Ahmad — God be pleased with him — otasidan bir qancha uy-joylar va o'zi yashagan uyni meros qilib oldi. U uy-joylarni ijaraga berdi va ijara pulidan yashadi, hech kimdan biror narsa so'rashga muhtoj bo'lmadi.208 40.1

Aḥmad—God be pleased with him—inherited from his father some tenements and the house where he lived. He rented out the tenements and lived off the rents, without having to ask anyone for anything.208 40.1

[Muhammad ibn Ubayd Allah:] Ahmad ibn Hanbal menga aytdi: «Men har yili yashab turgan uyimni baholab, undan zakot beraman, Iroqdagi Qora yer haqida Umar ibn al-Xattob aytganiga amal qilib».209

[Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal told me, “Every year I survey the house I live in and pay the alms-tax on it, following what ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said about the Black Land in Iraq.”209

Aḥmad ahmalkning bir qismida yashardi, qolgan qismini esa boshqalarga ijaraga bergan edi. Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar rivoyat qilishicha, unga kimdir bu mulkning haqiqiy egasi ekanligini qanday bilishini so‘ragan.

Aḥmad lived in one part of the property and rented part of it out to others. Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar reported that someone asked him how he knew that he was the rightful owner.

“Bu men otamdan meros qolgan narsa,” dedi u. “Agar kimdir kelib, bu uniki ekanini isbotlasa, men ko‘chib chiqib, uni unga beraman.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Men Aḥmadning shunday deganini eshitdim: “Bu mulk bizni boqmaydi, lekin u biror narsa keltirguncha men shu yerda qolaman.”210 40.2

“It’s something I inherited from my father,” he replied. “If anyone comes and proves it’s his, I’d move out and give it to him.” [Al-Marrūdhī:] I heard Aḥmad say, “This property doesn’t support us, but I’m staying with it until it yields something.”210 40.2

Я сказал: «Я слышал, как кто-то предлагал, что ему было бы лучше, если бы вы отказались от этого и позволили другу управлять этим за вас». «Это приглашение к беде», — сказал Ахмад, или, возможно, он сказал: «Это не годится». Он продолжил: «Как только вы привыкаете к такому порядку, вы уже не можете без него обойтись». Он добавил: «Я предпочитаю, чтобы было именно так, а не иначе», имея в виду имущество, которое приносило доход. Наконец он сказал мне: «Ты знаешь, доход не поддерживает нас. Я беру его только потому, что вынужден». [Аль-Баладī:] Однажды, когда я сидел с Ахмадом, один из его арендаторов принёс ему дирхам с половиной. Как только деньги попали ему в руки, он встал, оставив меня на месте, и с довольным видом вошёл в свой дом. У меня было ощущение, что он нуждался в них для чего-то важного. 40.3

I said, “I heard someone suggest that he’d like it better if you gave it up and let a friend manage it for you.” “That’s an invitation to disaster,” said Aḥmad, or perhaps what he said was, “That’s no good.” He continued: “Once you get used to that sort of arrangement you can’t live without it.” He added, “I’d rather have it this way than any other,” referring to the property that generated the income. Finally he said to me, “You know the income doesn’t support us. I only take it because I have to.” [Al-Baladī:] Once, when I was sitting with Aḥmad, one of his tenants brought him a dirham and a half. As soon as it fell into his hands, he got up, leaving me where I was, and went into his house looking pleased. I had the feeling he needed it for something important. 40.3

Ahmad ba'zan shunchalik muhtoj bo'lardiki, dalalardan boshoqlar terib yurishga majbur bo'lardi.211 40.4

Aḥmad was sometimes so needy that he had to glean from the fields.211 40.4

[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] Aḥmad ga uy-joy bergan kishi menga aytdi: «U shu yerga turish uchun kelganida, boshoqlarni terib yurish uchun chiqdi. U oz narsa yig'ib qaytdi. Men unga dedim: “Sen terganingdan ko'proq yeding-ku!”» U aytdi: «Men ularni bir ish qilayotganini ko'rdim, men esa uni qila olmasdim: ular boshoq terganda to'rt oyoqlab emaklab yurardilar. Men esa o'tirgan holda sudralib yurdim». [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad menga aytdi: «Men piyoda chegaraga chiqdim va boshoq terib yurdik. Men odamlarning ekinlarni yulib tashlayotganini ko'rdim. Ammo hech kim birovning yeriga ruxsatsiz o'tmasligi kerak». 40.5

[Al-Ṭarasūsī:] The man who gave lodging to Aḥmad told me: “When he came to stay here he went out to glean. He came back having collected only a little. I said to him, ‘You’ve eaten more than you gleaned!’ “He said, ‘I saw them doing something I couldn’t bring myself to do: when they gleaned, they would crawl on all fours. But I dragged myself along sitting down.’” [Al-Marrūdhī:] Aḥmad told me, “I walked out to the frontier on foot and we went gleaning. I saw people tearing up the fields. But no one should cross onto another’s land without permission.” 40.5

U bmenga ham aytdi: “Men Tarsusgacha butun yo‘lni piyoda bosib bordim. Biz chiqib, bug‘doy boshoqlarini yig‘ib yurardik.”

He also told me, “I walked all the way to Tarsus. We used to go out and glean.”

Ahmad ba'zan shunchalik kambag'al bo'lardiki, pul evaziga qo'lyozmalarni ko'chirishga majbur bo'lardi. Safar paytidagi xarajatlarini qoplash uchun u bir safar taxtakachlar (tuya haydovchilari) yollanib ishga kirgan edi. Bu voqea keyingi bobda, Alloh xohlasa, bayon etiladi. 40.6

Aḥmad was sometimes so poor that he had to copy manuscripts for a fee. To meet his expenses while traveling, he once hired himself out to some camel drivers. This episode will be described in the next chapter, God willing. 40.6