What is the difference between a Sharia ruling and a jurisprudential opinion?

The Shar'i ruling is the discourse of the Shari'ah related to the actions of the legally competent, in terms of requirement or option. The difference between it and a jurisprudential opinion (ra'y fiqhi) is that a jurisprudential opinion is the ijtihad (independent reasoning) of a faqih (jurist) on matters for which there is no explicit text. He may or may not arrive at Allah's ruling, but he is rewarded in both cases if he exerted his utmost effort. It is not permissible for a mufti (one who issues fatwas) to assert definitively that his opinion is Allah's ruling, unless there is a definitive text, because he may not bear witness against Allah and His Messenger concerning that which he does not know with certainty to be Allah's ruling. Ibn al-Qayyim clarified this, citing the hadith of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb and the fatwas of the Salaf, stating that Allah's ruling on a specific incident is one and determined, and that the mujtahid may or may not arrive at it correctly.