‘Abdur Rahman at-Tabeeb said: “Ahmad bin Hanbal and Bishr bin al-Harith both fell ill and I visited Bishr and asked him: ‘How do you find yourself?’ And he would glorify Allaah, saying: ‘I praise and thank Allaah to you; I find such-and- such.’ Then I would visit Abu ‘Abdullaah Ahmad bin Hanbal and say: ‘How do you find yourself, Oh, Abu ‘Abdullaah?’ And he would say: ‘I am in good stead.’ So one day, I said to him: ‘Your brother, Bishr is ill and when I ask him about his condition, he begins by praising and thanking Allaah, then he informs me (of his condition).’ Upon hearing this, he (Imam Ahmad) said: ‘Ask him from whom he took this (method of praising and thanking allah first)?’ I said: ‘I am afraid to ask him.’ He said: ‘Say to him that your brother, ‘Abu ‘Abdullaah asks from whom did you take this?’ He (the narrator) said, “So I visited him and informed him of what he had said, upon which he said: ‘Abu ‘Abdullaah does not accept anything without an Isnad [i.e. he did not accept any words or deeds unless they can be traced via an authentic chain of narrators to the Prophet and his companions]’ Then he said: It is reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Awn, who reported on the authority of Ibn Sireen that he said: ‘When a slave praises and thanks Allaah before voicing a complaint, then it will not be a complaint. I only say to you: ‘I find such-and-such, in order to acknowledge Allaah’s power over me.’ He (the narrator) said: ‘So I left and went to Abu ‘Abdullaah and informed him of what he had said. After that, I found that if I visited him (Imam Ahmad), he would say: ‘I praise and thank Allaah to you,’ then he would mention what ailed him.” [Ref: Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad, rahimahullaah, by Ibn al-Jawzee, rahimahullaah, (pages 245-246]
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 21:03:54 +0000
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