The Fatwa in the Madhhab & How To Take Sacred Knowledge

Walaikum assalam,

The lay person and even scholars, do not "have a choice". Rather, they have to follow the positions relied upon by the scholars of verification of their school. This is ideally known by consulting someone who understands the school, or through a clear, reliable text that one has the tools and background to understand.

Also, a lay person is not allowed to give themselves a fatwa based on a hunch or some floating set of understandings they have developed. This would be sinful, even if they are right. Rather, it would be their duty to go back to scholars, either directly, or from a clear, reliable text that explicitly mentions the answer.

Many great scholars, who were at the level of ijtihad in the school, used to ask others (even their students!) for answers to their own problems, in order to submit to the command of Allah, "Ask the people of remembrance if you know not."

Most classical fiqh books are beyond the understanding of the untrained, even if they "understand" the outward purport of the Arabic used; they do not understand what is being said. Like Sayyidi Sheikh Nuh Keller says, "Fiqh books are closed to one until they read at least one substantial book in that school with a scholar."

Even professors in Islamic studies in the Muslim hear-land often have sad mistakes in understanding because of their lack of traditional training in these texts.

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani