Scholarly Accountability
Here is a subtle benefit we learned from our scholars. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Fatwa (اللجنة الدائمة للبحوث العلمية والإفتاء)—despite its immense scholarly authority, list the names of the scholars who participated in and approved the fatwa.
In the shared picture, the committee were asked a question about wiping over leather socks. Each member of the committee signed their name to the response.
Chairman: Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Member: Bakr ibn Abdullah Abu Zayd
Member: Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Aali Shaykh
Member: Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
The benefit of this is accountability. The reader knows: Who issued the verdict, who bears responsibility for it, whose knowledge and methodology are being relied upon, and, if an error occurs, to whom that error is attributed.
I advise myself and all my brothers to return to this methodology that we learned from our scholars.
Rasheed Barbee