In the narration of Hanbal, he said: “Anyone who issues fatwas should know the opinions of those who came before him; otherwise, he should not issue fatwas.” The ruler may exercise whatever oversight over them prudence requires, whether by censure or approval.
If someone qualified for this wishes to take up a regular position in one of the mosques for teaching or issuing fatwas, the status of the mosque must be considered. If it is one of the neighborhood mosques in which imams are not appointed by the ruler, the person taking up such a position does not need to seek the ruler’s permission to sit there, just as one appointed to lead the prayer there does not need to seek his permission. If, however, it is a congregational mosque or one of the major mosques in which the imam is appointed by the ruler, the local custom and practice regarding people of his standing taking a seat there must be taken into account. If it is customary for the ruler to exercise oversight over someone of his standing sitting there, he may not take up such a position without the ruler’s permission, just as no one may assume the imamate there without his permission, because no one may bypass him in matters within his jurisdiction. If the ruler has no established authority over someone of his standing in such a matter, then it is not necessary to seek his permission, and the mosque is treated like any other mosque.
If someone takes up a particular place in a congregational mosque or another mosque and then leaves it, his right to that place lapses, and whoever reaches it first has the greater right to it, for Allah Most High says: “It is the same for those who reside therein and those who come from outside.”
People must be prevented in congregational mosques and other mosques from passing through the circles of jurists and Quran reciters, in order to preserve the sanctity of the mosques. It has been narrated from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “There is no protected area except in three cases: the well’s protected precinct, the horse’s tethering range, and a people’s circle.”
The well’s protected precinct is the outer limit of its surrounding protected area. The horse’s tethering range is the area around which it can move by its rein when tethered. A people’s circle is their sitting in a circle for consultation and conversation.
If adherents of different legal schools dispute over matters in which independent legal reasoning is valid, they are not to be interfered with on that account, unless mutual hostility arises among them, in which case they should be restrained from it. If a disputant adopts a position that is not admissible within independent legal reasoning, he should be restrained and prevented from pursuing it. If he persists in it and publicly presents those who advocate it as being on an equal footing with others, the ruler must suppress it through the deterrent measures of authority, expose its blameworthy innovation, and clarify through the proofs of the Sacred Law the invalidity of his position. Every innovation has someone willing to listen to it, and every misleader has a follower.
Chapter on the Legal Rulings Governing Land Grants
Ahmad explicitly affirmed the permissibility of the land grants made by the Companions, but withheld judgment regarding the grants made by other rulers. He withheld judgment because some of them granted land that could not lawfully be granted.
Al-Marwazi said: “I asked Abu ʿAbd Allah about the land grants in Basra and Kufa.” He replied: “Would you regard the land grants of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, as equivalent to the grants of these people?”