The Shaykh’s evidence for the obligation of asking people of knowledge when ignorant of the ruling, using the hadith of Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud regarding the man who became sexually excited while wounded.

The Shaykh : And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed this divine command in some of the authentic hadiths narrated from him. This is in the hadith narrated by Imam Abu Dawud in his Sunan from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a military expedition for jihad in the path of Allah. The Muslims met the polytheists, and when the war came to an end, the result was that one of the Companions was struck with many wounds in his body. When morning came, it became clear that he had become sexually excited, so the full ritual bath became obligatory upon him, and he had those wounds. He asked those around him if they could find a dispensation for him not to take the bath because of his wounds. They answered in the negative and ordered him to take the bath. Since this wounded questioner was a believer in Allah and His Messenger and responsive to the previous Qur'anic text , he had no choice but to comply with the fatwa of those who issued it, assuming that those who issued it were among the scholars who should be asked and who should answer. However, it became clear afterwards that those who issued the fatwa were not among the people of knowledge. This was made clear when the news of this wounded man reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and that when he complied with the fatwa of the muftis who ordered him to take the bath, the outcome was that he died because of this unjust and oppressive fatwa. When the news reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: Did they not ask when they were ignorant? The point of this hadith is the last phrase: namely, ignorance . So this hadith aligns perfectly with the verse: . Thus, the method of learning through question and answer is an explicit Islamic method. In fact, in many cases, this method is more beneficial for the general public than the lessons and scholarly circles that are often held in some mosques or other scholarly places. This is because specific lessons are only of interest to those who have a desire to seek knowledge. As for the general public who do not have such a desire, they usually do not attend such sessions. Therefore, it is more beneficial and more useful for them, and it is obligatory for each of them to ask about what concerns them in their religion. For this reason, we say that each of you should now submit your question in writing so that the questions can be organized and combined, so that much time is not spent answering questions that may be repetitive. So, let the reader please proceed.