WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.500 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:10.740 “Is he who payeth adoration in the watches of the night, prostrate and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (to be accounted equal with a disbeliever)? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.” (39:9) 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:16.739 The Splendor of Knowledge according to the Sages. 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:21.739 By Dr. Hamzah Ibn Fayi' Al Fathi. 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:27.190 May Allah preserve him. 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:30.190 The Gravity of Religious Legal Opinions (Fatwa). 00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:36.429 Imam 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Layla, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 00:00:36.429 --> 00:00:40.429 Who passed away in the year 83 AH: 00:00:40.429 --> 00:00:47.429 "I encountered 120 of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in this mosque. 00:00:47.429 --> 00:00:51.429 There was not one of them who, when asked about a hadith or a legal ruling, 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.429 did not wish that his brother would suffice him in answering it." 00:00:54.429 --> 00:01:00.429 Yet, matters have devolved to the point where people who claim knowledge today rush forward, 00:01:00.429 --> 00:01:03.429 venturing to provide answers to issues 00:01:03.429 --> 00:01:06.430 that, had they been presented to 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:10.430 he would have gathered the veterans of Badr to consult them. 00:01:10.430 --> 00:01:15.299 Issuing a fatwa is a grave matter, for it is a signature on behalf of Allah. 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:18.299 This is why the pious were so apprehensive of it; 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:23.299 they understood its consequences and wished for others to spare them the burden. 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:27.299 They would defer to one another to avoid the difficulty and to prioritize safety. 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:30.329 The safety of the scholar and the student alike 00:01:30.329 --> 00:01:33.329 lies in guarding the tongue and protecting the heart, 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:35.329 and in fearing the All-Knowing King. 00:01:35.329 --> 00:01:39.329 Thus, there should be no signing off, no declaring things lawful, and no declaring things forbidden, 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:42.329 especially when one is deficient in expression 00:01:42.329 --> 00:01:44.329 and hesitant in judgment, 00:01:44.329 --> 00:01:47.329 fearing to be definitive and falling into error. 00:01:47.329 --> 00:01:53.519 How many errors and sins have been swept up by those who speak impulsively and are quick to claim knowledge, 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:55.519 merely to appear beneficial, 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.519 those who have not given knowledge its due weight. 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.519 A fatwa has its boundaries and its sanctity. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.519 The salaf, 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:05.519 who were the people of true knowledge 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.519 and contemporaries of the revelation, 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.520 were the most cautious and the most fearful of signing 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.520 on behalf of the Almighty Creator without knowledge. 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.520 Allah the Exalted says: 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:19.520 “Say: My Lord forbiddeth only indecencies, such of them as are apparent and such as are within, and sin and wrongful oppression, and that ye associate with Allah that for which no warrant hath been revealed, and that ye tell concerning Allah that which ye know not.” (7:33) 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.520 "Whatever is apparent of it and what is concealed," 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.520 "and sin and injustice without right," 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.520 "and that you associate with Allah," 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:30.520 "and that you associate with Allah," 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:34.520 "that for which He has not sent down authority," 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:39.520 "and that you say about Allah that which you do not know." 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:44.159 This is in contrast to those who came after the preferred generations, 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.159 who rushed toward issuing fatwas 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.159 and were hasty in seeking prominence, 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.159 especially in our later times, 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:53.159 until ignorance spread and the calamity grew great. 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:55.159 Pseudo-scholars appeared, 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.159 and people became confused and bewildered 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.159 as a result of this audacity in matters of knowledge, 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.159 the intrusion into the sanctuary of its majesty, 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.159 and the lack of fear regarding its consequences. 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:07.159 And Allah is the One whose help is sought. 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:11.509 Among the ways the early generations honored the fatwa and recognized its severity 00:03:11.509 --> 00:03:13.509 is that 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:17.509 would gather the virtuous veterans of Badr for momentous affairs. 00:03:17.509 --> 00:03:20.509 He would not rush to answer or express an opinion, 00:03:20.509 --> 00:03:22.509 nor would he provide a hasty signature, 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:26.509 because he knew the limitations of the individual in intellect and precision. 00:03:26.509 --> 00:03:30.509 Thus, he found reassurance in the collective intellect, awareness, and consensus of the majority. 00:03:30.509 --> 00:03:32.509 And peace.