Abu Shamah (1) said: He was extremely poor. He read the Musnad in Irbil, Mosul, and Damascus, and he used to fall ill with indigestion; the sultan would have assorted dishes prepared for him.

Ibn al-Anmati added: His father had devoted himself to the welfare of the Muslims, personally going about to meet their needs, and his chief concern was to prepare for burial those who died along the roads.

Ibn Nuqtah (2) reported: Abu al-Tahir ibn al-Anmati narrated to us in Damascus; he said: Hanbal ibn ʿAbd Allah told me:

“When I was born, my father went to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani and said, ‘A son has been born to me; what shall I name him?’ He replied, ‘Name him Hanbal, and when he grows up let him listen to the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.’

“So my father named me as he was instructed, and when I grew up he had me hear the Musnad. That was one of the blessings brought about by the shaykh’s counsel.”

Ibn al-Dubaythi (3) said: He worked as a broker in the sale of real estate. When asked about his birth, he indicated that it was in the year 510 or 511 AH … until he said: “He died after returning from Syria, on the night before Friday, 4 Muharram (4), in the year 604 AH.”

Ibn al-Anmati said: I heard the entire Musnad from him in Baghdad—most of it by my own recitation to him—in a little over twenty sessions. When I had finished (5), I started urging him to travel to Syria, saying, “You will gain money, and the leading figures and dignitaries will seek you out.”

He replied, “Leave me be! By Allah, I do not travel for their sake, nor for what I might obtain from them; I travel only …”