العروة الوثقى الزيدية - موقع إسلامي يهدف لتعريف الزائر بفكر وتراث المسلمين الزيدية

The Question

Question: Guides (murshidūn) go out to instruct people in the
countryside and elsewhere, at the request of the scholars (may Allah
preserve them). The people of these villages must ask the guide about
certain matters—such as prayer, zakāt, and similar issues. Is it
permissible for the guide to give them fatwās according to what he
studied with the scholars from Matn al-Azhār and the like? Or must he
refer them to a scholar to issue the fatwā?
And if it is not permissible for him to issue fatwās according to his
knowledge, does that mean his study is only for himself until he reaches
the rank of ijtihād and then assumes the position of giving fatwā?

The Answer

Answer (and Allah grants success): If istiftā (seeking fatwā)
concerns well-known issues, and the guide is confident in his knowledge
of the matter, then there is no problem—in fact, that is part of the
important duties for which the guide was sent. The madhhab of the
majority of the lay Zaydīs is based upon the madhhab.
However, the guide must know that whatever the layman has done in
the past is valid, so long as it accords with the opinion of any mujtahid.
He must not issue fatwā declaring it invalid on the basis of what he
understood from al-Azhār, thereby obliging him to make it up.
That said, the guide is often asked about matters not mentioned in al
Azhār or its commentaries such as al-Tāj. In such cases he must exercise
caution and refer the fatwā to scholars who have the ability of derivation,
analogy, and ijtihād.