Praise be to Allah ﷻ, Lord of the worlds.
I praise Him, Most High, for His favors. Peace and blessings on His noble Prophet.
May abundant peace be upon his Companions (RA) and followers.
Now then, two great, important matters intersect with what we discuss today.
The first is the Two Holy Mosques, lofty in Allah ﷻ's law and Muslims' hearts.
The second is fatwa, and it reveals Allah ﷻ's ruling and His religion.
Fatwa is one of Sharia's greatest matters. It remedies people's problems lawfully.
Fatwa applies Allah ﷻ's rulings to people's actual circumstances.
Fatwa returns people, by Allah ﷻ's leave, to their Mighty, Majestic Lord's law.
Fatwa empowers the community to use life and develop it.
Fatwa helps the Ummah use life's many spheres to the fullest.
That leads to servitude to Allah ﷻ.
It lets people earn great reward and abundant recompense.
It also raises them to the highest ranks in life.
Whoever lives by Allah’s law reaches the highest ranks in life, as Allah ﷻ says:
"Indeed, this Qur'an guides to what is most upright."
"He calls you to what gives you life."
"Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer"
"We shall surely grant them a good life"
"And reward them by the best of what they used to do."
Ordinary people cannot attain righteous conduct on their own.
They must consult those qualified to issue fatwas.
Allah ﷻ says:
"Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know."
Many lands have been spared strife by Allah's leave.
That was through fatwas.
That is why Allah ﷻ commanded
this: When grave crises arise, refer them back to those qualified, as He says:
"When news of security or fear comes to them, they spread it around;"
"They should have referred it to the Messenger and those in authority."
"Then those able to infer it would have known it."
"Without Allah's favor and mercy upon you, you would have followed Satan."
"Except for a few among you."
Hence Allah ﷻ obligated some of the Ummah to study deeply.
They must delve into Sharia rulings and attain ijtihad.
Only then are they fit to issue fatwas.
Allah ﷻ says:
"It is not for the believers to go forth all together.
"Rather, a group from each party should learn the religion."
"They should warn their people when they return home."
"So that they may beware."
This point must be stressed.
The office of fatwa must be protected.
Unqualified people must be kept out.
Otherwise they harm the Muslim community.
That is why the texts strongly stress this.
They forbid speaking about Allah ﷻ without knowledge.
This includes fatwas that lack proper grounding.
They are not based on Allah's Book or His Messenger's Sunnah ﷺ.
Such fatwas are forbidden.
That is why Allah ﷻ says:
"Who is more unjust than one who invents lies about Allah?"
And He, Glorious and Exalted, also says:
"Woe to you. Do not invent lies about Allah."
"Or He will destroy you with punishment. The one who lies has failed."
The Muslim community needs people in many fields.
That includes medicine and construction.
It also includes agriculture and industry.
All these fields need muftis too.
They must guide people to Allah's law.
That is not limited to worship.
It covers every sphere of life.
Sharia is complete, and believers need its rulings throughout life.
Allah ﷻ says: "We sent down the Book as clarification of all things."
Hence the Message is universal for all creation.
Allah ﷻ says: "We sent you only to all mankind."
As a bearer of good news and warning.
Scholars said issuing fatwas has two conditions.
The first is integrity.
The word and fatwas of those lacking it are not accepted.
Allah ﷻ says: "O believers, if a sinner brings you news, verify it."
The second condition is reaching the level of ijtihad.
One must be able to derive Sharia rulings and apply them to people's cases.
Ijtihad requires four conditions.
The first is knowing the scriptural texts—the Quran, the Sunnah
and the other proofs—their conditions, and how to apply them.
The second condition is knowing the rules
of interpretation and inference found in usul al-fiqh.
The third is some knowledge of Arabic.
This enables one to understand the texts of the Quran
and Sunnah conveyed in that language.
The fourth condition is knowing the points of agreement and disagreement.
This prevents one from producing an unprecedented view.
It also links new issues to earlier ijtihad by analogy.
Scholars have said that those qualified to issue fatwas are of five ranks.
The first are those capable of ijtihad.
The absolute mujtahids follow no imam in usul or furu'; they do ijtihad in both.
Second are school mujtahids, called the exponents of wajh.
In usul they adhere to a particular imam's usul
but in furu' they are not bound by what is reported from him
and may even adopt views outside their school based on their own ijtihad.
They were called exponents of wajh.
Because a wajh is a view held in the school without the imam's report.
The third category are those of tarjih.
they do not go beyond the reports and opinions found in the school;
they only prefer one report over another.
The fourth category are those of takhrij:
they analogize the issues at hand to the imam's reported views
or apply the school's principles to subsidiary cases.
The last category are called the memorizers:
they know the school's terminology, where issues are discussed in its books
and which cases resemble those the scholars mentioned.
There are also qualities they mention for those fit to issue fatwas:
The mufti should be calm-minded.
He must understand issues and their application.
He must also apply the evidence to those issues.
He should not issue fatwas then.
That includes times of anger, worry, boredom, and the like.
They also require him not to be hasty in cases, judging only after full review.
So the scholars said: "It is forbidden to follow a lax mufti."
A lax mufti is one who rules on a matter before fully examining it.
One point stressed here is that fatwa is a very grave matter.
People must respect it and esteem all that pertains to it.
So one should draw near to Allah ﷻ by addressing people's issues and cases.
Their rulings must be taken from the proofs of Sharia.
Another fact also confirms this.
The Two Holy Mosques receive pilgrims, Umrah performers, and visitors.
They need to know the rulings they must observe and what is forbidden.
They therefore need muftis so their acts accord with Sharia and hardship is lifted.
They must also avoid incurring duties such as fidyah, expiation, and the like.
This is because they did not comply with what the Sharia requires.
I discussed applying fatwa to the Two Holy Mosques in my paper.
But the session chair—may Allah bless and reward him—wanted fairness among us.
Please excuse me for ending here.
I ask Allah ﷻ to grant everyone success in all good, and joy here and hereafter.
I ask Allah ﷻ to guide this land's rulers to His pleasure and reward them well.
At their head are the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Crown Prince.
I also ask Allah ﷻ to grant success to the patrons of this symposium.
They range from the regional governor to the Holy Mosque's religious chief.
I also ask Allah ﷻ to grant the other presenters success and joy.
Finally, I thank the session chair— may Allah reward him—and the rapporteur.
May Allah ﷻ bless everyone.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his family, and all Companions (RA).