Who is the mufti whose answer absolves one of responsibility?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, who is the mufti whose answer absolves one of responsibility? And is it necessary for me to ask for the evidence, or is it sufficient to rely on his statement?

Answer:
The questioner who asks about the ruling does not ask for the evidence, and it is not among the etiquettes of the one seeking a fatwa to ask the mufti for the evidence. The one who asks for the evidence is the student. The student, as for the one seeking a fatwa, he is not a student; he is only asking about the ruling. It is not among the etiquettes to say to the mufti, "What is your evidence?" So why are you asking him? As for who the mufti is, this comes down to two things: first, the one whom the authority has appointed for this matter and entrusted with it; second, the one whom the people have accepted, trusted, and recognized for his knowledge and piety. Yes.