is greater than one who judges whether something that exists is such-and-such or not? These judges are the scholars whom Allah Most High has singled out for interpretation. The error pardoned under religious law is only the error scholars commit when examining the difficult matters that religious law has charged them to investigate. As for error committed by people outside this class, it is sheer sin, whether it concerns theoretical or practical matters.

Just as a judge ignorant of the Sunnah is not excused when he errs in judgment, so too one who passes judgment on existing things without meeting the conditions for doing so is not excused; rather, he is either a sinner or a disbeliever. And if a judge ruling on the lawful and unlawful is required to possess the prerequisites