Benefits of the Hadith: (… I asked Aisha about silk, and she said: Go to Ibn Abbas and ask him. He said: So I asked him, and he said: Ask Ibn Umar. He said:)
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This hadith contains evidence that wearing silk is among the major sins, because the intended meaning of "share" here is portion. Thus, the one who wears silk has no portion in the Hereafter.
The apparent meaning of the hadith is that he has no portion whatsoever. It is possible to interpret this apparent meaning in light of what was mentioned previously, namely that he has no portion of wearing silk, so that the hadith has a single meaning: whoever wears it in this world will not wear it in the Hereafter.
And in this hadith is evidence for the permissibility of referring people for fatwas, on the condition that there is someone in the town qualified to issue them. And it is not a problem for a person, when asked, to refer the questioner to a specific individual, because Aisha… The student? Yes, do you understand the issue we are discussing? Is that clear? What is the evidence from the hadith that it is permissible for a person, when asked about an issue, to refer the questioner to a specific scholar? What is the evidence from the hadith?
The student: The evidence from the hadith is that Aisha…
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), regarding silk, said: Go to Ibn Abbas.
The Shaykh : Go to Ibn Abbas.
The student: Go to Ibn Abbas and ask him. He said:
The Shaykh : And ask him.
The student: And ask him.
The Shaykh : Meaning, ask him. He said: So I asked him, and he said: Ask Ibn Umar. And what is the aspect of indication from the hadith?
The student: The aspect of indication is that he asked Ibn Umar.
The Shaykh : That Aisha referred [the questioner].
The student: She referred [the questioner] to Ibn Umar.
The Shaykh : To Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Abbas referred [the questioner] to Ibn Umar. Good.
And this is conditional on the person being referred to being qualified for issuing fatwas. If he is not qualified, then it is not permissible, because referring to someone who is not qualified is not permissible. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), when referring for a fatwa, would refer to a non-specific person and say: Ask the scholars. Based on this, we say: One should look at the public benefit in this matter. If referring to a specific person is closer to the correct answer and closer to achieving the questioner's objective, such that the person referred to is known, then there is no harm in referring to a specific person. Otherwise, it is better to refer in a general manner and say: Ask the scholars. This is so that the person referred to is not troubled and does not become deluded by himself, saying: So-and-so referred me, so who am I? And he boasts about himself, and harm results for him thereby.
Good. So if there is no one in the town qualified to issue fatwas, is it permissible for a person to refer to another person in a different town? Yes? The answer is: No. If he knows the ruling, it is not permissible for him to refer to another person in another town. Why? Because that causes harm to the questioner. Suppose he is in al-Qasim and refers to a person in Makkah or Riyadh. This involves difficulty. If someone says: There is no difficulty today due to the existence of telephones? The answer is: It may not be possible for this questioner to contact the person referred to, either because he is busy or for other reasons.
So now, a condition is required for this referral. Referral takes two forms: general, is that clear? And specific, or if you wish, say: vague and specific. And the condition for its permissibility is that the person referred to is qualified for issuing fatwas. This is one. The second thing is that there should be no harm to the one referred to. Good.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? To the one referred to, the one referred to who is the questioner. If there is harm to the one referred to, then it is not permissible. Yes.
The apparent meaning of the hadith is that he has no portion whatsoever. It is possible to interpret this apparent meaning in light of what was mentioned previously, namely that he has no portion of wearing silk, so that the hadith has a single meaning: whoever wears it in this world will not wear it in the Hereafter.
And in this hadith is evidence for the permissibility of referring people for fatwas, on the condition that there is someone in the town qualified to issue them. And it is not a problem for a person, when asked, to refer the questioner to a specific individual, because Aisha… The student? Yes, do you understand the issue we are discussing? Is that clear? What is the evidence from the hadith that it is permissible for a person, when asked about an issue, to refer the questioner to a specific scholar? What is the evidence from the hadith?
The student: The evidence from the hadith is that Aisha…
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), regarding silk, said: Go to Ibn Abbas.
The Shaykh : Go to Ibn Abbas.
The student: Go to Ibn Abbas and ask him. He said:
The Shaykh : And ask him.
The student: And ask him.
The Shaykh : Meaning, ask him. He said: So I asked him, and he said: Ask Ibn Umar. And what is the aspect of indication from the hadith?
The student: The aspect of indication is that he asked Ibn Umar.
The Shaykh : That Aisha referred [the questioner].
The student: She referred [the questioner] to Ibn Umar.
The Shaykh : To Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Abbas referred [the questioner] to Ibn Umar. Good.
And this is conditional on the person being referred to being qualified for issuing fatwas. If he is not qualified, then it is not permissible, because referring to someone who is not qualified is not permissible. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), when referring for a fatwa, would refer to a non-specific person and say: Ask the scholars. Based on this, we say: One should look at the public benefit in this matter. If referring to a specific person is closer to the correct answer and closer to achieving the questioner's objective, such that the person referred to is known, then there is no harm in referring to a specific person. Otherwise, it is better to refer in a general manner and say: Ask the scholars. This is so that the person referred to is not troubled and does not become deluded by himself, saying: So-and-so referred me, so who am I? And he boasts about himself, and harm results for him thereby.
Good. So if there is no one in the town qualified to issue fatwas, is it permissible for a person to refer to another person in a different town? Yes? The answer is: No. If he knows the ruling, it is not permissible for him to refer to another person in another town. Why? Because that causes harm to the questioner. Suppose he is in al-Qasim and refers to a person in Makkah or Riyadh. This involves difficulty. If someone says: There is no difficulty today due to the existence of telephones? The answer is: It may not be possible for this questioner to contact the person referred to, either because he is busy or for other reasons.
So now, a condition is required for this referral. Referral takes two forms: general, is that clear? And specific, or if you wish, say: vague and specific. And the condition for its permissibility is that the person referred to is qualified for issuing fatwas. This is one. The second thing is that there should be no harm to the one referred to. Good.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? To the one referred to, the one referred to who is the questioner. If there is harm to the one referred to, then it is not permissible. Yes.