The reason for the large number of narrations from Imam Ahmad

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the reason for the large number of narrations from Imam Ahmad, as mentioned regarding the ruling on the prayer of the two festivals?

Answer:
Because Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was a mujtahid who sought the truth and the evidence. In every instance, he would exercise independent legal reasoning without limiting himself to his first opinion. New knowledge would come to him that he did not have before, and he would hear and narrate evidence that had not been available previously. So, he would exercise independent legal reasoning according to the circumstances and conditions, seeking the truth in this. All of these are instances of independent legal reasoning. If he announced that he was retracting his first opinion, he would retract it, and it would not be attributed to him, because he was the one who knew about the retraction. But if he did not announce it, all of it is independent legal reasoning, and one looks at the evidence. One looks at the evidence alongside the first, second, third, or tenth opinion. The one with the evidence is the one that is adopted.