Must a Scholar Answer Every Question?

Question

If someone, taking a certain religious scholar to be versed in the secrets of the Sacred Law, asks him about some matter, and the scholar — thinking that his answer would harm some relative or friend — deliberately withholds the answer, considering the question [unworthy of attention] and the questioner ignorant, and acts upon the [well-known Persian] proverb: [ar]جواب جاهلان باشد خموشی[/ar] “The answer to the ignorant is silence” — has he not thereby violated the command of Allah Most High: “Make plain what you…

Answer

Explaining a ruling of the Sacred Law when there is a need for it is obligatory, and concealing it merely out of fear that some relative will be harmed is not permissible. However, answering every single question is likewise not obligatory: necessity depends on how the one answering perceives it — sometimes the questioner feels the answer is necessary while the one answering…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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