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
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
“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.
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
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
“What about rinsing them repeatedly and then draining them?” he was asked.
“Not after they’ve been soaked,” he said.
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.
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
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.
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
“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 unsurpassable.
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
PRAISE OF HIM BY HIS TEACHERS
As you doubtless know, a person’s character is manifest even in youth; the way a life begins gives a good idea of how it is likely to end. In Aḥmad’s case, piety and love of learning were evident in him from the beginning. As a result, his teachers praised him and granted him precedence. 10.1
[Al-Nasāʾī:] When Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal would approach a Hadith transmitter, he would ask the men of learning who were present for their permission to gather Hadith, since they would be hearing the reports because of him. 10.2
Among the teachers who praised him are the following.
YAZĪD IBN HĀRŪN
[Ibn Zanjuwayh:] I remember seeing Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal come to visit Yazīd ibn Hārūn, who was performing the ritual prayer. After finishing his prayer, Yazīd turned to Aḥmad and asked, “What’s your position on things lent for use?” 10.3
“The borrower is liable for them.”
“We cite Ḥajjāj,” said Yazīd, “citing al-Ḥakam: ‘Not liable.’”
Aḥmad replied by reciting: “The Prophet, God bless and keep him, borrowed some suits of armor from Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah. Ṣafwan asked, ‘Are you liable for them?’ and the Prophet, God bless and keep him, said, ‘The borrower is liable for what he borrows.’”63
Having nothing to say in reply, Yazīd adopted Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s view.
[Ibn Sālim:] We were sitting in Yazīd ibn Hārūn’s Hadith-circle and Yazīd made a teasing remark to his amanuensis. From Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal came a clearing of the throat, and Yazīd, striking himself on the forehead, cried, “Why didn’t you tell me Aḥmad was here so I wouldn’t joke?” 10.4
[Ibn Sinān:] I never saw Yazīd ibn Hārūn regard anyone with as much reverence or show anyone as much honor as he did Ibn Ḥanbal. He used to seat Aḥmad beside him when we gathered for Hadith. He maintained a dignified bearing in his presence and wouldn’t tease him. Once when Aḥmad fell ill Yazīd even rode to his house to visit him. 10.5
[Al-Marrūdhī:] I asked Aḥmad how it happened that Yazīd ibn Hārūn visited him when he was ill. He replied: 10.6
[Aḥmad:] It was in Wāsiṭ. I used to sit near him while he taught Hadith, and he knew who I was. One day he recited, “Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd said, ‘I heard Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh say …’”
“It doesn’t say ‘I heard Sālim say,’” I told him. “It says, ‘I heard that Sālim said …’”
Yazīd went inside and brought out his notes, and sure enough the text read “that Sālim said.” He asked who had corrected him and the others told him it was me.
“Correct what you’ve written,” he told us. After that, whenever he would take his seat he would say, “Ibn Ḥanbal! Come over here.”
Once when I got sick Yazīd came to visit me. I had guinea worm.64 I wasn’t staying in this house we’re in now—at that time it was my uncles who lived here. I had moved out. The house we moved to was outside.65
ISMĀʿĪL IBN ʿULAYYAH
[Ibn Abī ʿAwn and Ibn Hishām:] Once when the ritual prayer was starting we heard Ibn ʿUlayyah saying, “Is Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal here anywhere? Tell him to come forward!” 10.7
[Ibn al-Mubārak:] Once when I was at Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah’s someone made a remark that made some of us laugh. Ibn Ḥanbal was there too. Later we went to Ismāʿīl and found him looking angry. 10.8
“How could you laugh,” he asked, “with
