I came to the gate of Caliph Al-Mu’tasim and the people were crowded around it as if it were the day of Eid. I entered the house and I saw carpets and chairs outspread and I stood between them. When the Caliph received us, he sat upon his throne and removed his shoes and placed his feet over each other. He said, “Bring us Ahmad ibn Hanbal.” So Ahmad was brought and when he arrived he greeted him with peace.
When the man intended to strike him a fourth time, I looked at the garment around his waist and it became loose. Ahmad wished he could fall to the ground, so he raised his head towards the sky and moved his lips, but it was as if the earth split and two hands came out to support his weight by the power of Allah.
Imam Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, prayed for mercy and forgiveness for his persecutors because he knew it was not clear to them that they were denying the Messenger and contending against what he had brought. Rather, they had a misinterpretation and so they sinned and imitated those who told them as such.