, although reports from him differ on this point. As for scholars such as Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Sufyān, Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh, and Abū ʿUbayd, he explicitly stated on several occasions that a scholar capable of examining the evidence may not follow them merely on their authority. He said:
“Do not follow me merely on my authority, nor Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, or al-Thawrī.”
He loved and praised al-Shāfiʿī, loved and praised Ishāq, and praised Mālik, al-Thawrī, and other leading scholars. He would instruct laypeople to seek fatwas from Ishāq, Abū ʿUbayd, Abū Thawr, and Abū Musʿab. Yet he would forbid the scholars among his companions—such as Abū Dāwūd, ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd, Ibrāhīm al-Harbī, Abū Bakr al-Athram, Abū Zurʿah, Abū Hātim al-Sijistānī, Muslim, and others—from following any scholar merely on his authority. He would say:
“Adhere to the foundation: the Book and the Sunnah.”