[2] Circumstances in which a Mufti may or may not have to inform others that his previous Fatwa was wrong

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

حكم من سُئل عن مسألة ثم تبيّن له أنه أخطأ الجواب

السؤال: إذا سئل شخص عن مسألة فأفتى فيها، وبعد مدة تبيّن له أن ما أفتى به غير صحيح، فماذا عليه أن يفعل؟

الجواب: عليه أن يرجع إلى الصواب ويفتي بالحق ويقول أخطأت، كما قال عمر: الحق قديم، فعليه أن يرجع إلى الصواب ويفتي بالحق ويقول أخطأت في المسألة الأولى، أفتيت بكذا وكذا، ثم اتضح لي أنها خطأ، والصواب كذا وكذا، ولا بأس عليه في ذلك، بل هذا هو الواجب عليه، فالنبي ﷺ وهو رأس المفتين لما سأله الناس عن التلقيح، وهو تأبير النخل، قال: ما أظنه يضره لو ترك ثم أخبروه بأنه يضره: فقال: إنما أخبرتكم عن رأيي، والرأي يخطئ ويصيب، أما ما أحدثكم به عن الله فإني لن أكذب على الله وأمرهم أن يرجعوا إلى التلقيح.

كذلك عمر  أفتى بإسقاط الإخوة في مسألة المشرَّكة، ثم أفتى بالتشريك بناء على ما ترجح لديه في ذلك.

فالرجوع إلى ما يعتقد العالم أنه الصواب والحق أمر معروف، وهو طريق أهل العلم والإيمان، ولا حرج في ذلك ولا نقص، بل ذلك يدل على فضله وقوة إيمانه، حيث رجع إلى الصواب وترك الخطأ.

ولو قال بعض الناس أو بعض الجهلة: إن هذا عيب، فهذا ليس بشيء، والصواب أنه فضل وأنه منقبة وليس بنقص]

مجموع فتاوى ومقالات الشيخ ابن باز (7/244

The Ruling Regarding Someone Who Is Asked a Question and Then It Becomes Clear to Him (Later) That His Answer Was Incorrect

Imam Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked: If a person is asked about an issue of the religion and he gives a Fatwa regarding it, then after some time, it becomes clear to him that what he issued as a Fatwa was incorrect, what would be incumbent upon him to do?

Answer: It is incumbent upon him to return to what is correct and issue a Fatwa based on the truth, saying, “I was wrong,” as Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The truth is ancient.” [Footnote a]

Therefore, it is incumbent upon him to return to the correct (position) and issue a Fatwa based on the truth, and say, “I was mistaken in the first issue. I issued a Fatwa based on such-and-such, then it became clear to me that it was wrong, and the correct (position) is such-and-such.” There is no harm (or nothing wrong) in doing so. Rather, this is what is obligatory upon him. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who is the head of the Muftis, was once asked about grafting —that is, the grafting of date palms. He said, “I do not think it would harm them if they left it.” Later, when they informed him that leaving it did harm them, he said: “I merely informed you of my own opinion, and my opinion may be right or wrong. As for what I convey to you from Allah, I will never tell a lie about Allah.” He then instructed them to resume pollinating the date palms. [Footnote b]

Similarly, ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, initially issued a ruling excluding siblings from inheritance in the case known as al-Musharrakah, but later issued a ruling allowing them to share in the inheritance, based on what he came to regard as the stronger position.

Therefore, a scholar returning to what he believes is correct and true is a well-established practice. It is the way of the people of knowledge and Iman. There is neither harm (or problem) nor deficiency in doing so. Rather, it demonstrates his virtue and strength of Iman, as he returned to what is correct and abandoned the mistake. If some people, or some ignoramuses, say, “Indeed, this is a fault,” this is baseless. The correct view is that it is a virtue and a mark of distinction, not a shortcoming.

Source: Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa Maqālāt al-Shaykh Ibn Bāz (7/244).

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Footnote a: “The truth is ancient”. As-Sar’khasee, may Allah have mercy on him, commented on this statement of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: “This does not only apply to the judge, rather, it applies to anyone who explains any matter of religion to others, whether one who gives admonitions, a mufti, or a judge; they are all the same in this regard. When it becomes clear to such a person that he has made a mistake, he should openly declare that he has retracted his position, for a scholar’s mistake is a cause of tribulation among the people. As for his statement, “The truth is ancient”, this means that the truth is the original principle that must be sought. The mistake of one who errs cannot remain concealed; it will inevitably become apparent. Therefore, if the person himself brings his mistake to light, that is the best state regarding his state”. [Al-Mabsūṭ, 16/62]

Footnote b: Rafi’ b. Khadij reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came to Madina and the people had been grafting the trees. He said: What are you doing? They said: We are grafting them, whereupon he said: It may perhaps be good for you if you do not do that, so they abandoned this practice (and the date-palms) began to yield less fruit. They made a mention of it (to the Holy Prophet), whereupon he said: I am a human being, so when I command you about a thing pertaining to religion, do accept it, and when I command you about a thing out of my personal opinion, keep it in mind that I am a human being. ‘Ikrima reported that he said something like this. [Sahih Muslim 2362]