Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Alloh unidan rozi bo'lsin, salaflarning odatlariga ergashishga intilgan edi, hatto — al-Husayn ibn al-Munodiy orqali bizga yetib kelganidek — ularga taqlid qilish uchun xotinidan kanizak olishga ruxsat so'ragan. Xotinining roziligi bilan u arzon narxga bir ayolni sotib oldi va Payg'ambar ﷺ o'rnak qilgan yo'lni tutib, uni Rayhona deb atadi. 21.1

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, God be pleased with him, strove to emulate the practices of the early Muslims to the point that—as we learned from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Munādī—he asked his wife’s permission to have a concubine in emulation of them. With his wife’s consent, he bought a woman for a trifling price and named her Rayḥānah, following the example set by the Prophet, God bless and keep him. 21.1

[Al-Baghdādī:] Kimdir Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbalga salom berib: “Islomda uzoq umr ko‘ring!” deb duo qildi. 21.2

[Al-Baghdādī:] Someone once greeted Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal by saying, “May you live long in Islam!” 21.2

“Va sunnatda ham”, deb javob berdi u.

“And in the sunnah,” he replied.

[Al-Maymūnī:] Men hech kimni Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbaldan ko‘ra fazilatliroq ko‘rmaganman, va keyingi davr musulmonlaridan hech kim Xudoning hukmini buzishdan ko‘proq saqlanmagan yoki Payg‘ambarning sunnatiga ko‘proq sadoqatli bo‘lmagan, Xudo uni duo qilsin va saqlasin. Agar biror rivoyat ishonchli deb isbotlangan bo‘lsa, hech kim unga amal qilishda undan qat’iyroq bo‘lmagan. 21.3

[Al-Maymūnī:] Never have I laid eyes on anyone with more merit than Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, nor any latter-day Muslim146 more wary of transgressing God’s law, or more devoted to the sunnah of the Prophet, God bless and keep him. If a report proved reliable, no one was more rigorous than he in living by it. 21.3

[Al-Athram:] Ahmad ibn Hanbal ning shunday deganini eshitdim: "Bu faqat sunnatni bilish va unga ergashishdir. Qiyos faqat boshlang'ich nuqtasi bo'lgandagina o'rinli. Lekin siz boshlang'ich nuqtaga yetib, uni buzib tashlab, so'ng buni 'qiyos' deb atay olmaysiz. Nimaga asoslangan qiyos?" 21.4

[Al-Athram:] I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, “It’s nothing more than knowing the sunnah and following it. Reasoning by analogy works only if you have a place to start from. But you can’t work your way to the starting point, demolish it, and then call what you’ve done ‘reasoning by analogy.’ Analogy based on what?” 21.4

Kimdir bir kishi Aḥmadga shunday degan edi: “Hech kim, juda ilmli bo‘lib, narsalarni to‘g‘ri qiyoslashni bilmasa, qiyos orqali fikr yuritishga urinmasin.” U javob berdi: “To‘g‘ri.”

Someone once said to Aḥmad: “No one should attempt to reason by analogy unless he’s very learned and knows how to compare things properly.” “Right,” he replied.

Mening tajribamga ko'ra, huquqiy masalalarni hal qilishda Ahmad, agar mavjud bo'lsa, Payg'ambar ﷺ ga nisbat berilgan hadis rivoyatlariga amal qilar, sahobalar yoki keyingi avlod vakillariga nisbat berilgan turli-tuman fikrlarni esa e'tiborsiz qoldirar edi. Agar sahobalar o'rtasida ixtilof bo'lsa, u ularning fikrlaridan birini tanlar, keyingi davr fikrlariga murojaat qilmas edi. Agar Payg'ambar ﷺ ning hadisi ham, sahobalarning rivoyatlari ham bo'lmasa, u tobi'inlarga murojaat qilar edi. Ba'zan Payg'ambar ﷺ ning hadisini naql qilishda muammo bo'lsa ham, unga qarshi kuchliroq rivoyat mavjud bo'lmagan taqdirda, u rivoyatni qabul qilar edi. Masalan, bu holat 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb va Ibrohim al-Hajariy rivoyat qilgan hadis bilan bog'liq edi. Ba'zan esa, agar unga zid keladigan hech narsa bo'lmasa, u sahoba darajasida bo'g'in tushib qolgan rivoyatni ham keltirar edi. 21.5

In dealing with legal problems, Aḥmad, in my experience, would follow Hadith reports citing the Prophet, if there were any, and ignore divergent opinions attributed to the Companions or members of later generations. If the Companions had disagreed among themselves, he would choose among their opinions; he would not consult later opinions. If there was no Prophetic Hadith and no Companion reports to draw on, he would go to the Successors. Sometimes there would be a problem with the transmission of a Prophetic Hadith, but he would accept the report so long as no stronger contrary report existed. This was the case, for example, with the Hadith narrated by ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb and Ibrāhīm al-Hajarī. Sometimes he would cite a report with a link missing at the Companion level if there was nothing to contradict it. 21.5

[Muhammad ibn Dovud:] Abu Bakr al-Marrudhiy bizga aytdi: "Men Ahmad ibn Hanbal bilan masjidga bordim. Biz kirganimizdan keyin u namoz o'qish uchun turdi va men uning qo'lini yengidan chiqarib, mana bunday qilganini ko'rdim." Bu yerda al-Marrudhiy ikki barmog'ini silkitib ishora qildi. "Namoz tugagach, men undan namoz paytida nega barmoqlari bilan ishora qilganini so'radim. U shunday dedi: 'Shayton oldimga kelib, oyoqlarimni yuvmaganimni aytdi, men unga qarshi ikki guvohim borligini ko'rsatayotgan edim.'" 21.6

[Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd:] Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī told us, “I once went to the mosque with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. After we went in he got up to pray, and I saw him extend his hand out of his sleeve and go like this.” Here al-Marrūdhī made a gesture by waving two fingers. “When the prayer was over, I asked him why he had gestured with his fingers while praying. He said, ‘Satan came to me and said that I hadn’t washed my feet, and I was showing him that I had two witnesses to the contrary.’” 21.6

[Al-Maymūnī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal bir marta menga dedi: “Abul-Hasan! Hech qachon dalil keltirishga tayanmagan holda biror masala haqida gapirma.” 21.7

[Al-Maymūnī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal once said to me, “Abū l-Ḥasan! Make sure never to speak on a question unless you have an exemplar to cite.” 21.7

[ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the physician:] Ahmad ibn Hanbal va Bishr ibn al-Horis ikkalasi ham kasal bo‘lib qolishdi. Men Bishrning oldiga borganimda, uning ahvolini so‘rardim, u esa Xudoga hamd aytib, so‘ng: “Alhamdulillah! Men shunday-shunday his qilyapman”, deb javob berardi. Lekin Ahmad ibn Hanbalning oldiga borib, uning ahvolini so‘raganimda, u: “Yaxshiman”, deb javob berardi. 21.8

[ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the physician:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith both fell ill. Whenever I went to see Bishr, I would ask how he was feeling, and he would praise God and then tell me, saying “Praise God! I feel such-and-such.” But whenever I went to see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and ask him how he was feeling, he would say “Fine.” 21.8

Bir kuni men Aḥmadga dedim: “Akangiz Bishr ham kasal, va men unga qanday ahvolda ekanini so‘raganimda, u avval Allohni maqtashdan boshlaydi.” U dedi: “Buni kimdan olganini unga so‘ra.” “Men undan buni so‘rashdan qo‘rqaman.” “Unga ayt: uning ukasi Abū ʿAbd Allāh bilmoqchi.” Keyingi safar Bishrni ko‘rganimda, Aḥmad aytgan gapni unga aytdim. U javob berdi: “Aḥmad rivoyat silsilasisiz hech narsani qabul qilmaydi! Bu Abū ʿAvn Ibn Sīrīndan naql qilgan gap: ‘Agar shikoyat qilishdan oldin Allohni maqtasang, u shikoyat emas.’ Shuning uchun sizga aytaman: men falon-falon narsani his qilyapman, shunda Allohning menga bo‘lgan qudratini tan olaman.” Bishrning uyidan chiqib, Aḥmadning oldiga borib, uning aytganlarini xabar qildim. Shundan keyin Aḥmadning oldiga borganimda, u har safar avval “Allohga hamd bo‘lsin” deb, so‘ng nima og‘riganini aytib berardi.

One day I said to Aḥmad, “Your brother Bishr is ill too, and whenever I ask him how he is, he begins by praising God.” “Ask him who he got that from.” “I’m afraid to ask him that.” “Tell him that his brother Abū ʿAbd Allāh wants to know.” The next time I saw Bishr, I told him what Aḥmad had said. He replied, “Aḥmad won’t take anything without a list of transmitters! It’s Abū ʿAwn citing Ibn Sīrīn, ‘If you praise God before complaining, then it’s not a complaint.’ So I’m telling you that I feel such-and-such, to acknowledge God’s power over me.” I left Bishr’s house and went to Aḥmad to report what he had said. After that, every time I went to see Aḥmad he would say, “Praise God” and then tell me what was wrong.

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Ahmad menga aytdi: "Men Payg'ambar ﷺ dan rivoyat qilingan biror hadisni yozib olganimda, uni amalda qo'llamagan bo'lsam, hech qachon yozmaganman. Shunday qilib, Payg'ambar ﷺ Abū Ṭaybaga hijomat qildirgani uchun bir dinor bergani haqidagi xabarga duch kelganimda, keyingi safar o'zimga hijomat qildirganimda, hijomatchiga bir dinor berdim."147 21.9

[Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad told me, “I have never written down a Hadith of the Prophet, God bless and keep him, without putting it into practice. So when I came across a report that the Prophet paid Abū Ṭaybah a dinar to perform a cupping on him, when I next had myself cupped I gave the cupper a dinar.”147 21.9

[Al-Aʿmash:] Men Ahmad ibn Hanbalga vasvasa va chalg'ituvchi fikrlar haqida so'ragan birovni eshitdim. U shunday dedi: "Sahobalar ham, tobe'inlar ham ular haqida hech narsa demaganlar." 21.10

[Al-Aʿmash:] I heard someone ask Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal about obsessive and distracting thoughts. He said, “Neither the Companions nor the Successors had anything to say about them.” 21.10