Will the one who falls short in learning be held accountable only for their shortcoming in learning, or will they be held accountable for their shortcoming in learning in addition to their abandonment of duties and commission of prohibitions resulting from this shortcoming? And what will be the fate of one who violates one or more pillars of prayer due to their shortcoming in learning, and will they be held accountable for their commission of prohibitions whose unlawfulness they were unaware of as a result of their shortcoming in learning?

One who is negligent in seeking knowledge is blameworthy. Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen hesitated regarding the issue of whether such a person is sinful, but he ultimately favored the view that a person is excused for ignorance, but not excused for their negligence in seeking the truth, especially if they had an opportunity to learn and did not, or if a doubt arose that necessitated inquiry and research. Some scholars believe that one who is negligent in seeking knowledge incurs the sin of one who commits a forbidden act or neglects an obligatory one. Indeed, their sin may be greater because they are disobedient in two ways: neglecting the obligation of learning, and then neglecting the obligation of acting. Others, however, differentiated between issues based on the clarity of their reprehensibility in Islamic law. If a person undertakes an action without knowing its ruling, they are sinful for neglecting to learn. As for their sin for the action itself, that applies if the action is known to be reprehensible in Islamic law.