Question : A question was asked regarding whether more than one scholar may be consulted in a single matter.

Fatwa in Brief: It is not permitted for that who asks one scholar about a matter to ask another on the same matter.

Shaykh Al-Fawzan, al-Tafaqquh fi din Allah, 1/21-22

Response:

There is nothing wrong in asking more than one scholar about a single matter.

Commentary:

It is known that if a member of the general public (‘ami) receives two different opinions on one matter, he is legally permitted to follow either one of them. The decision is his to make. As he is not strictly capable of making a decision based on his own capacities to understand the law [that is to say, he is not a mujtahid], he should only follow the opinion of a qualified scholar. In the above case, if he then asks a third scholar and receives an opinion that is in agreement with one previous two, he should follow that. [If he receives a third contrasting opinion, then, once again, it is up to him to choose the one that he feels best suits him circumstances.][1] From this, it is clear that there is nothing wrong in approaching more than one scholar regarding a single matter, and then to make one’s own decision as to which opinion to follow.

And God knows best.

Dr. Yassir ‘Abd al-‘Azim