How is the stronger opinion chosen among scholars in the case of disagreement? And what is the position regarding the opinion of the other scholar?

The Shaykh : ... Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): , with one condition; namely, that he be far from following his own desires; that is, the factor driving him to choose one of the two opinions of these two eminent scholars must not be his following of his own desires. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and others, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): ; ; meaning, his own desire for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So, if this Muslim purifies himself, no matter how low his academic level may be, he has no choice but to choose one of the two opinions while avoiding following his own desires. This condition is fundamental in this issue, which poses a difficulty for some people. There are other matters that this Muslim may be able to consider, either all of them, part of them, or some of them. What is required of him is to use his ability, as He (the Exalted) said: , and his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . With his ability, every Muslim can learn something about the biography of that scholar whose fatwa differs from the opinion of the other scholar. If he manages, for example, to find out that one of them is more God-fearing (Blessed and Exalted is He) and more righteous, then this becomes a factor for him to prefer the opinion of the more God-fearing and more righteous one over the opinion of the other scholar. Likewise, he should think and look into which of the two scholars is more senior in the study of the specific science in which they issued their fatwas? If it is, for example, in tafsir, or in hadith, or in fiqh, then the length of time one of them has spent in that science is also a factor for this confused Muslim who is unsure which opinion to rely on, or which opinion to act upon.
Finally, there is another factor for preference that every Muslim who encounters such a problem should not overlook; and that is to look into which of the two scholars is more specialized in the science in which each of them issued a fatwa. If the question is in tafsir, and one of them is a specialist in it while the other is not, he should prefer the opinion of the specialist over the non-specialist scholar. The other issues are measured accordingly. This is a very obvious matter; for every Muslim is exposed to being afflicted, either in himself, in his child, or in a relative, with one of the diseases that usually befall a person. So what does this person who is afflicted with one of the diseases do? Does he go to any doctor, or does he ask many questions? Among them: Who is the specialist doctor for this disease? For example, if a person is afflicted with an internal disease, he does not go to the man who specializes in treating eye or ear diseases, or the like. And the reverse is exactly the same. If he is told about the specialist, he asks: Do you think this one is more knowledgeable or that one? Is this one more senior or that one? And so on, until he reaches the doctor in whom his soul finds peace and his chest opens up. At that point, he presents himself or his patient to him.
This is how he deals with a problem that has arisen regarding his body. It is even more fitting and more necessary that he deal with the matter of seeking the specialist in the science in which the difficulty arose for this Muslim by following this path. After that, he will undoubtedly end up acting according to the opinion of one of them, and nothing is obligatory upon him beyond that; because he has exerted effort and expended his energy to know the truth in which these two scholars differed, in the form of the question raised earlier. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in His Book: , and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: . And every person’s ijtihad is according to his condition. This is the ijtihad of the ordinary Muslim who has no knowledge of the scientific methods by which a Muslim can prefer one opinion over another. But if he is among the students of knowledge or among the people of knowledge, the matter is easy for him; because he will seek the scriptural evidence that helps him to prefer one opinion over another.
This is what I have in answer to this question.

The questioner: What is the position, O Shaykh, regarding the opinion of the other scholar?

The Shaykh: Yes, the continuation of the question. You reminded me, may Allah reward you with good. I say, in the continuation of the question, its answer is: The position of this Muslim whom I mentioned earlier regarding the opinion of the other scholar, to whom he did not incline and whom he did not see as correct within the limits of what he chose, is that he should not speak about it; because he will be speaking about it without knowledge. Therefore, such a difference of opinion should not be a cause of division between one Muslim and another. One of them chose the opinion of the first scholar, and the other chose the opinion of the second scholar, and neither of them has knowledge of the other’s position, but they only knew what was possible within the limits we mentioned earlier. So it is not permissible for either of them to speak ill of the other scholar whose opinion he considered weaker and did not adopt or act upon. This is the stance that every Muslim must take regarding the differing opinions of scholars. For we know from the biography of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) that they differed on some issues, and there was no one among the Companions upon whose knowledge they relied, and they numbered thousands, except for about two hundred scholars from the Companions. So each of the general Companions would take the opinion that reached him from any of those two hundred scholars. And yet, the difference that existed among the Companions was not a cause of division among them, nor did it cast enmity and hatred into the ranks of the general Muslims. That is because they know that whoever exerts effort and makes a mistake is excused, and indeed he is rewarded, as you heard in the aforementioned hadith. So what right does the one who preferred the opinion of one scholar over the other have to criticize the opinion of the other?! This is contrary to what every Muslim should be.
Yes.