The ruling on a student of knowledge issuing a fatwa when there is no absolute mufti

The questioner : Regarding the topic of the fatwa: sometimes a student of knowledge is in a place where there are no scholars, and they do not ask him what he should do?

The Shaykh : If he has knowledge. Because a student of knowledge is not required to be a scholar in everything. The correct view is that ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) is divisible in chapters and also in issues. A person may be a mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings) in one chapter of knowledge and not in others, and he may be a mujtahid in a specific issue of a specific chapter. Is that clear? Then, if he is neither of these, he issues a fatwa based on the statement of one whose statement he trusts.

The questioner : Do you accept their fatwas, or is that of no benefit?

The Shaykh : He transmits the fatwas of the scholars. Yes. And if he has approved of one of the scholars, there is nothing wrong with him issuing a fatwa based on that scholar’s statement without attributing it to him.