Hārūn al-Mustamlī said, “I met Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and told him, ‘We have nothing.’ He thereupon handed me five dirhams and added, ‘We have nothing else.’

Al-Marwadhī said, “I saw Abū ʿAbd Allāh give a man his own shirt; at times he would even share his daily provisions.”

Whenever some worldly affair troubled him, he would refuse to break his fast and would continue fasting.

Abū Saʿīd the Blind once came to him. He had composed an ode against Ibn Abī Dāwūd and now laid his grievance before Abū ʿAbd Allāh. Aḥmad said, “Abū Saʿīd, we possess nothing except this yearling.” A porter was summoned and Abū Saʿīd related, “I sold it for nine dirhams and two daniqs.”

Abū ʿAbd Allāh was exceedingly modest and noble-minded; generosity delighted him.

Al-Marwadhī said, “I heard Abū al-Fawāris, who lodged with Abū ʿAbd Allāh, relate: ‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh said to me, “Muḥammad, the boy has dropped the scissors into the well.” I climbed down and retrieved them. He then wrote a note to the grocer: Give him half a dirham. I said, “That is not worth a qirāṭ; by Allah, I will not take it.” Later he called me and asked, “How much rent do you owe?” I replied, “Three months.” He said, “I waive it for you.”’”

Abū Bakr al-Khallāl exclaimed, “Reflect, O people of insight and learning! Have you ever heard of anyone whose character equals what has reached you about this man?!”

ʿAlī ibn Sahl ibn al-Mughīra narrated: “We were with ʿAffān in the company of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and his companions. ʿAffān served a roast lamb and falūdhaj. Aḥmad ate from every dish that was set before them except the falūdhaj. I asked him about that and he said, ‘It is said to be the most exalted of foods,’ so he would not eat it. In another report it is mentioned that he ate a single morsel of falūdhaj.”

Ibn Ṣubḥ said, “I was present with Abū ʿAbd Allāh at a meal when they brought rice. He said, ‘What an excellent food! If it is eaten at the beginning of the meal it satisfies, and if it is eaten at the end it aids digestion.’”