The Ruling on Preventing the Pretenders to Knowledge from Issuing Fatwas
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. Is it permissible for the one in authority, or for someone acting on his behalf in the Council of Senior Scholars, to prevent some Muslims who have overstepped the bounds regarding the religion and its people and have issued anomalous fatwas that contradict the evidence? Is it permissible for us to prevent them from issuing fatwas? Is there a legal basis for this in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
There is no doubt that the matter of issuing fatwas is great and its danger is significant; because the mufti speaks on behalf of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he signs on behalf of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and speaking about Allah is above shirk (associating partners with Allah).[Al-A'raf 7:33] Issuing a fatwa without knowledge is speaking about Allah without knowledge. We ask Allah for safety.
So they should fear Allah; they should fear Allah and not issue fatwas. Even a scholar does not issue a fatwa except in cases of dire necessity or pressing need. If he is certain of the correctness of the fatwa, he issues it when asked, and he does not conceal knowledge that people need. This is the scholar. As for the pretender to knowledge and the ignorant person, it is not permissible for him to intervene in a matter he does not understand. He must fear Allah and refrain from what is not his concern. He must know that he is accountable before Allah on the Day of Resurrection for what he said; he will be held to account. This is not an easy matter. The words are spoken and gone, published in the newspapers or on the radio or the station, and it is over. No, you will meet them on the Day of Resurrection. Stop at your limit, so first stop yourself. You have not burdened Allah with this matter. Also, the rulers (may Allah preserve them) must prevent this.
They must prevent these people so that they do not destroy themselves and destroy others. They must prevent them from this practice, out of mercy for them and mercy for the society, and to protect the religion above all else. That is, it is obligatory for the rulers to prevent this. There are specific bodies designated for fatwas who are responsible for them. One refers to them for fatwas. Matters are not chaotic; matters have references and standards to which one refers.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. Is it permissible for the one in authority, or for someone acting on his behalf in the Council of Senior Scholars, to prevent some Muslims who have overstepped the bounds regarding the religion and its people and have issued anomalous fatwas that contradict the evidence? Is it permissible for us to prevent them from issuing fatwas? Is there a legal basis for this in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
There is no doubt that the matter of issuing fatwas is great and its danger is significant; because the mufti speaks on behalf of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), he signs on behalf of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and speaking about Allah is above shirk (associating partners with Allah).
and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know."
وَأَن تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَن تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَSo they should fear Allah; they should fear Allah and not issue fatwas. Even a scholar does not issue a fatwa except in cases of dire necessity or pressing need. If he is certain of the correctness of the fatwa, he issues it when asked, and he does not conceal knowledge that people need. This is the scholar. As for the pretender to knowledge and the ignorant person, it is not permissible for him to intervene in a matter he does not understand. He must fear Allah and refrain from what is not his concern. He must know that he is accountable before Allah on the Day of Resurrection for what he said; he will be held to account. This is not an easy matter. The words are spoken and gone, published in the newspapers or on the radio or the station, and it is over. No, you will meet them on the Day of Resurrection. Stop at your limit, so first stop yourself. You have not burdened Allah with this matter. Also, the rulers (may Allah preserve them) must prevent this.
They must prevent these people so that they do not destroy themselves and destroy others. They must prevent them from this practice, out of mercy for them and mercy for the society, and to protect the religion above all else. That is, it is obligatory for the rulers to prevent this. There are specific bodies designated for fatwas who are responsible for them. One refers to them for fatwas. Matters are not chaotic; matters have references and standards to which one refers.
Source
لقاء مفتوح في مركز المرور بالطائف — alfawzan.live (12:51)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.