What should I do if a scholar whom I emulate has two opinions on a single issue?

If two statements are narrated from a mujtahid:

- If they are found in two different places and their dates are known, the second statement is considered a retraction of the first, and it is not permissible to issue a fatwa based on the first, retracted statement.

- If the dates are not known, both statements are narrated, and no judgment of retraction is made. In such a case, neither should be acted upon due to the possibility of abrogation (naskh).

- If both statements are found in one place, and the mujtahid indicated a preference for one of them, then that is his definitive view.

- If he did not indicate a preference, some scholars say the listener may choose between them, or that the choice is directed by analogy with conflicting indications.