Teaching Rulings from Reliable Books Without a Scholar

Question

In our village many acts of bid‘a take place: for instance, people pay someone to recite the Holy Qur’an for isal al-thawab (conveying the reward) and dedicate its reward to the deceased; besides this, many other things contrary to the Sacred Law take place, in which we do not take part. When people question us [for proof], we say in support [of our position] that we possess the complete and well-reasoned Bihishti Zewar (“Heavenly Ornaments”)

Answer

The books whose names you have written are, taken as a whole, reliable; the rulings recorded in them are correct; acting upon them and encouraging others to act upon them is proper — indeed, it is the very path of right guidance (huda) and a means of salvation.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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