Seeking Fatwa based upon desires

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

It is not permissible for the mufti to choose whatever view or opinion he likes without examining which view has the stronger evidence or without paying attention to examining the evidence and, rather, to be content, when choosing a view, with the mere fact that this was the view of some imam or was the view adopted by a certain group, and thus he chooses whatever he wants of options and views, so that whenever he sees a view that is in harmony with what he wants and which suits him, he chooses it, so that what he wants and what suits him becomes the criterion, on the basis of which he regards one view as more likely to be correct than others. This is haraam according to the consensus of the ummah.

This is like what was narrated by al-Qaadi Abu’l-Waleed al-Baaji from one of the people of his time – who set himself up to issue fatwas: he used to say: What I promise my friend is that if he asks me for a ruling or a fatwa, I will choose for him the view of some mufti that suits him.

He [Abu’l-Waleed] said: Someone I trust told me that he had an issue and wanted a fatwa concerning it [asking on behalf of someone else], so some of the muftis gave him a fatwa that could be harmful to him, and the man concerned was absent. When he came, he asked them himself, and they said: We did not know that this fatwa was for you. So they gave him another fatwa that suited him. He said: There is consensus among the Muslim scholars, those whose views are counted with regard to consensus, that (choosing what suits one) is not permissible. Maalik (may Allah have mercy on him) said, concerning the difference of opinion among the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them): Some of them got it wrong and some of them got it right, so you have to examine their views and figure out the right answer.

To sum up, it is not permissible to choose views or issue a verdict concerning a religious issue on the basis of whims and desires, choosing on the basis of what you prefer and what suits you, so that a person chooses the view that suits him or suits the view of the one whom he wants to appease, then he adopts it, gives verdicts on that basis, rules in accordance with it, and rules against his enemy and gives him a verdict to the opposite effect. This is the worst of evildoing and the greatest of major sins. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.

From I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een (4/162)

يقول ابن قيم الجوزية رحمه الله :

" لا يجوز للمفتي أن يعمل بما يشاء من الأقوال والوجوه من غير نظر من الترجيح ولا يعتد به ، بل يكتفي في العمل بمجرد كون ذلك قولا قاله إمام ، أو وجها ذهب إليه جماعة ، فيعمل بما يشاء من الوجوه والأقوال ، حيث رأى القول وفق إرادته وغرضه عمل به ، فإرادته وغرضه هو المعيار ، وبها 

الترجيح ، وهذا حرام باتفاق الأمة .

وهذا مثل ما حكى القاضي أبو الوليد الباجي عن بعض أهل زمانه - ممن نصب نفسه للفتوى - أنه كان يقول : إن الذي لصديقي علي إذا وقعت له حكومة ، أو فتيا ، أن أفتيه بالرواية التي توافقه .

وقال : وأخبرني من أثق به ، أنه وقعت له واقعة ، فأفتاه جماعة من المفتين بما يضره ، وأنه كان غائبا ، فلما حضر سألهم بنفسه ، فقالوا : لم نعلم أنها لك . وأفتوه بالرواية الأخرى التي توافقه .

قال : وهذا مما لا خلاف بين المسلمين ، ممن يعتد بهم في الإجماع ، أنه لا يجوز ، وقد قال مالك رحمه الله : في اختلاف الصحابة رضي الله عنهم : مخطئ ومصيب ، فعليك بالاجتهاد.

وبالجملة ، فلا يجوز العمل والإفتاء في دين الله بالتشهي ، والتخير ، وموافقة الغرض ، فيطلب القول الذي يوافق غرضه ، وغرض من يحابيه ، فيعمل به ، ويفتي به ، ويحكم به ، ويحكم على عدوه ويفتيه بضده ، وهذا من أفسق الفسوق ، وأكبر الكبائر ، والله المستعان " .

 إعلام الموقعين " (4/162