The biographers said that Imam Ahmad hid for three days during the Mihnah, and when he was asked about it, he said
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The biographers who wrote about the virtues of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) count among his virtues that he hid for three days during the Mihnah, and then sought to move. When he was asked about that, he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hid in the Cave of Thawr for three days and then came out. What is the guidance regarding that?
Answer:
I do not know this; I do not know this. I need to verify it. Yes. I do not think Imam Ahmad would hide and leave the prayer in the mosques. This is the seclusion of the Sufis. I think he would hide and leave the prayer in the mosques, leave the lessons of knowledge, and leave his students. I do not think this is the case. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The biographers who wrote about the virtues of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) count among his virtues that he hid for three days during the Mihnah, and then sought to move. When he was asked about that, he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hid in the Cave of Thawr for three days and then came out. What is the guidance regarding that?
Answer:
I do not know this; I do not know this. I need to verify it. Yes. I do not think Imam Ahmad would hide and leave the prayer in the mosques. This is the seclusion of the Sufis. I think he would hide and leave the prayer in the mosques, leave the lessons of knowledge, and leave his students. I do not think this is the case. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [775 /1350] قال أهل السير أن الإمام أحمد اختبأ زمن المحنة ثلاثة أيام، فلما سئل عن ذلك، قال.. — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.