his bounds or assume a position that even Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī—the Rightly Guided Caliphs—had no right to occupy, let alone anyone below them. They, may Allah be pleased with them, required people only to follow the Book of their Lord and the Sunnah of their Prophet. ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say:

“I have sent my officials—that is, my deputies—to you only to teach you the Book of your Lord and the Sunnah of your Prophet, and to distribute your public revenues among you.”

Rather, these matters are to be addressed by those Muslim scholars who understand what is established by the evidence of the revealed law: the Book and Sunnah. Whoever has greater knowledge of the Book and Sunnah has a greater right than others to speak on these matters, even if he is not a judge. A judge has no authority to speak on them merely by virtue of being a judge. Rather, if he possesses knowledge, he may speak on them like any individual scholar. These people have therefore ruled on matters in which, by consensus, they have no authority to rule. Such a ruling is invalid by consensus.

The thirteenth ground:

General rulings that apply to Muslims collectively—whether agreed upon or disputed—are not matters for judges to settle by judicial rulings. Rather, a judge who is a scholar is like any individual scholar: he sets out the knowledge he possesses. A judge issues rulings only in specific cases. As for whether a particular act is obligatory, recommended, or forbidden, this belongs to the general rulings in which no one has authority to rule except Allah and His Messenger. Muslim scholars ascertain the ruling of Allah and His Messenger from the evidence bearing on it. These people have issued rulings on such general matters, and their ruling on this is