The Shaykh’s classification of the states of questions posed by people

The Shaykh: , so the question is of two types: a question out of need, and a question not out of need. The first type is praiseworthy, and this is among the meanings of His saying, the Exalted: . The other type is not praiseworthy, naturally. Here in the hadith, the intention is not to speak about the praiseworthy question and the blameworthy question; rather, the intention is why there are few questions and many questions? As we said earlier: because in the first era, knowledge spreads and the scholars fulfill their duty of explaining and disseminating knowledge, so the people become aware, the people become jurists, except in what comes down to them of issues or new cases, where here the question is necessary. On the contrary, in the last era, due to the scholars not fulfilling their duty of teaching the people and making them jurists in what concerns them of their religious affairs, not in what befalls them, the people become numerous in their questions. And I told you earlier: I know the people by that, especially those who live with us here day and night with questions. We are forced to say: questions after the night prayer, otherwise we would sit like this opening the door of consultation, the door of fatwa, a fatwa circle, and it is not like the fatwa circles, because they have specific times. Day and night questions. Why? Because they do not have anyone to ask, let alone having scholars who convey knowledge to them. So the question is of two types. I give an example now: the scholars agree that seeking knowledge is of two types: an individual obligation, and a collective obligation. The individual obligation: what every adult Muslim must know, such as prayer and fasting; one must know them to be on certainty about the validity of his worship. But if he is poor, he is not obligated to know the rulings of zakah, unlike if he is rich. If he is poor, he is not obligated to know the rituals of Hajj and 'Umrah because he cannot perform Hajj and 'Umrah, and so on. The question about these matters that are individually obligatory, its origin is either, as came in this hadith: either the cause is the scholars’ negligence in teaching the people, or the people’s negligence in learning. All of this is possible. But in the first era: the people obtained the individual knowledge not by the way of question and answer, but by the way of the scholars teaching the people. And as I say, you have attended more than once when I mention the hadith of the girl, the hadith of the girl who was a shepherdess and knew her creed regarding Allah. The scholars of al-Azhar to this day say: Allah is in every place, or Allah is not above nor below, not right nor left, and so on. The girl, the shepherdess, "in the sky"; did she enter a university? Did she enter a school? No, but the environment in which she lived taught her what she had to learn. But if a ruling concerning menstruation befalls her, is this menstruation or not? That woman whose name is Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh remained for two years not praying. Why? Because she was suffering from irregular non-menstrual bleeding, and she assumed that this blood was menstrual blood. So she learned from the necessities of a Muslim woman’s life that a menstruating woman does not pray. So she thought that this menstruation, due to its abundance, was not [menstruation], that this blood, due to its abundance, was indeed menstruation. Then, Allah knows what prompted her, she came to the Messenger of Allah and said: O Messenger of Allah, I am suffering from irregular non-menstrual bleeding, and two years have passed for me. He said: , so what does he say in the hadith? Yes?

The questioner: Perform the ablution for every prayer.

The Shaykh: Yes, but: ; so she was menstruating for seven days before this discharge stopped. So she calculates her seven days, so she is menstruating. The point is that such a question is an incidental one, and one must ask. But the individual matters, the Messenger of Allah and the Companions who received the knowledge, and among them the master of that girl, known as Mu'awiyah ibn .

The questioner: Ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami.

The Shaykh: Ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, so he was a Companion, he taught her; and therefore she gave the correct answer. When the issues are reversed and the people become ignorant, as he said, (peace and blessings be upon him): , then at that time, the abundance of questions is for two reasons: either the scholars not truly fulfilling their duty, or the absence of scholars, as in this last hadith. And Allah is the Helper. Your saying "how pleasant" does not suit us.

The questioner : What?

The Shaykh: Drinking now does not suit us, because it blocks the place of the food.