and scrupulousness. Some are stronger in these qualities than others: the more mindful a man is of Allah and the more he fears Him, the stronger this inference is in his case. Abū ʿAbd Allāh was among the most pious of this community and the greatest in renunciation and scrupulousness. Indeed, he was a forerunner and leader in these qualities, as his life and the lives of others testify—accounts familiar to scholars and ordinary people alike.

Likewise, al-Shāfiʿī’s followers found his explicit statement that selling green broad beans was impermissible, yet he purchased them during his illness. They therefore differed, holding two views on whether a legal position could be inferred from this and attributed to him. They discussed a similar question concerning the holding of two Friday congregational prayers in one locality when he entered Baghdad.

If we hold that an action represents Imam Ahmad’s legal position, may we also say that he regarded what he did as preferable to its alternatives? This inference is weaker than the first. His doing something indicates its permissibility when it is not among his devotional practices. If he performs it as an act of worship, it indicates that he regards it as recommended or obligatory. To establish that he regards it as preferable to something else, however, requires separate evidence. A person often turns from the better course to one that is less excellent because of obstacles to the better course, the conditions it requires, or a lack of motivation.

Moreover, even if his action is permissible, recommended, or preferable, it does not establish a general ruling covering every situation. Rather, its ruling extends only to comparable cases. This is true of all actions: they do not, in themselves, establish a general ruling. Even an action of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, does not in itself establish a general ruling.

It may further be said that the imams’ actions and abstentions fall into categories, just as the actions of the Prophet