Aḥmad’s Testament:

Abū Bakr al-Marwadhī related: One night Abū ʿAbd Allāh roused me from sleep—he had been fasting continuously—and I found him sitting up. He said, “I am faint with hunger; give me something to eat.” I brought him less than a loaf of bread and he ate it.

When he rose to relieve himself he would tire, sit down from weakness, and I would moisten a cloth that he would place over his face so that his breath might return. In that condition he dictated his will. I heard him—while we were at al-ʿAskar—call witnesses to it:

“This is what Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad bequeaths: he testifies that there is no god but Allah, He alone without partner, and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad said: My father remained at al-ʿAskar for sixteen days, and I saw the rims of his eyes sink into their sockets.

Ṣāliḥ said: My father also dictated his will, saying, “This is what Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal bequeaths…,” and he repeated the wording of the testament that has just been quoted.

His Final Illness:

ʿAbd Allāh said: I heard my father say, “I have completed seventy-seven years and have entered my seventy-eighth.” That very night he developed a fever and died on the tenth day.

Ṣāliḥ said: At the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the year 241 AH, my father was seized by fever on Wednesday night. He spent the night feverish, breathing heavily. I already knew his condition and used to nurse him whenever he fell ill, so I said, “Father, on what did you break your fast last night?” He replied, “On baqillā water.”

He then wished to stand and said, “Take my hand.” I took his hand, but when he reached the privy he grew weak and leaned on me (1), and people would come and go to visit him.