and others, such as the Prophet’s saying:

“No adulterer commits adultery while he is a believer; no thief steals while he is a believer; and no drinker drinks wine while he is a believer,”

and similar reports.

He refuted the positions of the Murjiʾah and Jahmiyyah, as well as those of the Khawārij and Muʿtazilah. All these groups cite ambiguous texts to support their positions. Yet no one, whether from Ahl al-Sunnah or from these groups, ever said concerning the texts he himself cited, or those his opponent cited against him: “These are verses and hadiths whose meanings no human being knows, so refrain from citing them as evidence.”

Imam Ahmad rejected the approach of the people of innovation who explain the Quran according to their own opinions and interpretations, without drawing upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or the statements of the Companions and the Successors. The Companions conveyed the meanings of the Quran to the Successors just as they conveyed its wording; they transmitted the one just as they transmitted the other. The people of innovation, however, interpret the texts in ways that contradict what Allah and His Messenger intended, claiming that this is the interpretation known to those firmly grounded in knowledge. Their claim is false, especially in the case of the interpretations of the heretical Qarmatians and Bātiniyyah. The same applies to the adherents of newly introduced speculative theology among the Jahmiyyah, Qadariyyah, and others.

These latter, however, acknowledge that they do not know the interpretation. The most they can say is: “The apparent meaning of this verse is not intended, but such-and-such may be intended, or such-and-such.” Even if one of them assigns it a particular interpretation, he does not know that it is