One day Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was travelling to Ash-Shaam and on the way, he stopped by a Masjid to spend the night.
The guard of the Masjid told him he needs to leave the masjid as it's about to close. Though Imam Ahmad said he had no other place to go the guard insisted that he leaves. Imagine, the Imam of his time, Imam Ahmad, if he wanted to he could have mentioned who he was and got whatever he wanted but he رحمه الله didn't, and instead he left with his belongings and went to the steps of the Masjid.
The guard came outside and told him to leave the steps too and go elsewhere. This guard then picks up Imam Ahmad by his legs and drags him across to the middle of the street and leaves him there.
A righteous baker who owned a bakery across the street saw Imam Ahmad and said he could stay with him in his bakery tonight, whilst he will be doing his bakery work, Imam Ahamd can sleep there.
As the night was passing Imam Ahmad noticed something about the baker, throughout the whole night as the baker is working... kneading the dough, baking etc. the baker is glorifying Allah - the entire night he was making tasbeeh of Allah عز وجل !
Imam Ahmad was left shocked. How quickly people get tired of glorification today but this man was constantly in the state of doing thikr! Imam Ahmad inquires from him how long he had been doing this and the baker replied his entire life. Imam Ahmad continued and asked what he had seen as a result of this? What the baker said was astonishing, he said, 'I never made duah to Allah for anything except that He answered it, except for one thing.'
Imam Ahmad (رحمه الله) asked, “what is that duah?”
He replied, 'To be able to see Imam Ahamd!'
Imam Ahmad رحمه الله was moved and brought to tears. He told the baker, “Subhan'Allah…This is Allah! He brought Ahmad to you, dragging him by his feet all the way to your bakery...!'
- Shaykh Musa Jibril حفظه الله
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