May someone who does not act himself tell others to act?

Question

Question: Is it a good thing for someone to command others to do what he himself does not do, and to declare something impermissible to be permissible?

Answer

Declaring something impermissible to be permissible is utterly false (batil). If a Shariʿa ruling does not apply to a person, so that he does not act on it himself, while it does apply to others, so that he tells someone else, then this is correct. For example, a sick person is excused from fasting and tells someone who has no excuse to fast — what harm is there in that?

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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