Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): (… and whoever issues a fatwa without a firm basis, his sin is upon the one who issued it).

The Shaykh : The third and final section of this hadith is His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
In this section, there is a specific ruling concerning scholars who engage in issuing fatwas to people. This is a matter that is, in reality, heavy, on the scale of Allah’s saying to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) made it obligatory for the one seeking a ruling not to rush into issuing a fatwa, but rather to be careful. Being careful means knowing the ruling from the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). If he issues a ruling without this care, which is to refer to the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, and the person seeking the ruling adopts the scholar’s opinion and fatwa, and the scholar had issued it with sin, then the sin is upon the scholar who issued it. From here, we arrive at a serious and very serious issue: when a scholar is asked about a matter and issues a ruling without relying on the Book and the Sunnah, he is issuing a ruling without a firm basis, because the hadith says: , meaning without a chain of narration and without a clear proof. It is known to every Muslim that the proof in Islam is nothing but the Book and the Sunnah, or what is derived from them through scholarly consensus and correct analogical reasoning. So, whoever issues a ruling without a firm basis, meaning without a proof from the Book of Allah or from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), as detailed above, has issued a ruling without guidance and without proof. In that case, the sin of the person seeking the ruling at that time is upon the scholar who issued it. So what is obligatory for the scholar? He must be careful above all else and not rush into the fatwa. This means he must review the matter if he has not already done so. How does he review it, and from where does he derive the correct answer to what he was asked? By referring to the Book and the Sunnah, because the hadith says “without a firm basis,” meaning without a proof. And what is the proof in Islam? It is the Qur’an and the Sunnah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So, do you think that if someone is asked about a matter or a case and issues a ruling based on the opinion of a scholar—any scholar—and he knows that there are two or more opinions in the matter, has he issued a ruling with a firm basis and a proof? If he issues a ruling based on the opinion of so-and-so, knowing that there are two or more opinions in the matter, has he issued a ruling with a firm basis, a proof, and clear evidence? The answer is no, because when the matter is one of the disputed issues, scholars have issued two or more opinions regarding it. He issued a ruling based on one of the opinions without supporting his fatwa, at least in his own mind, with a verse from the Book of Allah or a hadith from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Thus, he has not issued a ruling based on a firm basis, a proof, or clear evidence. Therefore, the sin of this erroneous fatwa does not fall upon the person seeking the ruling, but upon the scholar who issued it; the sin is upon him. So, every person seeking a ruling must be careful in his fatwa, meaning he must base his fatwa on the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The meaning of this scholarly statement, in clear and distinct terms, is that if a scholar is asked about a certain matter—let us give an example: a man asked him, “Does the emergence of blood invalidate the ablution?” He said, “Yes,” meaning that is the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, and this is how he issues the ruling. If we refer to this hadith, we understand that the sin of this answer is upon him, not upon the person seeking the ruling. Why? Because there are two other opinions in this matter. The Hanafi school rules that the ablution is invalid merely by the emergence of blood from its place. The Shafi'i school says that blood does not invalidate the ablution at all, no matter how much there is. The school of Imam Malik and Ahmad distinguishes, saying: if the blood is much, it invalidates the ablution; otherwise, it does not. So, the one who issued the ruling said it invalidates the ablution, but where is the proof? The matter is disputed, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: .