Imam Ahmad ya ci gaba da al'adar malaminsa, Imam ash-Shafi'i, da kuma na malaman farko, ta hanyar kokarin dasa wa dalibansa babbar girmamawa ga madogaran Musulunci da kyamar bin ra'ayin malamai ba tare da hujja ba. Amma, saboda taqlid ya fara samun gindin zama a tsakanin wasu mabiyan malaman farko, Ahmad ya dauki mataki mai tsauri har ma fiye da haka. Yayin da Abu Hanifa ya hana dalibansa rubuta dukkan ra'ayoyinsa, Imam Ahmad kuwa ya hana dalibansa rubuta ko daya daga cikin ra'ayoyinsa kwata-kwata. Saboda haka, madhhabinsa bai tattaru a rubuce ba sai a zamanin dalibansa.

Imaam Ahmad carried on the tradition of his teacher, Imaam ash-Shaafi’ee as well as that of the earlier Imaams by trying to instill in his students a high respect for the sources of Islaam and a disdain for rigid imitation of scholars’ opinions. But, because Taqleed had begun to take root among some of the followers of the earlier Imaams, Ahmad took even more drastic action. Whereas Abu Haneefah discouraged his students from recording all of his opinions, Imaam Ahmad forbade them from recording any of his opinions at all. Thus, his Madh-hab was not compiled in written form until the era of his students.

Ahmad ya yi gargaɗi sosai game da Taqleed, kamar yadda ya bayyana a cikin wannan magana tasa da Ibn Qayyim ya rubuta:

Ahmad was very explicit in his warnings against Taqleed, as is evident in the following saying of his recorded by Ibn Qayyim:

"Kada ku bi hukunce-hukuncena a makaho, ko na Maalik, ko na ash-Shaafi'ee, ko na al-Awzaa'ee, ko na ath-Thawree. Ku ɗauki (hukunce-hukunce) daga inda suka ɗauka."209 Haka kuma, a wata maganarsa da Ibn 'Abdul-Barr ya ruwaito, ya ce: "Ra'ayoyin al-Awzaa'ee, da Maalik, da Abu Haneefah ra'ayoyi ne kawai, kuma a wurina dukkansu daidai suke, amma ma'aunin gaskiya da ƙarya yana cikin Hadisai."210

“Do not blindly follow my rulings, those of Maalik, ash-Shaafi’ee, al-Awzaa’ee or ath-Thawree, Take (your rulings) from whence they took theirs.”209 Similarly, in another of his statements recorded by Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr. He said, “The opinions of al-Awzaa’ee, Maalik and Abu Haneefah are simply opinions and to me they are all equal, but the real criterion for right or wrong is in the Hadeeths.”210

Girman fifita hadisai a kan ra'ayoyi da Imam ke yi ya kai har ya kan fifita hadisi mai rauni a kan hukuncin da aka cire ta hanyar ra'ayi.

The Imaam’s preference for Hadeeths over opinions was so great that he used to prefer a weak Hadeeth over a deduced ruling.

Girman sa ga Sunnah ta Manzon Allah (s.w.), wanda shi kansa ya tattara a cikin wani babban littafi mai sama da Hadisai 30,000 mai suna al-Musnad Al-Kabeer, ya kai har ya yi gargadi mai tsanani ga duk wanda zai kuskura ya yi watsi da wani Hadisin Manzon Allah (s.w.). Ibn al-Jawzee ya ruwaito cewa Imam Ahmad ya ce: "Duk wanda ya ki amincewa da wani Hadisi ingantacce daga Manzon Allah (s.w.) yana kan hanyar halaka."211 Manzon Allah (s.w.) ya ba sahabbansa da Musulmai baki daya umarni kamar haka: "Ku isar da abin da kuka ji daga gare ni, koda kuwa aya ce kawai (daga Alkur'ani),"212 domin shiriyar Allah ta kasance ga dukkan tsararrakin Musulmai har zuwa Ranar Lahira. Saboda haka, Imam Ahmad ya yi gwagwarmaya sosai a kan duk abin da zai iya hana isar da shiriyar Allah ga zamaninsa da zamanin da za su biyo baya.

His respect for the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.w.), which he himself collected in a major work of over 30,000 Hadeeths called al-Musnad Al-Kabeer, was so great that he also gave severe warnings to those who would dare disregard a Hadeeth of the Prophet (s.w.). Ibn alJawzee reported that Imaam Ahmad said, “Whoever rejects an authentic Hadeeth of Allaah’s messenger (s.w.) is on the verge of destruction.”211 The Prophet (s.w.) had given the following order to his companions and Muslims in general: “Convey what you have heard from me, even if it is only a verse (from the Qur’aan),”212 in order that divine guidance would be available to all generations of Muslims until the Last Day. Because of that, Imaam Ahmad fought vigilantly against anything which could possibly interfere with the conveyance of divine guidance to his generation as well as those to come.