What is the correct position of a Muslim when scholars differ on one of the secondary issues?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon his family and all his Companions. We thank Allah that our monthly meeting with our Shaykh, Muhammad (may Allah preserve him), and that He has prolonged his life in obedience to Him, has been renewed. These are many questions, and we will present the first one. The questioner says: Scholars hold a great status and high rank among us. They are those to whom Allah commanded us to return and ask, and they are the heirs of the Prophets (peace be upon them). But what is the correct position of a Muslim when they differ on one of the secondary issues? Is it permissible for a person to make a preference between their opinions and adopt what settles in his heart, even though he is not one of those qualified for preference, knowledge, and independent legal reasoning? Then, if he takes one issue from a specific scholar and another issue from another, is this considered following dispensations? Does saying, “I adopt this opinion, and the sin is on the one who issued the ruling,” exempt them from blame? And generally, keep a barrier between yourself and the Fire. What is the definitive ruling in your opinion, O honorable Shaykh, in this matter? Is the practice of people permissible? What is the criterion for this and for making preferences? Is a person obligated to follow a scholar absolutely in everything he rules on, or not? I hope you will explain the matter in a comprehensive manner. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We are pleased with what the questioner said regarding the status scholars hold in the hearts of people, for people remain in goodness as long as they honor their rulers, following the saying of Allah the Exalted: The people of authority among us are the scholars and the rulers. As for the scholars, they are the people of authority in the Shari'ah of Allah; they explain it to the community, clarify it for them, and spread it among them. As for the rulers, they are the people of authority who execute the command of Allah and bind the servants of Allah to it. Therefore, the reference for the people of authority among the rulers is the people of authority among the scholars, because if the rulers proceed without the scholars, they may go astray in a far-reaching way. If they do not take what the Shari'ah of Allah indicates, or what the Shari'ah of Allah brought, if they do not take what the Shari'ah of Allah brought, then the disobedience of the people to them is in proportion to their disobedience to Allah. This is a point we must be aware of: the disobedience of the people to their rulers is in proportion to the disobedience of the rulers to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So whenever the rulers obey their Lord, Allah subdues the hearts of the people to them, and they obey them and do not rebel against them. Whoever fears Allah in those whom Allah has placed over him, those whom Allah has placed over him will fear him, and the reverse is the reverse. It is mentioned that when 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan saw the rebellion of the people against him, he gathered the nobles of the people and addressed them, saying to them: “You want us to be to you like Abu Bakr and 'Umar, so be you to us like the men of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and we will be to you like Abu Bakr and 'Umar.” A man from the Khawarij came to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: “O 'Ali, why did the people rebel against you and not against Abu Bakr and 'Umar?” He said to him: Then he threw a stone at him. So the point is that if the rulers are the reference of the people, then the people are in goodness. But if the people rebel against the rulers, oppose the scholars without knowledge, and rebel against the rulers, then that is a sign of misery for both these groups. It is obligatory upon us to respect our rulers from among the scholars and to respect our rulers from among the princes, and to offer them sincere advice. Offering sincere advice is not exposing them on the heads of minbars and in public gatherings by tracking their faults, saying, “So-and-so the scholar said such and such and he made a mistake,” meaning some people say, “So-and-so the scholar said such and such and he made a mistake.” This is a mistake. “The state did such and such and it made a mistake.” This is not part of sincere advice at all. Sincere advice is that you contact the mufti, either directly or through an intermediary, and clarify his mistake to him. Perhaps through discussion, the truth will become clear to everyone. Either the truth is with you and he returns to it, or it is with him and you return to it, or each of you has a perspective in which the other excuses him. As for those who are behind walls, who fall into the honor of scholars or fall into the honor of rulers, this is undoubtedly a sign of division and the disintegration of the community. If it is as the questioner said, may Allah guide him to knowledge, that scholars have a status in the hearts of people, then this is a sign of goodness and happiness. We hope that there is also a status in the hearts of people for the rulers from among the princes, and that they advise them and know that they are human beings, not protected from error. They make mistakes just as humans make mistakes. Are you not making mistakes in raising your children in your home now? So they may make mistakes, even though the scope of their work is wider than the scope of your home. The work of the home is limited, but the scope of the work of the rulers is very wide. For this reason, I say that it is a blessing of Allah upon the community that there is affection, connection, and sincere advice between them and their rulers from among the scholars and the princes. And whoever among them becomes clear of the truth from these groups should return to it, because Allah the Exalted says: As for what he mentioned in the paragraphs of the question, they all return to one thing. If the people of knowledge differ with a person, whether in a fatwa he asked them about or in speech he heard from them, then it is obligatory for the person to follow the one he sees as closest to the truth, either because of the breadth of his knowledge, or the strength of his understanding, or the strength of his faith and trustworthiness. This is the obligation. And this is witnessed by the fact that if a patient presents himself to two doctors, and one doctor prescribes a medicine and the other prescribes a different medicine that differs from the first, whom does he take? Ah? He takes the opinion of the one he sees as closest to the truth due to his skill, knowledge, and experience. Similarly, what concerns the fatwa in religion: follow the one you see as more trustworthy in knowledge, breadth, and understanding, and in religion and trustworthiness. If the two are equal in your view and you hesitate as to which is stronger, some scholars said: You are given a choice. You are given a choice; if you wish, take the opinion of this one, and if you wish, take the opinion of this one in this issue and others. And some scholars said: Take the stricter one, because it is safer. And others said: Take the easier one, because it is more in accordance with the Shari'ah. For the Shari'ah is built on what? Ease and simplicity. So whoever is truthful to Allah the Mighty and Majestic in that, and compares between the two scholars, and neither is stronger for him, these are the opinions of the scholars in this issue. What is the first opinion? Everyone, answer. The first opinion is the choice: if you wish, take this one or that one, even if you take the opinion of one of them today, you may take the opinion of the other tomorrow. The second: the stricter one, because it is safer. The third: the easier one, because it is in accordance with the Shari'ah. And in my opinion, this is the most correct. The last one is the most correct: that you take the easier one, because it is more in accordance with the Shari'ah, and the original state is the innocence of the conscience. But the danger is that you go to a scholar you are satisfied with in his knowledge and religion and ask him for a fatwa, and then if he rules on you with something that does not suit your desire, you throw his fatwa to the winds and then go to another man, perhaps he is easier. This is the forbidden thing, because this is playing with the religion of Allah. And how many people do that? They ask this scholar, and if he does not agree with their desire, they say, “Go to so-and-so.” They go to so-and-so and find his opinion stricter than the first. They say, “None of these have knowledge.” They go to a third, then a fourth and a fifth, until they reach what suits their desire. Then they say: “The staff has been thrown down and the place has settled, as the eye of the traveler is pleased by the return.” This is what is not permissible. Now, if someone says: This is a man in a village who does not have a deeply learned scholar, so does he ask those who are there with the intention that whenever he finds a better scholar, he will ask him, or not? We say: Yes, if he is in a village that does not have a deeply learned scholar and he asks the one he thinks is the most knowledgeable among them, let him ask with the intention that whenever he finds a deeply learned scholar, he will ask him. Then there is no harm in that. Yes.