Who are the people of fatwa?

Question:
May Allah reward you and bless you. The second question: Is every professor at the university qualified to issue fatwas? Yes, Shaykh Salih says: As for issuing fatwas, is every person who has reached a stage where he issues fatwas, or who has become a professor, qualified to issue fatwas to people when they ask?

Answer:
In any case, issuing a fatwa is a great trust, and it is not permissible for a person to speak in it except with knowledge, and only to the extent of the need, and if it is possible for him to refer the question to someone more qualified than himself.
Then he should refer it, but if it is not possible, then answering becomes obligatory upon him. If he has an answer he trusts, let him answer with it, and if he does not have an answer, let him say, "Allah knows best," or "I do not know," and he should not consider the phrase "I do not know" to be a great thing.
For many of the imams, when they are asked about something and they do not recall the answer at the present moment, they say, "I do not know," or "Come back to me at another time," or "Go to so-and-so." As for answering every question without verification, without deliberation, and without knowledge, this is dangerous for him and for the one who asks him and acts upon his fatwa. So he should fear Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and he should not enter into issuing fatwas except if he has knowledge and is in need of it, while being cautious as much as possible.
And if an answer does not come to his mind, there is no blame on him for saying, "I do not know," and he may postpone the answer or refer it to someone more knowledgeable than him. Yes.