Aḥmad’s piety, and left out those who have much more to say, as their testimony will appear later in this book, God willing. «God is sufficient for us; He is the best guardian.»103 14.15
A REPORT THAT THE PROPHET ELIJAH SENT HIM GREETINGS
[Abū Ḥafṣ al-Qāḍī:] Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was once visited by a man from the Indian Ocean who said, “I come from the Indian Ocean. I was on my way to China when we were shipwrecked. Two men came riding toward me on a wave. One of them asked, ‘If you wish, God will save you, on condition that you greet Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal for us.’ 15.1
“‘Who’s Aḥmad?’ I asked. ‘And who on earth are you?’
“‘I’m Elijah, and this is the angel who watches over the islands in the sea. You’ll find Aḥmad in Iraq.’
“‘I agreed, and the sea spat me out onto the shore by Ubullah. So here I am with a greeting to you from the two of them.’”104
REPORTS THAT AL-KHAḌIR SPOKE IN HIS PRAISE
[Bilāl al-Khawwāṣ:] I was in the desert of the Israelites when suddenly I found a man walking beside me. I was surprised, but then I was given to realize that he was al-Khaḍir. 16.1
“I ask you by God,” I said. “Who are you?”
“Your brother al-Khaḍir.”
“I want to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you think of al-Shāfiʿī?”
“He’s one of the Pegs.”105
“What about Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?”
“A truth-teller.”106
“What about Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith?”
“He’s the last of his kind.”
“So how is it that I’m able to see you?”
“Because you were kind to your mother.”
[A man of Baghdad:] I was traveling on a ship and we landed on an island. There was an elderly white-haired man sitting there. I greeted him and he asked me where I was from. 16.2
“From Baghdad,” I said.
“When you get there,” he said, “give Ibn Ḥanbal my regards, and tell him, «Have patience! God’s promise is true; let not those who will not be convinced make you discouraged.»”107
Then he disappeared, and we realized that he was al-Khaḍir.
PRAISE OF HIM BY PIOUS STRANGERS AND ALLIES OF GOD
[Aḥmad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Shāmī:] I left Baghdad to make the pilgrimage. On the way I met a man who bore the stamp of piety. He asked me where I was from. 17.1
“From Baghdad,” I replied, “which has gotten so corrupt that God is likely to wipe it off the face of the earth along with everyone who lives there. I was afraid, so I ran.”
“Go back,” he said, “and don’t be afraid. In the city are the graves of four allies of God who will protect Baghdad from harm.”
“Who are they?”
“The exemplar Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Maʿrūf al-Karkhī, Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith, and Manṣūr ibn ʿAmmār.”
So I went back and visited the graves.
[The author:] Both reports agree up to this point. Abū Yaʿqūb adds:
I asked him, “Where are you headed?”
“To visit the graves,” he replied.
“Where are you from?”
“Look behind you.”
I looked but there was nothing to see. When I turned around, he was gone.
ALLIES OF GOD WHO VISITED HIM TO SEEK HIS BLESSING
[Ṣāliḥ:] One day I came home and heard that my father had sent for me the day before. When I found him, he said, “There was someone here yesterday I wanted you to meet. It was around noon; I was sitting here and I heard a man at the door. Somehow I felt drawn to him. I got up and opened the door. Standing there was a sunburned man wearing a cloak of fur and a ragged piece of cloth on his head. He had no shirt on under the cloak, and he wasn’t carrying a leather water bottle or a staff. I invited him in and he came into the anteroom. 18.1
“‘Where are you coming from?’ I asked.
“‘From the east,’ he said, ‘and I’m heading for the coast. If not for you, I wouldn’t have come into the city, but I wanted to pay my respects.’
“‘Do you travel dressed like that?’
“‘I do.’ Then he asked me: ‘What do you understand by renunciation of the world?’
“‘Not taking anything for granted,’ I answered, surprised.
“Then I thought to myself, ‘I have no silver or gold to give him.’ So I went into the house, found four loaves of bread, and brought them out.
“‘I have no silver or gold,’ I told him, ‘but this is what I eat.’
“‘Would it make you happy if I took them?’
“‘Yes,’ I said. So he took them and put them under his arm and said, ‘I think now I’ll have enough food to get me TO al-Raqqah. Good-bye!’
“I couldn’t stop staring at him until he left the house.”
Afterward my father spoke of him often.
[Ibn Sāfirī:] When we were young, we used to pray and practice austerities at the Perfumer’s Mosque. Some of us would weave palm fibers, others would make spindles, and so on. One member of the group was a strapping young man who told us this story. “We used to fish around Dujayl,” he said. “One day, as it was getting dark, a man dressed in rags walked by. I ran after
