Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal was traveling and needed a place to stay overnight. When he approached the Masjid, the unrecognized guard denied him entry. Despite repeated attempts, the guard refused his requests. Frustrated, Imām Aḥmad decided to spend the night in the Masjid’s courtyard. Despite his old age and frailty, the guard angrily dragged him away.
A nearby baker, witnessing the incident, felt sorry for Imām Aḥmad and offered him shelter for the night. During his stay, Imām Aḥmad observed that the baker consistently sought Allāh’s forgiveness (made Istighfār) while working.
The next morning, the Imām eagerly inquired about the baker’s consistent seeking of forgiveness. The baker explained that it had become second nature to him. Imām Ahmad then asked if he had witnessed any rewards from this practice.
The baker answered, “𝘉𝘺 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩! 𝘕𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥; 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦.”
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘶’𝘢̄?” asked Imām Aḥmad.
“𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘐𝘮𝘢̄𝘮 𝘈𝘩̣𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘏̣𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘭!” said the baker.
Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal interjected, “𝘉𝘺 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘈𝘩̣𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘣𝘯 𝘏̣𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘭! 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦.”
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: Al-Jumu’ah, Vol. 22, Issue 12, Page 33.
