to refute the views of those who oppose the Sunnah, as is well known from his writings and among his followers.
However, Ahmad condemned the same forms of speculative theology rooted in religious innovation that the rest of the Muslim community condemned: discourse contrary to the Quran and Sunnah, and speaking about Allah and His religion without knowledge.
Ahmad cited the words of Allah Most High:
“Say, ‘My Lord has only forbidden shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sin; unjust aggression; associating with Allah anything for which He has sent down no authority; and saying about Allah what you do not know.’”
[Al-A‘rāf: 33]
Ahmad is more renowned than the other imams for discussing the foundations of religion using conclusive evidence, both transmitted and rational, and his discussions are more extensive. This is because he was tried by those who opposed the Sunnah and therefore needed to address these matters.
His arguments from rational evidence in support of what accords with the Sunnah have no equivalent in the writings of the other imams. Yet Ahmad did not employ analogical inference concerning Allah Most High; he employed only a fortiori reasoning, which is what the Quran and Sunnah teach. Allah does not resemble anything else in any respect such that the two could be accorded the same judgment in an analogy. Rather, He, glorified is He, is more deserving of every praise and further removed from every blame. Thus, every attribute of pure perfection, free of imperfection in any respect, is more fittingly attributed to Him than to anything else. Likewise, He is more deserving than anything else of being declared free of every attribute of imperfection.
When the Quran demonstrates His power to recreate creation by pointing to His having accomplished something greater, this is an instance of a fortiori reasoning. In the same way, it demonstrates that He is free of offspring and partners.
Ahmad likewise followed this approach—as discussed in the relevant place—for example, in explaining how He can know all created beings while being separate from the world, above