[Abū l-Qāsim al-Jabbulī:] 大多数人认为，艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒之所以出名，主要是因为他在宗教审讯（Miḥna）期间的所为，但事实并非如此。他之所以出名，是因为你可以向他询问任何问题，他都会像面前摆着全部学问一样作答。9.1

[Abū l-Qāsim al-Jabbulī:] Most people think that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal became famous largely because of what he did during the Inquisition, but that’s not so. It was because you could ask him about any issue and he would answer as if he had all the learning in the world laid out before him. 9.1

[Al-Ḥarbī]:我活到了三个人，他们是前所未有的：是女人所生的人中，从未有过与他们相似的人。

[Al-Ḥarbī]: I lived to see three men like no other: men unlike any of woman born.

第一位是艾布·欧拜德·卡西姆·伊本·赛拉姆。我能将他比作的，唯有一座充满生命气息的山岳。第二位是比施尔·伊本·哈里斯。描述他的唯一方式是：从他的头顶到脚底，整个人仿佛是用克制的泥土揉捏而成的。第三位是艾哈迈德·伊本·罕百勒。在我看来，他汇聚了古往今来各类的学问，因此他想说多少便说多少，想保留什么便保留什么。9.2

The first was Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām. The only thing I can compare him to is a mountain filled with the breath of life. The second was Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith. The only way to describe him is to say that all of him, from the crown of his head down to the soles of his feet, seemed to have been kneaded from the clay of self-restraint. The third was Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. To me he seemed to have gathered the learning of ancient times and latter days alike, of whatever kind, so that he could say as much as he wanted or keep back whatever he wished. 9.2

[Al-Dārimī:] 我从未见过一个黑发之人，比艾哈迈德更能牢记真主的使者（愿真主赐福于他并使他平安）的圣训，也未见过有谁比他更能透彻理解其中的含义。93

[Al-Dārimī:] I never saw a dark-headed man55 learn more Hadith reports of God’s Emissary (God bless and keep him) by heart, nor reach a better understanding of everything they meant, than Aḥmad did. 9.3

[伊本·拉哈维赫：] 我曾在伊拉克与艾哈迈德·伊本·罕百勒、叶哈雅·伊本·麦因以及我的同学们一起求学。我们常相互考问圣训，询问某一则传述可能存在的传述链——或两三条不同的传述链。

[Ibn Rāhawayh:] In Iraq I used to study with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and my own cohort. We used to test each other on Hadith by asking about the chain of transmitters—or the two or three different chains—that might exist for a single report.

然后雅哈亚·本·马因会开口，再提出另一条传述链。我便问道："这一条大家都认同，对吧？"他们都说认同。接着我又问："这段圣训是什么意思？你们会如何解释？又能从中引出哪些推论？"9.4

Then Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn would speak up and offer yet another chain. “We all agree on that one, don’t we?” I would ask, and they would all say they did. Then I would ask, “What does the report mean? How would you explain it? And what implications can we draw from it?” 9.4

于是,众人都会沉默,唯独艾哈迈德·本·韩百勒除外。

At that, everyone would fall silent except for Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

[伊本·尤努斯:] 我听阿布·阿绥姆说,当谈到宗教理解力的话题时,他说:“在巴格达,除了那个人,没有别人了”——他指的是艾哈迈德。

[Ibn Yūnus:] I heard Abū ʿĀṣim say, when the topic of religious understanding was raised, “There’s no one there”—in Baghdad—“except that man,” meaning Aḥmad.

“从那里来到我们这里的人，从未有谁像他这样理解得如此透彻。” 9.5

“No one’s ever come to us from there who understands as well as he does.” 9.5

然后有人提到了阿里·伊本·al-马迪尼，但艾布·阿西姆不屑地挥了挥手。

Someone then mentioned ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī, but Abū ʿĀṣim waved his hand dismissively.

[Al-Kūfī:] 有人曾向叶哈亚·本·马因提出一个关于住在店铺里的问题。他回答说："这件事我不管，你去问艾哈迈德·本·哈奈白吧。"9.6

[Al-Kūfī:] Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn was once asked a question about living in a shop. “I don’t deal with that,” he replied. “Ask Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.” 9.6

据阿布·巴克尔·穆罕默德·本·哈桑·欧拉姆（Al-Khallāl）所载，艾哈迈德曾抄录理性主义法学的著作并将其熟记，但之后便不再查阅。每当他谈及对宗教的理解时，都带着这样一个人的气度：他已经检验过各类知识，因此能够凭亲身经验发言。9.7

Al-Khallāl said that Aḥmad copied down the books of rationalist jurisprudence and memorized them, but then stopped consulting them. Whenever he spoke about religious understanding, he did so with the air of a man who had tested all the forms of knowledge and could speak from experience. 9.7

Ḥubaysh ibn Mubashshir 和其他一些法学家说："我们争论时，除了伊本·罕百勒，我们愿意挑战任何人。对他，我们只能保持沉默。"9。8

Ḥubaysh ibn Mubashshir and a number of other jurists said, “When we debate, we’re willing to challenge anyone except Ibn Ḥanbal. With him, all we can do is keep quiet.” 9.8

[Al-Ḥarbī:] 艾哈迈德[伊本·罕百勒]被问及穆斯林是否可以对基督徒说“愿真主赐你恩典！”。9.9

[Al-Ḥarbī:] Aḥmad [ibn Ḥanbal] was asked whether a Muslim should say “May God grace you!” to a Christian. 9.9

“是的，”他说，“他应当这样说，并且他的意思是：‘愿真主使你成为穆斯林，赐你恩典！’”56

“Yes,” he said. “He should say it, and mean by it ‘May God grace you by making you Muslim!’”56

他也被问到：一个人曾以三次有约束力的誓言发誓当晚要与妻子同房，否则就休妻，结果他发现妻子正在经期。

He was also asked whether a man who has sworn three binding oaths to have intercourse with his wife that night, or divorce her, discovers that she is menstruating.

“他必须与她离婚，而且不能与她同房。”他回答道，“真主允许离婚，却禁止在女性经期中与她同房。” Note: the original says "God", so I should use the Chinese word for God. Correcting that: “他必须与她离婚，而且不能与她同房。”他回答道，“神允许离婚，却禁止在女性经期中与她同房。”57

“He must divorce her and not have intercourse,” he replied. “God has permitted divorce but forbidden intercourse with a menstruating woman.”57

阿布·瓦法ʾ·阿里·伊本·阿基勒（愿真主喜悦他）说：58 9.10

Abū l-Wafāʾ ʿAlī ibn ʿAqīl (may God be pleased with him) said:58 9.10

说起年轻人中常有人说出的奇怪话之一，便是认为艾哈迈德只擅长传述圣训，在教法理解上并无建树。这种说法无知到了极点，而他们之所以这样说，是因为他们不理解他运用圣训来判断何为更可取之行为的方法。的确，他的裁决比我们所见过的任何人都更加细致入微。更不用说，他在圣训学上的造诣远超常人，这一点连他们自己也承认。他不止一次参加他们的圣训研讨，并且超越了其中最优秀的人。

One of the surprising things you hear ignorant young men say is that Aḥmad was no good at religious understanding, only Hadith transmission. That claim is as ignorant as any they could make, and they make it because they don’t understand his method of using Hadith to reach decisions about the preferable course of action. Certainly, his rulings are more nuanced than any we have seen them produce. This is not even to mention his superior mastery of Hadith itself, which they themselves concede. More than once he joined them for Hadith sessions and outdid the best of them.

他的一项特别精微的裁决涉及这样一个问题:对于由两个人共同承担的债务,他的观点有所不同,即该债务是否可以分割。而对于由一个人承担的债务,他们在否定其可分割性的有效性上并无分歧。

A particularly intricate ruling of his concerns the fact that his views differed about the division of a debt that is the liability of two persons. They did not differ in regard to the rejection of the validity of the division of a debt that is the liability of one person.

这里的要点在于：如果是单一的债务责任，它就不可分割。原因是承担债务的只有一个人，而享有债权的两位合伙人之一，只有按照合伙关系中的权利索取付款的权利，除此之外别无他法，那么这份责任怎么可能被分割呢？但当债务由两个人承担时，情况就不同了。因为享有债权的两位合伙人之一，可以独自向两位债务人中的一位追索债务责任。在这种情况下，分割是有效的，因为两个还款来源之间是可以区分的。至于他的观点，即认为这种分割是被禁止的，那是因为由两人承担的债务不可分割，原因在于各项责任通常有所不同，并不等同。59 9.11

The point seems to be that, if it is a single liability, it is not subject to division. This is because the one who incurred the indebtedness is one person, and one of the two partners who are owed the debt has only the right to demand payment according to his rights under the partnership—he may do nothing else, so how could the liability be subject to division? But that is not the case when the debt is the obligation of two persons. That is because one of the two partners who are owed the debt may, on his own, seek recourse against the liability of one of the two who owe the debt. In such a case the division is valid, because one of the two sources of payment is distinguishable from the other. As for his view according to which such a division is precluded, that would be because division of a debt owed by two persons is precluded due to the fact that the liabilities usually differ, and are not equivalent.59 9.11

另一个能体现艾哈迈德的宗教理解和推理之精妙的例子是：有人问他关于一个人发愿要手足并用地绕天房（克尔白）转圈的事。他回答说，这个人应当绕行两圈，但不应爬行。请注意其中的宗教理解：艾哈迈德似乎思量过俯身伏地的行为，并得出结论，这种行为会引人嘲笑，并将有感知的生灵贬低到与野兽同等的地位。因此，他出面保护此人，使其不致成为众人围观的对象，也不致使天房和清真寺蒙羞。但他并没有否定此人所发之愿中“爬行”的措辞，而是以双脚——即移动的恰当工具——代替了双手。60 9.12

Another example of Aḥmad’s religious understanding and the subtlety of his reasoning is the time when he was asked about a man who had vowed to circle the Kaʿbah on all fours. He answered that the man should perform two circumambulations but not crawl. Note the religious understanding: Aḥmad seems to have contemplated the act of falling on one’s face and concluded that it provokes ridicule and reduces a sentient creature to the level of a beast. Accordingly, he moved to protect the man from becoming a spectacle and bringing dishonor to God’s House and the Mosque. But instead of invalidating the wording of the man’s vow to crawl, he substituted the feet— the proper instrument of motion—for the hands.60 9.12

另有一次,有人问艾哈迈德(Aḥmad)关于一个人去世后留下一名歌唱的奴隶女子给他的儿子,而他的儿子需要出售她。艾哈迈德说,她只能像未受过训练的女奴那样出售。9.13

On another occasion Aḥmad was asked about a man who had died and left a singing slave to his son, who needed to sell her. Aḥmad said that she could only be sold as if untrained. 9.13

“有人告诉他：‘一名歌女值三万第纳尔，而未受训练的奴隶只值二十第纳尔！’”“她只能按未受训练的价格出售，”他重复道。

“A singer is worth 30,000 dinars,” he was told, “but an untrained slave is worth only twenty!” “She can only be sold as if untrained,” he repeated.

这是他在宗教理解上令人钦佩的一点，因为女奴的歌唱能力就好比一件用于消遣娱乐的乐器的制作，因此在侵占的情况下不应为其定价。如果有人侵占了一名会唱歌的女奴，而她随后忘记了歌唱，那么他不承担赔偿责任。61

This is an admirable bit of religious understanding on his part, because the ability to sing in a slave is like the construction of an instrument of idle diversion and it is not to be assigned a value in cases of usurpation. If a man usurps a singing female slave who then forgets how to sing, he is not liable.61

在另一次场合，有人问艾哈迈德，如果在浸泡中的一批芝麻里发现了一只死老鼠，该怎么办。他裁定，这些芝麻应当用作牲畜的饲料。9.14

On another occasion, Aḥmad was asked what to do when a dead mouse was found in a quantity of sesame seeds that had been left to soak. He ruled that the seeds should be used as fodder for livestock. 9.14

“那如果反复冲洗然后沥干呢？”有人问他。

“What about rinsing them repeatedly and then draining them?” he was asked.

“不是在它们被浸湿之后，”他说。

“Not after they’ve been soaked,” he said.

这是他审慎推理的又一例证。那些已被种子吸收的水，不会因为再往上面倒入液体而被排出，因为水无法取代水。请注意此人的敏锐与他对细节的精通。

This is another example of careful reasoning on his part. The water that had already been absorbed by the seeds would not be removed by pouring additional liquid over them, since water cannot displace water. Note the man’s acumen and his mastery of detail.

在另一次,有人问及是否可以把蚕茧晒在太阳下,使其中的蚕死去,以免它们咬破已经吐出的丝。他说:“如果别无他法,而且目的不是使它们受苦,那么就是允许的。”9.15

On another occasion he was asked about exposing silkworms to the sun to kill them in their cocoons and prevent them from consuming the filaments they had produced. “If there is no other way,” he said, “and if the purpose is something other than making them suffer, then it’s allowed.” 9.15

这一判决证明了他卓越的洞察力。他允许了一项会造成痛苦的行为，只是因为该行为另有其目的，而非为了造成痛苦本身。

This verdict is evidence of his great discernment. He permitted an act that causes suffering only because the act had a purpose other than causing that suffering.

伊本·阿奇勒补充道:艾哈迈德在推理上的惊人成就,证明了他的心智已达到最高的理解层次。例如有一次,阿布·欧拜德来访,他便从座位上站了起来。9.16

Ibn ʿAqīl added: Aḥmad’s striking feats of reasoning attest to the presence of a mind that had reached the highest level of understanding. On one occasion, for example, he received a visit from Abū ʿUbaydah and rose from his seat. 9.16

“难道没有传述过‘人的位置属于他自己’吗？”阿布·欧拜代问道。艾哈迈德说：“没错。这意思是，他若愿意，可以保留这个位置，也可以让给别人。”这样的理解力，再加上敏捷的反应，是无与伦比的。

“Hasn’t it been reported,” asked Abū ʿUbaydah, “that ‘a man’s place is his own’?” “That’s right,” said Aḥmad. “It means he can take the place if he wants, or offer it to someone else.” This degree of understanding, here joined with quick thinking, is un surpassable.

以如此的见识与正确的判断，任何公允的观察者都只能谦逊地避开目光。62 挑剔艾哈迈德的人，只有那些推行可憎异端的人。当他们看到他的裁断被广泛采纳，而自己的观点却被人遗忘时，便心怀怨恨。艾哈迈德的裁断如此著名，以至于大多数学者会说：“我在个别案例上的判决遵循某某人的意见，但我的推理依据则是艾哈迈德的。”一个人的裁断被视为根基，这本身就足以让任何人相信他的卓越。9.17

Faced with this degree of insight and sound judgment, any fair observer can only avert his eyes in modesty.62 The only people who do find fault with Aḥmad are purveyors of reprehensible innovations who burn with resentment when they see how often his judgments are adopted and theirs forgotten. So well known are his verdicts that most scholars say, “My ruling in particular cases follows that of So-and-So, but the basis for my reasoning is Aḥmad’s.” To see a man’s judgments adopted as foundational should be enough to convince anyone of his merits. 9.17