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Imaam Ahmed bin Hambal (rahimahullah) (32)
Hasan bin Ayyoob Al-Baghdaadi (rahimahullah) narrates that a person once said to Imaam Ahmed bin Hambal (rahimahullah), “O Abu ‘Abdillah! May Allah Ta‘ala keep you alive upon Islam!” Hearing this du‘aa, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) immediately responded, “Not only upon Islam, but also upon the Mubaarak Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).”
(Manaaqib Imaam Ahmed libnil Jowzi pg. 243)
Abu Bakr Khallaal (rahimahullah) narrates that one of Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah)’s students mentioned the following:
Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) once said to me, “I did not write any Hadith from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) except that I also practiced upon it, to the extent that I came across the Hadith which mentions that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) underwent cupping and thereafter gave Abu Taibah (the one who carried out the cupping) a Dinar. Hence, when I underwent cupping, I gave a Dinar to the one who had carried out the cupping.”
(Manaaqib Imaam Ahmed libnil Jowzi pg. 246)
The Khalifah, Mutawakkil, succeeded the Khalifah, Waathiq, in 232 A.H. He held Imaam Ahmed in high esteem, but Imaam Ahmed remained cautious since he regarded the favors of the king as a temptation towards evil. Once, Mutawakkil sent him a bag of ten thousand dirhams and about two hundred dinaars. It was emphasized that he should accept it, lest the king be offended if the gift was refused. Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) did not even look at it. At the time of Maghrib, he called his son, Saalih, and said, “Keep this by you.”
Before dawn the next morning, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) called for his son who immediately came. He said to him, “I have not slept last night”, and began to weep. He continued, “All my life, I remained safe from the rulers and kings. Now, in old age, I am being tested with them. I have decided to distribute this wealth in the morning.” That morning, he continued distributing the money to the various factions of the poor and needy until the entire amount was spent. He thereafter even gave the bag away to a destitute person. His son says, “We were experiencing such poverty (at the time) which only Allah Ta‘ala knew.”
(Sifatus Safwah 486/1)
Imaam Ahmed bin Hambal (rahimahullah) never called any of his Asaatizah by their names out of respect for them. Rather, he would refer to them by their titles.
(Aadaabul Muta‘allimeen)
Once, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) was lying down due to some illness. In the middle of the discussion, someone mentioned the name of Ebrahim bin Tahmaan (rahimahullah). On hearing this name, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) immediately sat up out of respect. He thereafter remarked, “It is inappropriate for the names of the elders to be mentioned whilst we are sitting and relaxing.”
(Aadaabul Muta‘allimeen)
‘Abdullah (rahimahullah), the son of Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullah), narrates the following:
My father would perform three hundred rakaats of Nafl Salaah every day. When he became weak, due to the lashes which were meted to him as punishment (from the side of the king for standing against the deviated sect of his time) he would perform 150 rakaats daily. At that time, he was nearly eighty years old.
He would recite one seventh of the Qur’aan Majeed every day and would thus complete the recitation of the Qur’aan Majeed every seven days. He would complete the recitation of the Qur’aan Majeed in Tahajjud Salaah every seven nights, and this khatam was separate to the khatam which he would make in his Nafl Salaah during the day. After performing the Esha Salaah, he would nap for a short while after which he would awaken and engage in performing Tahajjud Salaah and making du‘aa.
(Manaaqib Imaam Ahmad libnil Jowzi pg. 382)