A Response to Those Who Permit Taking Advantage of Dispensations on the Ground That Issues Are Matters of Independent Legal Reasoning

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: What is the response to the one who says there is no harm in taking advantage of dispensations (rukhsah) because the issues are matters of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and therefore the one who disagrees should not be considered misguided?

Answer:
Who is the one who said this? The dispensations (rukhsah) that Allah has granted are not to be taken advantage of, and the one who denies them is mistaken or misguided. As for the dispensations that are actually a difference of opinion among scholars, where they disagreed on this, that is not a dispensation; it is a difference of opinion. One takes what is supported by the evidence. You say, "It is not up to me; they disagreed, so I will take what suits me." That is not permissible. Yes, follow the evidence. If you do not know the evidence, ask the people of knowledge about this statement. Yes.