[ʿAbd Allāh:] 我听到艾布·祖尔阿说，艾哈迈德·伊本·罕百勒能背诵一百万条圣训。8。1

[ʿAbd Allāh:] I heard Abū Zurʿah say that Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal knew a million Hadith reports. 8.1

“你怎么会知道？”有人这样问他。

“How would you know?” he was asked.

“他和我互相背诵这些经文，并逐一讨论了各个主题。”49

“He and I recited them to each other, and we went through the different topics.”49

[Ṣāliḥ:] 我父亲告诉我，有一个人曾带着Hushaym的圣训书来到Ibn ʿUlayyah的门前。8.2

[Ṣāliḥ:] My father told me that a man once came to Ibn ʿUlayyah’s door with Hushaym’s Hadith books. 8.2

他开始把这些传述念给我听，我便逐一说出每条传述的传述链。阿勒-穆阿伊提也曾背诵圣训，他到来时，我请他接替我，但他不肯。50

“He started reading the reports out to me, and I would say the chain of transmitters for each one. Al-Muʿayṭī also used to memorize Hadith, and when he arrived I asked him to take over, but he wouldn’t.”50

我的父亲说:“我甚至知道一些我从未亲耳从他那里听到的、由胡沙伊姆传述的圣训。”[艾哈迈德:]在胡沙伊姆在世时,我把从他那里听到的一切都背了下来。8.3

My father said, “I even knew of reports [transmitted by Hushaym] that I had never heard directly from him.” [Aḥmad:] I memorized everything I heard from Hushaym while he was still alive. 8.3

[伊本·艾比·哈提姆：] 赛义德·本·阿姆尔·巴尔达ʿī曾问艾卜·祖尔阿，他和艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒谁记得的圣训更多。84

[Ibn Abī Ḥātim:] Saʿīd ibn ʿAmr al-Bardhaʿī once asked Abū Zurʿah who had memorized more, he or Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. 8.4

“艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒，当然。”“你是怎么知道的？”阿布·祖尔阿说：“我查看他的手稿时发现，他在每一札（quire）的开头都没有列出所传述的传述人名字，而是每一札的传述人名字他都烂熟于心。我从来做不到这一点。”［Al-Tustarī：］有人问阿布·祖尔阿，资深传述人中谁的记忆力最好。8.5

“Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, of course.” “How do you know that?” “When I looked at his papers,” said Abū Zurʿah, “I saw that at the front of each quire,51 he didn’t list the names of the transmitters he heard reports from. Instead, for every quire, he knew the names of the transmitters by heart. I could never do that.” [Al-Tustarī:] Abū Zurʿah was asked which of the senior transmitters had the best memory. 8.5

“艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒，”他说，“他去世的那天，人们估算了他留下的纸张数量，共有十二又二分之一驮。52 在任何一页的外面，他都没有写‘某某的圣训’，或在任何内页上写‘某某向我们转述’。这一切他都牢记于心。”[艾卜·祖尔阿：] 我去拜访艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒，请他为我找出苏福彦的圣训。他拿出的册子全都标着苏福彦，只写了“苏福彦”，没有在任何一条传述上注明“由某某传述”。我想，它们必定都是由同一人传述的。可是当我挑出一些让他念给我听时，他每讲一条圣训，都会说：“瓦基尔”，或“叶哈雅”，或其他人，“向我们转述……”我十分惊讶。我不止一次尝试做类似的事，却始终做不到。8.6

“Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal,” he said. “The day he died, they made an estimate of the number of papers he left behind. It came to twelve and a half loads.52 Nowhere on any of the outside pages had he written ‘the Hadith of So-and-So,’ or ‘So-and-So reported to us’ on any of the inside pages. All of that he knew by heart.” [Abū Zurʿah:] I went to see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and asked him to find Sufyān’s Hadith for me. He brought out quires all labeled Sufyān, just Sufyān, without marking a single report as “Transmitted by So-and-So.” I thought they must all have been transmitted by the same person. But when I picked some out for him to read back, he would say for each Hadith, “Wakīʿ,” or “Yaḥyā,” or whoever, “reported to us …” I was amazed. More than once I’ve tried to do something like that, but I’ve never been able to. 8.6

[艾哈迈德：] 我过去常常要求瓦基尔背诵苏夫扬·al-萨乌里的圣训传述。每当瓦基尔做完夜间最后一次拜，他便离开清真寺回家。我便向他提出挑战，他常常背诵九条或十条传述，我则把它们记下来。他离开之后，圣训学者们会请我把这些传述口述给他们，我便照做。8.7

[Aḥmad:] I used to challenge Wakīʿ to recite al-Thawrī’s Hadith reports from memory. Whenever Wakiʿ finished the last prayer of the night, he would leave the mosque and head for home. I would challenge him and he would often reply by citing nine or ten reports, which I would then memorize. After he left, the Hadith scholars would ask me to dictate the reports to them, and I would. 8.7

[伊本·赛义德：] 每当瓦基尔离开圣训讲座去做晚礼拜时，艾哈迈德·本·罕百勒都会陪他同行，并站在门边，而瓦基尔则不断向他提问关于圣训的传述。一天夜里，瓦基尔在门口停下，双手扶着门框，说道：“我要考你苏富扬的圣训。”8.8

[Ibn Saʿīd:] Whenever Wakīʿ would leave the Hadith-circle to pray the evening prayer, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal would go with him and stand by the door while Wakīʿ kept quizzing him about reports. One night, Wakīʿ stopped in the doorway with his hands on the jamb and said, “I’m going to test you on the Hadith of Sufyān.” 8.8

“去吧，”伊本·罕百勒说。

“Go ahead,” said Ibn Ḥanbal.

“你是否已经背下了苏夫彦引述赛拉麦·本·库海勒所传的圣训……？”瓦基尔一边诵读这段圣训，一边问道。

“Have you memorized what Sufyān transmitted citing Salamah ibn Kuhayl … ?” asked Wakīʿ, reciting the Hadith.

“是的，”艾哈迈德说，“我们听到叶哈雅传述道”，并说出了传述人的名字。

“Yes,” said Aḥmad. “We heard Yaḥyā report,” giving the transmitter.

“关于Salamah在某某事上的情况如何？”“我们听到ʿAbd al-Raḥmān的转述，”Aḥmad说。

“What about Salamah on such-and-such?” “We heard ʿAbd al-Raḥmān report,” said Aḥmad.

“Sufyān从Salamah那里传来的关于某某的情况如何？”“我们是从你那里听到的。”他们就这样一直讨论下去，直到把Salamah所传的全部圣训都涵盖为止。然后Aḥmad问道：“你知道Salamah关于……的那段传述吗？”并说出了那段圣训。

“What about Sufyān from Salamah on such and-such?” “We heard that from you.” And so they continued until they had covered all of the reports transmitted by Salamah. Then Aḥmad asked: “Do you know Salamah’s report about … ?” giving the Hadith.

“不。”瓦基尔说。

“No,” said Wakīʿ.

艾哈迈德随后开始逐一询问各个圣训的情况。每次，瓦基尔都被问住了。艾哈迈德又把其他主要传述者的圣训一一过目。

Aḥmad then began asking about one report after another. Each time, Wakīʿ was stumped. Aḥmad went through the reports of the other major transmitters one by one.

他仍站在那里,这时女仆出现了,说:“启明星”——或说“金星”——“升起来了!”【艾哈迈德】说:瓦基尔常诵圣训,每段都具有相同的传述链,仿佛他是这样全部背诵下来的。我夜间常背诵其中十条或十五条。53 8.9

He was still standing there when the servant girl appeared and said, “The morning star”—or “Venus”—“is up!” [Aḥmad:] Wakīʿ used to recite reports that all had the same chain of transmitters, as if he had memorized them all that way. At night I used to commit ten or fifteen of them to memory.53 8.9

[ʿAbd Allāh:] 我父亲过去常对我说：“你随便从瓦基尔的著作集中取一卷，告诉我任何一段圣训的内容，我就能告诉你它的传述链。”

[ʿAbd Allāh:] My father used to tell me, “Take any of the books of Wakīʿ’s collection and tell me what any report says and I’ll tell you the chain of transmitters.

“或者告诉我传述链，我就能告诉你这段圣训的内容。”54 8.10

Or tell me the chain and I’ll tell you what the report says.”54 8.10