Seeking Knowledge and Following Scholars
This subtopic gathers questions on seeking religious knowledge and its obligation. It also covers the schools of law, following one scholar over another, scholars' qualifications, and the sources of legislation.
Questions readers ask here:
- What is the ruling on one who is ignorant of the necessary Sharia rulings related to worship?
- How did the Salaf treat their shaykhs, and what should be done when a scholar enters the mosque?
- What should be done when there is doubt about something being forbidden or permissible?
- What is the difference between Sharia and Fiqh?
Whether a particular hadith is authentic belongs under Hadith and Authenticity.
193 questions
Which is more befitting: to memorize Riyadh As-Salihin or to learn the qira'at, knowing that the questioner has an ijaza in the recitation of Hafs but is ignorant of the other qira'at, finds learning them difficult, does not have distinct makharij al-huruf or a good voice, and is his sadness over his ignorance of the qira'at justified?
What is your advice to a student who wishes to become a religious scholar, and what are the best ways to memorize the Qur’an, and the best commented and simplified books in the science of Hadith?
Is there evidence from the Qur'an or Sunnah that the Ummah will not agree upon error, or for the authoritativeness of Ijma' (consensus) as a source of legislation?
Is it permissible to adopt the view of Imam Al-Shafi'i regarding the permanent purity of semen, despite the fear of falling into blameworthy cherry-picking of concessions, given the severe suffering from obsessive doubts concerning matters of ritual impurity?
What are the most important books that establish the miraculous nature of the Qur'an and the Prophet's Sunnah, and are considered introductions to studying it?
Were there students of knowledge, scholars, andخطباء (preachers/orators) during the Prophetic era, and what was the intended knowledge at that time: the Quran, Fiqh (jurisprudence), the Sirah (Prophet's biography), or something else?
How does a layperson balance the fatwas of scholars when they differ, especially if one of them mentions an evidence but is less trusted, while the other does not mention an evidence but is more trusted? And is the layperson obligated to request evidence from the trusted scholar whom he follows?
Is it necessary to adopt the fatwa of the first scholar asked about a specific issue when consulting more than one scholar?
What is a student of Islamic knowledge advised to begin memorizing from the authentic Hadith books: An-Nawawi's Forty Hadith, Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, or Kashf al-Khafa'?
What is the best way to seek knowledge from books until a shaykh becomes available, and is it better to combine all disciplines in one day or to focus on one discipline until mastering it?
Is it obligatory for someone with little knowledge of religious sciences to follow the scholars, and in this case, which scholars should he follow? Should he follow the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, despite its controversial fatwas, or should he follow the scholars who adhere to the Salaf, and what should he do if their opinions differ?
Is it forbidden for a man to follow his wife's madhhab (school of thought) in the ruling that madhy (pre-seminal fluid) is pure, after he had been following a madhhab that considers it impure, and is it incumbent upon them to change that and wash everything that the madhy has touched?
Is it permissible to act upon the fatwas found in an old edition of Shaykh Al-Tareefe's book "The Prophet's Prayer Described," or to act upon an old fatwa published on the website, if a newer edition or fatwa exists that may include revisions?
Are all those referred to as "Shaykh" or "Imam" in your fatwas considered among the people of knowledge and virtue? Is this considered an endorsement of them? And does it indicate that they have reached the rank of ijtihad? Do you quote from innovators or people of misguidance, and what are the areas in which you might quote from them? Are all those from whom you transmit narrations regarding religious rulings and fatwas considered by you to be scholars? What is the status of Ibn al-Imad (d. 1089 AH) and Shaykh Abdullah al-Battati? Are they considered scholars?
What are the differences between the three books (Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, Minhaj al-Qasidin, Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin), which of them is the best, and what is the best written commentary for Minhaj al-Qasidin or Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin?
Is it true that Omar bin Abdul Aziz cried one night until he made his household cry, due to his remembrance of the people's destiny on the Day of Judgment, and then he screamed and fainted?
Is a person considered a طالب علم شرعي (student of Islamic sacred knowledge) if their time is occupied by university studies and work, while having the intention to seek sacred knowledge and diligently pursue it to the best of their ability, or is a طالب علم شرعي only one who dedicates themselves to it completely?
Are the sciences and books authored in Sharia and exegesis considered to be distant from the Quran, and is it sufficient to limit oneself to the Book and the Sunnah only?
Is it obligatory to re-consult the first scholar after obtaining a fatwa permitting something from another scholar, or is the first fatwa sufficient?
Is it obligatory to inform the questioner about a change in a fatwa after having previously answered them with a fatwa supported by evidence, and then the mufti discovers that another opinion is more preponderant?
Are there extensive commentaries available for Imam Muslim's Sahih?
What is meant by the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim man and Muslim woman"? Does it refer to religious knowledge, worldly knowledge, or both?
Is it permissible for the person afflicted with waswas (obsessive doubts/thoughts) to adopt the rukhṣ (religious dispensations) and taysīrāt (facilitations) in Islamic law to avoid relapsing into waswas?
Is it permissible to act upon the opinion of jurists who hold that a word is not a kinayah (allusion), despite disagreeing with one of them, and the questioner believing it is not a kinayah? And is it permissible to follow the opinion of the majority and the most knowledgeable, despite the questioner's doubt and certainty that it is a kinayah?