu la pili ni kusema kwamba, kwa hoja hiyo, wangepaswa kuwapa Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab na wengine waliokutana na Maswahaba nafasi ya juu zaidi kuliko Abū Ḥanīfah.537

There are two rebuttals. The first is to cite al-Dāraquṭnī, who said, “Abū Ḥanīfah never met any of the Companions”; and Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb, who said, “He saw Anas ibn Mālik.” The second is to say that by that reasoning they should grant Saʿīd ibn al- Musayyab and others who did meet the Companions precedence over Abū Ḥanīfah.537

Je, itakuwaje ikiwa wafuasi wa Mālik wanajivunia kwamba kiongozi wao alikutana na Maswahaba wa Tabi'īn?98.21

What if partisans of Mālik boast that their exemplar knew the Successors? 98.21

Dai hii inabatilishwa kwa kurejelea Tabi'in ambao alikutana nao. Tabi'in hao walikuwa wamewajua Maswahaba, lakini bado walimpa Mālik nafasi ya kwanza kuliko wao.538

This claim is invalidated by reference to the Successors whom he met. Those Successors had known the Companions, and yet gave Mālik precedence over them.538

Wakisema, "Mālik ndiye hazina ya elimu ya Madina," basi kubali hoja hiyo, kisha sema kwamba kielelezo chetu Aḥmad alipata kila kitu alichokijua Mālik na akakiongeza juu yake.

If they say, “Mālik is the repository of the knowledge of Medina,” then concede the point, but then say that our exemplar Aḥmad acquired everything Mālik knew and added to it.

Je, itakuwaje ikiwa wafuasi wa al-Shāfiʿī wanajivunia kwamba nasabu yake inakaribiana na ya Mtume, aliyesema: {Watangulizeni Quraysh wala msiwatangulie; jifunzeni kutoka kwao wala msijaribu kuwafundisha} ﷺ 98.22

What if partisans of al-Shāfiʿī boast that his lineage strikes close to that of the Prophet, who said, “Put Quraysh first and do not step out ahead of them; learn from them and do not presume to teach them”? 98.22

Tunajibu kwa kusema kwamba undugu hauhitaji kwamba apewe kipaumbele juu ya wengine katika elimu. Miongoni mwa Tabi'in, karibu wanazuoni wote mashuhuri walikuwa wasio Waarabu, ambao walikuwa washirika wa kabila mbalimbali. Miongoni mwao ni al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Ibn Sīrīn, 'Aṭā', Ṭāwūs, 'Ikrimah, Makḥūl, na wengine. Kwa sababu ya elimu yao kubwa, walionekana kuwapita wale wa zama zao ambao heshima yao ilitegemea nasaba pekee.