Fatwas on the Memorization of Zad al-Mustaqna' in Matters of Divorce
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The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. If I have memorized and understood the book of divorce in Zad al-Mustaqna', am I permitted to issue fatwas to anyone in this chapter, or should I refer them to the senior scholars?
The Shaykh:
The issue of an existing marriage is one in which only the court intervenes. If it is an existing marriage and a dispute arises between the husband and wife that necessitates their separation, only the judge may separate them; the mufti does not separate them. However, if you are asked about this before the marriage takes place, you may issue a fatwa and state that the ruling is such-and-such. As for an existing marriage, this is the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts to look into. Yes.
The questioner:
We say: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
So we advise our brothers that they should not intervene in matters of divorce, because some of the brothers are hasty and issue fatwas, saying, "We issue a fatwa for so-and-so regarding such-and-such" in matters of divorce. This is dangerous, dangerous for the people. So refer them, may Allah bless you, refer them to the courts, because people generally do not tell the truth; they lie. And now, the circumstances of divorce in the courts and in issuing fatwas have come to involve the computer; it is entered into the computer. So if he wants to lie, it will not happen to him; he hits the computer and his first divorce comes up. So people are not regulated except by this. Do not issue fatwas on divorce, do not issue fatwas on divorce, do not issue fatwas on divorce. Refer them to the competent authorities.
The questioner:
He says: My honor.
The Shaykh:
Some imam of a mosque, or a mu'adhdhin, or so-and-so, issues fatwas to people. And when it is said to him, he says, "So-and-so said such-and-such," and he does not know, but he follows so-and-so, he follows the Shaykh al-Islam, even though he did not understand the words of the Shaykh al-Islam. Most people, you see, do not understand the words, and they attribute to the shaykhs things that their words do not bear. So the matter is very serious. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. If I have memorized and understood the book of divorce in Zad al-Mustaqna', am I permitted to issue fatwas to anyone in this chapter, or should I refer them to the senior scholars?
The Shaykh:
The issue of an existing marriage is one in which only the court intervenes. If it is an existing marriage and a dispute arises between the husband and wife that necessitates their separation, only the judge may separate them; the mufti does not separate them. However, if you are asked about this before the marriage takes place, you may issue a fatwa and state that the ruling is such-and-such. As for an existing marriage, this is the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts to look into. Yes.
The questioner:
We say: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
So we advise our brothers that they should not intervene in matters of divorce, because some of the brothers are hasty and issue fatwas, saying, "We issue a fatwa for so-and-so regarding such-and-such" in matters of divorce. This is dangerous, dangerous for the people. So refer them, may Allah bless you, refer them to the courts, because people generally do not tell the truth; they lie. And now, the circumstances of divorce in the courts and in issuing fatwas have come to involve the computer; it is entered into the computer. So if he wants to lie, it will not happen to him; he hits the computer and his first divorce comes up. So people are not regulated except by this. Do not issue fatwas on divorce, do not issue fatwas on divorce, do not issue fatwas on divorce. Refer them to the competent authorities.
The questioner:
He says: My honor.
The Shaykh:
Some imam of a mosque, or a mu'adhdhin, or so-and-so, issues fatwas to people. And when it is said to him, he says, "So-and-so said such-and-such," and he does not know, but he follows so-and-so, he follows the Shaykh al-Islam, even though he did not understand the words of the Shaykh al-Islam. Most people, you see, do not understand the words, and they attribute to the shaykhs things that their words do not bear. So the matter is very serious. Yes.
Source
الفوزان -أشرطة- شرح زاد المستقنع مع الأسئلة - ٠٧٥-كتاب الطلاق - ٣-٢-٢٥ هـ — archive.org (9:05)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.