When Qatādah (d. 117 هـ) sat to give fatāwá ‘Amr ibn Dīnār (d. 126 هـ) said:
“Do you realise the affair you have fallen into?! You have come between Allāh and His slaves saying, ‘This is correct and this is not correct.’”
● [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (v. 2 p. 168) of al-Khaṭīb]
When Imām Mālik (d. 179 هـ) – رحمه الله – was asked about a matter (i.e. to give a fatwá), it was as if he was standing between Jannah and Jahannam.
● [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (v. 2 p. 167) of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī]
When Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn (d. 110 هـ) – رحمه الله – was asked a question about ḥalāl and ḥarām, his face would change colour to the extent that he did not seem to be the same person.
● [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (v. 2 p. 167) of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī]
‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd (d. 32 هـ) – رضي الله عنه – said:
“Verily, the one who gives a fatwá to the people about everything he is asked is insane.”
● [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (v. 2 p. 197-198) of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī]
Ibn Yamīnah – رحمه الله – said:
“The affair of giving fatāwá is only for the one who wishes that someone besides himself does so. As for the one who wishes to answer, then it is not for him.”
● [Al-Faqīh wa al-Mutafaqqih (v. 2 p. 166) of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī]