The scholars' words are used as evidence for a ruling, but not as evidence in themselves. What does this mean?

Question : I told you that the scholars' words are used as evidence for a ruling, but not as evidence in themselves. What does this phrase mean?

Answer : May Allah keep you safe. It means that if someone were to say to us, "So-and-so the scholar said such and such," we would ask him, "Where is the evidence?" So, his words are used as evidence for a ruling, but not as evidence in themselves. However, there is no doubt that they are used as a reference.