What is our position regarding the disagreement among scholars, between those who permit and those who prohibit?

The questioner: Our Shaykh, what is my position when I hear from your eminence that installment payments are forbidden, and we hear from other scholars, such as the honorable Shaykh Ibn Baz and others, that they are permissible?

The Shaykh: That is correct, by Allah.

The Shaykh: What is my position?

The Shaykh: This question. Your position, first of all, is— and peace be upon you— to listen to the evidence of each of the two disputing parties and to be free from following desires. May Allah protect you from following desires.

The questioner : Amen, and to you as well.

The Shaykh : Amen, amen.

The questioner: And all listeners.

Another questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh: So, be free from following desires and reflect on the evidence of this one and the evidence of that one. After that, follow what the evidence leads you to, even if you are a layman. Do not say, "This is a Shaykh and this is a Shaykh, this is a scholar and this is a scholar," and then take what suits your desire. No, you will be held accountable by Allah— Mighty and Majestic— if you follow your desire on the pretext that there are two opinions on the issue. No, it is obligatory for you to look at the evidence of this one and the evidence of that one. If the evidence leads you to prohibition, it becomes forbidden for you. If the evidence leads you to permissibility, it becomes lawful for you. As for following what is most suitable and most pleasing to you, this falls under the general prohibition of following desires in the Book and the Sunnah. This is the first thing, and it is necessary to be free from the problem of scholars' disagreement on a certain issue.
The second thing: that you adopt the principle: , and this is not my word or the word of such-and-such a Shaykh, but rather it is the saying of the Prophet of all of us: . And if the issue does not involve caution, we can imagine issues that do not involve caution, then in the final stage comes his saying— peace and blessings be upon him— with the observation to avoid following desires: .
And my personal belief is that people today neglect applying all these stages. For example, I imagine a brother of ours hears an opinion from me, or a brother of such-and-such a Shaykh hears an opinion from him, but he will quickly leave the opinion of the Shaykh in whose study circles he lived when he finds his desire and interest with the other Shaykh, while he is biased toward the first Shaykh. Our problem is that we do not use the scale to know whether the saying of so-and-so is correct or the saying of so-and-so, but rather we look at interest, desire, dispensation, and facilitation, and so on, with whichever opinion we proceed, even if it contradicts the saying of the man whose scientific and intellectual methodology you adopt, and so on. Therefore, we must get rid of two problems. Perhaps we have gotten rid of one of them, which is blind following, but we have not gotten rid of the other problem, which is following desires. Following desires is a great prohibition. "The worst thing in a man is a followed desire and the self-pleasing of every opinion with its own opinion." Therefore, I advise that if a Muslim is confused between two opinions, he must search, to the extent of his ability, for the evidence of each of them, and then follow what the evidence leads to, whether it is for him or against him. If there is, for example, a doubtful matter, he should follow the hadith we mentioned earlier, whose meaning is: . If the issue does not end, hypothetically, with this or that, it ends finally with: . And it does not mean that "consult your heart" means "follow your desire." No, the heart that believes in Allah— Mighty and Majestic— and is mindful of the surveillance of Allah— Mighty and Majestic— who knows what is in the breasts.
Perhaps this amount is sufficient, O Abu Ahmad, and allow us to proceed, if Allah wills. The questions, what Allah willed, we have a noble guest here, and we are compelled.