Читать книгу The Life of Ibn Ḥanbal - Ibn al-Jawzi - Страница 30

CHAPTER 16

REPORTS THAT AL-KHAḌIR SPOKE IN HIS PRAISE

[Bilāl al-Khawwāṣ:] I was in the desert of the Israelites when suddenly I found a man walking beside me. I was surprised, but then I was given to realize that he was al-Khaḍir. 16.1

“I ask you by God,” I said. “Who are you?”

“Your brother al-Khaḍir.”

“I want to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you think of al-Shāfiʿī?”

“He’s one of the Pegs.”¹⁰⁵

“What about Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?”

“A truth-teller.”¹⁰⁶

“What about Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith?”

“He’s the last of his kind.”

“So how is it that I’m able to see you?”

“Because you were kind to your mother.”

[A man of Baghdad:] I was traveling on a ship and we landed on an island. There was an elderly white-haired man sitting there. I greeted him and he asked me where I was from. 16.2

“From Baghdad,” I said.

“When you get there,” he said, “give Ibn Ḥanbal my regards, and tell him, «Have patience! God’s promise is true; let not those who will not be convinced make you discouraged.»”¹⁰⁷

Then he disappeared, and we realized that he was al-Khaḍir.