The Criterion for Excuse Due to Ignorance in Matters of Rulings and Creed

Question:
This questioner says: Your Eminence, is there a set of rules and foundations upon which the excuse due to ignorance generally rests?
Then, is it general in the sense that it applies in every time and place? And is ignorance excused in a Muslim society generally, and in a society that contains both Muslims and non-Muslims?
Also, Your Eminence, perhaps you have guidance on this topic. What are the foundations and rules for establishing the proof (hujjah)? And is everyone to whom a verse or hadith has reached considered to have had the proof established against them?

Answer:
Ignorance involves a distinction: there is an excuse for matters of rulings or matters of creed that may be obscure. However, general ignorance regarding clear matters is not an excuse; because its owner is the one who is negligent and lax. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: [At-Tawbah: 115]. He did not say: "until it becomes clear to them," but He said: "until it is made clear to them." He the Exalted said: [Al-Isra: 15]. He did not say: "until they understand the Messenger's words," but He said: Therefore, it is upon the subjects, and upon the Ummah, to understand the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to understand the Qur'an, and to ask about what is difficult for them; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is a conveyer, and the Qur'an is a conveyer: [Ibrahim: 52]. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Al-Ma'idah: 67]. And He the Exalted says: [Al-An'am: 19]. So the Ummah is conveyed to by the Qur'an and by the Messenger.
So the one who lives among Muslims, where the Qur'an is present and the Sunnah is present, but he does not care and does not ask; he is not excused. As for the details of matters, such as some rulings, some issues of riba, some issues of contracts; they may be obscure to him, and he is excused if someone like him is not skilled in knowing that. Like the one who said to his children: "When I die, burn me, then scatter me in the sea; for if Allah were to punish me, I thought this would escape Allah due to my ignorance of the perfection of Allah's power . So Allah excused him when He gathered what was in the land and the sea of his body, and stood before him and asked him: "What drove you to this?" He said: "Fear of You." So Allah forgave him because of the intensity of his fear of Allah, and his ignorance of this detailed matter. And so it is in many matters of contracts, in sales, and in the forbidden things; some things may be obscure to him, where their evidence is obscure.
As for a person who hears the Qur'an, hears the Sunnah, and has someone to guide him, but he does not care and does not ask; shirk is the greatest of sins. One does not be lax in this like in other matters. Undutifulness to parents is a clear matter, just as some people do by leaving off prayer, because this is a clear matter. He is not excused, because it is something clear among Muslims. As for the detailed thing that may be obscure, he is excused in it. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, Your Eminence. So, Your Eminence, is it obligatory upon the general public to ask about what is difficult for them?

Answer: Allah says: [An-Nahl: 43]. It is upon them to ask. And the general public of the disbelievers in Mecca, Allah did not excuse them. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was before them. And so in Madinah, He did not excuse the hypocrites, nor did He excuse the Jews; because they heard the words of Allah, and heard the Qur'an, and did not respond. Yes, and among them were the general public.

The presenter: Yes, yes. May Allah reward you with good, Your Eminence.