It is established in the authentic hadith of al-'Irbād ibn Sāriya that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me. Hold firmly to it and cling to it with your molar teeth. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every religious innovation is misguidance.”

In the Sunan collections, Safīna relates that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The caliphate upon the prophetic model will last thirty years; then it will become oppressive kingship.”

What is reported from Abū Hanīfa thus implies that the statements of the Rightly Guided Caliphs constitute authoritative evidence. No early practice of the people of Medina during the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is known to have contradicted the Sunnah of the Messenger, may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace.

The Third Level

When two proofs concerning an issue conflict—such as two hadiths or two analogical arguments—and it is unclear which carries greater weight, while the people of Medina act upon one of them, there is disagreement over this. Mālik and al-Shāfi'ī hold that the practice of the people of Medina gives that proof precedence. Abū Hanīfa holds that their practice does not give it precedence.

Ahmad’s followers have two views. The first, held by al-Qādī Abū Ya'lā and Ibn 'Aqīl, is that it does not give it precedence. The second, held by Abū al-Khattāb and others, is that it does. It has been said that this is Ahmad’s explicitly stated position. Among his statements is the following:

“When the people of Medina accept a hadith and act upon it, that is the ultimate.”

He used to issue fatwas according to the school of the people of