What is the position of the righteous Salaf regarding issuing fatwas?
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The questioner : Also, O honorable Shaykh, what is the position of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) regarding issuing fatwas?
The Shaykh : The position of the righteous Salaf regarding issuing fatwas was one of extreme caution. In fact, they would pass them on to one another, with one of them saying, "Go so-and-so, go to someone else," and the like. However, if a person knew from himself that he was qualified to issue a fatwa and knew the ruling of the issue he was asked about, he should issue the fatwa, especially in this time when, if the fatwa is left unaddressed, people will go to ask ignorant people who mislead people without knowledge. So, if a person knows from himself that he is qualified to issue a fatwa and knows the ruling of the issue he was asked about, let him issue the fatwa, for every occasion has its own speech. In the time of the righteous Salaf, the scholars were numerous and the scrupulous were numerous. So, if a person abstained from it and passed it on to another, he would find someone to handle it in the most perfect manner. But in our time, the matter may not be as it was with the righteous Salaf.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. This is a listener to the program who says:
The Shaykh : The position of the righteous Salaf regarding issuing fatwas was one of extreme caution. In fact, they would pass them on to one another, with one of them saying, "Go so-and-so, go to someone else," and the like. However, if a person knew from himself that he was qualified to issue a fatwa and knew the ruling of the issue he was asked about, he should issue the fatwa, especially in this time when, if the fatwa is left unaddressed, people will go to ask ignorant people who mislead people without knowledge. So, if a person knows from himself that he is qualified to issue a fatwa and knows the ruling of the issue he was asked about, let him issue the fatwa, for every occasion has its own speech. In the time of the righteous Salaf, the scholars were numerous and the scrupulous were numerous. So, if a person abstained from it and passed it on to another, he would find someone to handle it in the most perfect manner. But in our time, the matter may not be as it was with the righteous Salaf.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. This is a listener to the program who says: