In the Name of Allah, all praise belongs to Allah, and may the
Salaah and Salaam be upon the best of creation, his Sahabah, and those who
follow them. As for what follows: Firstly, it is necessary for a Muslim
to know that he does not speak a word or give a ruling through a phrase
or a sentence in regard to knowledge of this Deen except that he is
responsible for it in front of Allah. This knowledge is a trust, so it
requires that the one who has the responsibility of possessing it –
meaning knowledge – imagines Jannah and the Fire in front of his very
eyes. Due to this Imaam ibn Daqeeq Al-‘Īd said that once when he was
acting as a judge, and was serving in Egypt. An opponent sin the court
once said to him, “You have oppressed me”, and in some of the narrations
they state that the opponent said to him, “Your statement is not said
seeking the Face of Allah!” or something similiar. He replied, “By Allah, I have not uttered a single word in the part
forty years except that I have prepared myself to answer for it in front
of Allah.”
So everything a student of knowledge says in debates and dialogues,
everything he says when relating rulings, everything he says in matters
of knowledge, is fully recorded from him, and he is responsible for it
in front of Allah. However, the questioning about knowledge is not like
questioning about other matters. Everything someone says is recorded and
he is duly responsible for it. But the questioning regarding knowledge
is specific and distinct, as you are attributing it to the Deen and to
what has been legislated by Allah. You are stating that the ruling of Allah in this issue is such and such, or that this specific matter is
obligatory, or that matter is merely permitted without reward or
punishment, or that this other matter is only recommended. So it is
necessary to imagine the Jannah and the Fire in front of your eyes.
You should not give a ruling nor speak a word except that you have
with you a portion of knowledge which you had come across or which was
transmitted to you from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. As Allah says:
"Bring me a scripture prior to this or some trace of knowledge, if you are truthful."