Ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with him, traveled great distances in search of Hadith and spent a long time acquiring it, and did not permit himself to be distracted by earning a living or seeking a wife until he had achieved what he set out to do. 7.1

[Aḥmad:] I didn’t marry until I was past forty. 7.2

[Aḥmad al-Dawraqī:] I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, “We’ve written down six or seven versions of a Hadith and even then didn’t feel sure of its provenance. So how can someone feel sure of a report they’ve written only once?” or words to that effect. 7.3

[Ṣāliḥ:] I heard my father say, “I’ve written down a million Hadith reports in my own writing, not counting the ones written down for me.” 7.4