The Ruling on Referring to Laws Derived from the Shari'ah

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what is the ruling on resorting to the law derived from the Shari'ah, as opposed to human systems, and the law that existed in the late Ottoman period?

Answer:
It is not permissible to refer to any law except what agrees with the Book and the Sunnah, even if it is from the statements of the jurists. We do not accept from them, even if it is from the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, or Maliki schools, except what is supported by valid evidence. We do not accept from these schools except what is based on evidence. As for a statement that contradicts the evidence, we do not accept it and do not consider it part of the Shari'ah, because it is the opinion of a jurist. The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Allah said, His Messenger said, and the Companions said. They are the ones who know best. What is knowledge? Is it the discrepancy between the texts and the opinion of so-and-so?" And the poet said: "Allah said, His Messenger said, and the Companions said. There is no discrepancy in this. What is knowledge? You have been set up for the discrepancy. How foolish is that between the texts and the opinion of a jurist." So one must know this matter.
Therefore, the Ottoman Civil Code or any other code is not accepted except what is based on evidence, whether it is from the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis, al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, or other imams. The criterion is the evidence.