Is it permissible for a scholar who studies 'aqidah to issue fatwas in fiqh, and is the reverse true?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for a scholar who studies 'aqidah to issue fatwas in fiqh, and is the reverse true?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for anyone to issue a fatwa on something he does not know, whether he is a scholar in another field or not, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-A'raf 7:33] and the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Isra 17:36] If a person has specialization in 'aqidah but has knowledge of fiqh, and he issues a fatwa in fiqh based on what he knows, there is nothing wrong with it. Likewise, if he has specialization in the science of fiqh and issues a fatwa in 'aqidah based on what he knows, there is nothing wrong with it. What is prohibited is for a person to issue a fatwa without knowledge, whether it is within his area of specialization or in a matter outside his specialization.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for anyone to issue a fatwa on something he does not know, whether he is a scholar in another field or not, due to the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know."
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَAnd do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
وَلا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُوْلَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًاThe questioner : May Allah bless you.