May a Person Without Religious Education Issue a Fatwa

Question

The respected Qazi, who received no education at any religious school but studied at the Roorkee Engineering School, and who, having lost his position for presenting a forged certificate, now keeps a perfumer’s (‘attar’s) shop — may he issue a Sacred-Law fatwa, and to what extent is this correct according to the Sacred Law?

Answer

To state a religious ruling without knowledge is, according to the Sacred Law, unlawful (haram) and a major sin. But if a person genuinely knows the ruling, then possessing a certificate (sanad) is not a requirement for explaining it.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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