Can one follow a fatwa from any scholar or School of Fiqf (madh'hab)?

16-4-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it required to follow the fatwa of your city. What if you learn your Islamic knowledge of things ( fatwa, rulings, etc) through websites, internet university, etc that may be based in a different country.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The Muslim is obligated to obey Allah The Almighty and His Messenger, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, by following the Quran and the Sunnah and understanding this in light of what was understood by honorable Companions, whom Allah the Almighty has praised and praised their followers with great attainment.

Allah the Almighty says (what means): {And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Anṣar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them. They are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.} [Quran 9:100]

And those whom the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, praised, by saying: “The best of people are my generation, then those who come after them, then those whom after them...” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Then, we are enlightened by the sayings of Imams and scholars who follow this path.

There is nothing wrong for a layman who is unable to analyze the sayings and madh'habs (Schools of Fiqh) and weigh them in search of the preponderant opinion to imitate whomever he wants and adopt what is easier for him from their sayings and madh'habs, as long as he does not do so to follow concessions.

If a an adversity befalls him, he can ask for a fatwa from any scholar from any madh'hab whom he trusts that his view is based on Sharee'ah, so he does not have to adhere to a particular madh'hab.

Al-Qarraafi may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Al-Dhakheerah: “There is a consensus that whoever embraced Islam may imitate whomever he wants among the scholars without fanaticism, and the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - agreed that whoever asked the opinion of Abu Bakr and 'Umar - may Allaah be pleased with them - or imitated them, may ask the opinion of Abu Hurayrah, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, and others may Allaah be pleased with them and act according to their words without objection. Whoever claims the invalidity of these two consensuses, has to bring forth evidence."

But if the issue presented to the imitator is one that circumstances my impact on its ruling, then, in that case, it is more appropriate to consult the scholars of his country and ask them for a fatwa because they are more knowledgeable about the circumstance he is living in.

Allah knows best.

www.islamweb.net