The Ruling on a Layperson Issuing Fatwas Based on What He Has Heard

Question:
The second question, O Hamdan? Honorable Shaykh, some people, the elderly, sit and talk among themselves, and some people write down what they hear, though they neither read nor write and know nothing about it. I mean, may Allah forgive us, they might hear it from another person and not know if it is correct or wrong. Do they incur the blame for this? Perhaps there are people who hear a lot of this. Thank you. I have something to ask about. He says: Some laypeople issue fatwas on matters of the Shari'ah while they do not know, where they hear a fatwa and then transmit it to others and issue a fatwa while they do not know?

Answer:
This is forbidden. It is forbidden for him, and this is speaking about Allah without knowledge. So one does not issue a fatwa without knowledge, nor does one transmit a fatwa, perhaps he did not understand it correctly, perhaps it is on a topic other than the one he thinks it is. So he does not get involved in this. He directs people to the scholars to ask them, and he does not issue fatwas for them. Yes.