Dealing With New Situations

Praise be to Allah.

I thank you for your question and ask Allaah to grant us and you strength, steadfastness and wisdom, and to show us what is true and help us to follow it, and to show us what is false and help us to avoid it, and not to let it confuse us and lead us astray… With regard to what you asked about, my comments on it are as follows: 

You should note that we are not obliged to define our stance or opinion on every issue or event that occurs, simply because much of what occurs does not concern us. With regard to the things that do concern us and on which we should form opinions, they are of different types: 

1 – Matters which because of their depth and breadth go beyond the limits of our knowledge and understanding. Concerning these matters we must consult the opinions of specialists, scholars, researchers or experts, as much as possible. 

2 – Matters which are so clear that they have become the talk of gatherings and the media. We can form an opinion on such matters by reconciling between the views of those whom we trust and some of the reports. 

3 – Matters within our own private circle. These require us to look at all the alternatives and weigh up the pros and cons of each, then compare them objectively. This will enable us to form an initial idea, then we can consult others and seek the opinions of people who have prior experience in this field, or those whose opinions we trust. Whoever consults people will benefit from their experience and knowledge. As time goes by and we make mistakes and benefit from our experience, we will accumulate experience and more understanding, and will develop the ability to evaluate things. In the light of this experience we will be able to form our own opinions.

 May Allaah help you and protect you, and make you steadfast in adhering to the path of truth and goodness.