After some time, he again awoke and came to sit in front of me with respect. I said to him, “O Abu ‘Abdillah! Remain seated in your place!” He replied, “Do not be affected by me continuously coming and sitting in front of you at the time when I wish to hear the mubaarak Hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) from you. The reason is that I wish to acquire the knowledge of deen in the manner deen commands us to acquire it, with utmost respect and humility, fulfilling the etiquettes of acquiring ‘ilm.”

(Manaaqib Imaam Ahmed libnil Jowzi pg. 71)

From this incident, we understand the Imaam Qutaibah (rahimahullah) held Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) in great respect and was prepared to recite the Hadith to him while he was sitting at a slight distance. However, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) felt the need to show additional respect to the Hadith as well as the Ustaad from whom he was acquiring the Hadith.