The thirty-third ground:

Their words acknowledge that the mufti’s fatwa represents the position of some Muslim scholars. Whatever Muslims dispute must therefore be referred back to Allah and the Messenger, and nothing but the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Prophet may adjudicate it. Yet these people ruled on a matter disputed by Muslims without recourse to the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger. Such a ruling is invalid by the consensus of the Muslims. This would apply even if his fatwa represented the position of only some of them. How much more so, then, when he cited the two positions agreed upon by the Muslims? The position they condemned is that of the leading imams, whereas their own position has been transmitted by none of the imams, great or small.

The thirty-fourth ground:

Even supposing that the mufti issued an erroneous fatwa, punishment is not permissible until the proof has been established against him. It is therefore necessary to explain how the Book and the Sunnah demonstrate his error and to answer the evidence he relied upon. The evidence must be presented and the opposing argument answered. Otherwise, if each side has an argument, neither may be declared correct without grounds for preferring one argument over the other. These people did none of this. Thus, even if the mufti had been mistaken, they would not have established the proof against him. How much more so when he is correct and they are mistaken? The ruling of judges such as these is invalid by consensus.

The thirty-fifth ground:

When the scriptural evidence has been made clear to the mufti, either the correct position becomes clear to him, or else he is in the same position as his fellow scholars who hold a less well-supported view. It is well known that such scholars do not deserve punishment, imprisonment, or being barred from