in, and when we reached ar-Raḥbah, they made us dismount on its outskirts. I scanned the horizon and noticed something I could not clearly discern; it kept coming nearer until a Bedouin appeared, stepping over the litters one after another until he reached me. He stood before me, greeted me, and said, “Are you Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?”

I was so astonished that I said nothing. He repeated the question, and again I remained silent. Then he knelt down on his knees and said, “Are you Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?”

“Yes,” I replied.

He said, “Rejoice and stand firm. It is only one blow here, and you will enter Paradise there.” Then he went on his way.

Al-Ṭufāwī commented, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, the masses hold you in high regard.”

He answered, “I praise Allah for my religion. This is a matter of faith; had I spoken their words, I would have fallen into disbelief.”

Al-Ṭufāwī asked, “Tell me what they did to you.”

He said, “When they whipped me, I kept recalling the Bedouin’s words. Then that long-bearded man—meaning ʿUjayf—came and struck me with the pommel of his sword. Another man approached, and I thought, ‘Relief has come; he will sever my neck and I will be at rest.’

Ibn Samāʿah said to the caliph, ‘Commander of the Faithful, strike off his head; I take his blood upon my neck.’

Ibn Abī Dāʾūd objected, ‘No, Commander of the Faithful—do not do it. If he is killed or dies in your palace, the people will say, “He endured until he was killed,” and they will make him their imam and remain firm on what they are upon. Instead, release him at once; if he dies outside your residence, the people will be uncertain about his case—some will say, “He yielded,” and others will say, “He did not.”’

Al-Ṭufāwī then asked, ‘What harm would there have been if you had said what they wanted?’

Abū ʿAbd Allāh replied, ‘If I had spoken, I would have disbelieved.’

With this same chain, Ibn Abī Ḥātim said: I heard Abū Zurʿah say:

‘Al-Muʿtaṣim summoned Aḥmad’s uncle and then said to the people, “Do you recognize him?”

They answered, “Yes, he is Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.”

He said, “Look at him—is he not sound of body?”

They replied, “Indeed. Had he not done that, I would have feared a disturbance that could not be controlled.”

He went on, “When I announced, ‘I have returned him to you sound in body,’ the people quieted down and became calm.”’