Preference When the Opinion of Some Scholars Conflicts with the Opinion of the Majority
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: If the opinion of some scholars conflicts with the opinion of the majority, and we do not know a clear evidence for either, but they are merely independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), then who is to be prioritized in this matter?
Answer:
Prioritize the one who has evidence. If you know the evidence, prefer the one who has it. If you do not know the evidence, ask the scholars. Do not say, “I will take any opinion.” May Allah expand your knowledge. This is not permissible. If he has evidence, take his opinion. If he has no evidence, or if you do not know the evidence, ask the scholars. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: If the opinion of some scholars conflicts with the opinion of the majority, and we do not know a clear evidence for either, but they are merely independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), then who is to be prioritized in this matter?
Answer:
Prioritize the one who has evidence. If you know the evidence, prefer the one who has it. If you do not know the evidence, ask the scholars. Do not say, “I will take any opinion.” May Allah expand your knowledge. This is not permissible. If he has evidence, take his opinion. If he has no evidence, or if you do not know the evidence, ask the scholars. Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من باب ما جاء في قيام الليل — islamhouse.com (1:11:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.