Should the Imam answer the questioner about the ruling on sniffing water into the nose (istinsḥāq) and expelling it (istinthār) according to his personal belief, or according to the Maliki school of thought, which is adopted in the village, bearing in mind that the authorities require the Imam to adhere to the official madhhab?

The obligation of rinsing the mouth (madmadah) and sniffing water into the nose (istīshāq) in ablution (wuḍūʾ) and ritual bathing (ghusl) is a matter of difference of opinion. The preponderant view is that they are not obligatory and are not part of the face. If you are asked about a specific madhhab (school of thought), inform them of what that madhhab states. But if you are asked for your own preferred opinion, issue a fatwa (religious ruling) that aligns with the evidence, even if it contradicts the madhhab. Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Let the mufti (issuer of fatwas) who fears his standing before Allah Almighty beware of issuing a fatwa to a questioner according to his own madhhab, which he follows, while knowing that the madhhab of another regarding that issue is more preponderant than his and has sounder evidence." If you fear harm from issuing a fatwa that differs from the madhhab, then abstain, or refer the question to someone else, or mention the madhhab of Malik, or state that there is a difference of opinion on the matter and that it is safer to avoid the disagreement among scholars. Ibn al-Qayyim said: "If there is a text or a consensus regarding the matter, he (the mufti) must convey it as much as possible… This is if the mufti is safe from the harm of the fatwa. But if he is not safe from its harm and fears that greater evil may result from it than from withholding it, he should withhold it, preferring to repel the greater of two evils by enduring the lesser."