Conditions of the Mufti

Question:
Finally, Shaykh Salih, who is the mufti that you qualify to issue fatwas?

Answer:
The mufti is one in whom the conditions for issuing fatwas are present. These are that he be well-versed in knowledge, well-versed in the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and well-versed also in the rules of deriving rulings from the Book and the Sunnah. He must also be knowledgeable about the abrogating and the abrogated, the specific and the general, the absolute and the qualified, and the ambiguous and the clear. Furthermore, he must be knowledgeable about the Arabic language and its rules, by which the Noble Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah were revealed. This applies to the scholar who derives rulings. As for the scholar who memorizes the statements of the people of knowledge but is unable to derive rulings, and in whom the conditions for derivation are not present, he is required to prefer, from the statements of the people of knowledge, what he sees as the stronger position and issue a fatwa based on it. He chooses from the statements of the people of knowledge what he sees as closest to the evidence and issues a fatwa based on it. This is what they call the mujtahid al-madhhab (a scholar qualified to derive rulings within a school of jurisprudence). The first type is called the absolute mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings). This one is the mujtahid al-madhhab, who prefers between the statements of the people of knowledge and takes what becomes clear to him as being most in accordance with the evidence and closest to the evidence. This last type may be available, praise be to Allah. As for the first type, it is either rare, few in number, or non-existent. Yes.