Every Muslim who actively reads and understands the Book of Allah knows how important it is to refer back to the people of knowledge. Allah commands us to refer matters back to the scholars and makes clear that they are the elite leaders of this Ummah capable of extracting the correct rulings from the divine texts and applying them to specific scenarios precisely
Allah says (what means) So ask the people of remembrance (the scholars) when you do not know. [Qur’an 16:43] And He, The Exalted and Most High, says (what means): Had they only returned the matter back to the Messenger and those in authority, those able to extract its ruling would have known it. [Qur’an 4:83] Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) warned us of the grave consequences of not returning matters back to the scholars. He said (what means) “Allah does not take away (Islamic) knowledge from the servants in a single event, but rather He takes the lives of the scholars. Then, when no scholar remains, the people will take ignorant religious leaders. They will give Islamic verdicts when asked, without knowledge. They will go astray (themselves) and lead others astray”. [Bukhari 100]
