The statement of Imam Ahmad: "Whoever does not say that Allah created Adam in the image of the Most Merciful is a Jahmi." What is your opinion on this?

The questioner : One of the questioners asked Imam Ahmad about the creation of Adam in His image, and he said, "It is only in the image of Adam, and it is not in the image of the Most Merciful." Zakariyya said, "I then said to 'Abd al-Wahhab, 'What do you say about Abu Thawr?'" He said, "I do not hold him accountable except by the statement of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Abu Thawr is to be boycotted, as is anyone who holds to his view." Zakariyya said, "And I said to 'Abd al-Wahhab on another occasion, and some people had spoken on this issue of Allah creating Adam in His image, 'Whoever does not say that Allah created Adam in the image of the Most Merciful is a Jahmi.'" This is a book from the author of the *Radd* (Refutation) who transmitted statements to the effect that he did not say this statement, and that whoever says it is a Jahmi, from Imam Ahmad.

The Shaykh : We are not followers of a specific school, praise be to Allah. We are enemies of the Jahmiyyah, but we are not followers of a specific school. What is the evidence that whoever says a statement that agrees with the Jahmiyyah becomes a Jahmi? That is one point. The other is: what is the evidence for the validity of the claim that the pronoun refers specifically to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), especially after we mentioned what we mentioned earlier? These are statements like many jurisprudential statements that are left to their speaker, so it is not permissible to argue with them, especially if their necessary implication is to strike against the authentic Sunnah. So we say, for example, if the speaker of this statement were present, or if one of those who adopted this statement from those who came after him were present, what would you say about the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in *Sahih al-Bukhari* ? Do we take the hadith and leave the statement that accuses its holder of being a Jahmi, or do we not care about these statements because they emerged from the path of independent legal reasoning? We must follow the Sunnah and follow the hadith, whether that is in matters of creed or in rulings. Please.