"Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow other protectors besides Him. Little do you remember." (Sūrah al-Aʿrāf, 7:3) 1 - Abū Ḥanīfah (raḥimahu Allāh): The first of them is the Imam Abū Ḥanīfah al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit (raḥimahu Allāh). His companions have narrated various statements and expressions from him, all leading to one conclusion, which is the obligation to adhere to the ḥadīth and to abandon blind imitation of the opinions of the imams that contradict it: 1 - "If the ḥadīth is authentic, then it is my madhhab." (Ibn ʿĀbidīn in "al-Ḥāshiyah" 1/63) 2 - "It is not permissible for anyone to take our statement unless they know from where we derived it." (Ibn ʿĀbidīn in "Ḥāshiyah ʿalá al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq" 6/293)