I don't know....

[azc]

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) writes:

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar says: “Knowledge is of three types; the book that is forever speaking (Qur’an), an established sunnah, and ‘I do not know’.” [1]

In his explanation to this statement, al-Manawi (rahmatullahi alayh) says: “It is learnt from this hadith that it is a duty of an ‘Alim that if he does not know the answer to a question, he should say ‘I do not know’, or, ‘I am not certain’, or, ‘I have no knowledge thereof’, or, ‘Allah knows best’. If a person is asked a question and he replies, ‘I do not know’, this does not lower his rank, as some ignorant people assume. This is because the ignorance of a qualified ‘Alim with regard to certain matters does not harm him. Rather, his saying, ‘I do not know’, raises his rank because it is proof of his great status, the strength of his din, the fear of his Sustainer, the purity of his heart, the perfection of his recognition [of Allah] and the goodness of his intention.“

”It is a person whose religiosity is weak and whose recognition [of Allah] is little who will scorn such a statement. This is because he fears a drop in his status in the eyes of those who are present but does not fear a drop in his status in the sight of the Sustainer of the worlds. This is an act of ignorance and weakness in din.” [2]

The statement, “I do not know” and “I have no knowledge” have thus been recorded with regards to the four Imams, the four rightly guided caliphs, in fact, even from Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and Jibra’il (‘alayhi as-salam).

Imam Abu ‘l-Hasan al-Mawardi (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) says:“Since there is no way whatsoever of encompassing all knowledge, there is no shame in not knowing some of it. Since there is no shame in not knowing some of it, you should not feel shy to say: ‘I do not know’, with regard to what you do not know.” [3]

Saying “I Do Not Know” Is Half Of Knowledge

Imam al-Ghazzali (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) says: “The person who remains silent when he does not know—and he does this solely for Allah—is no lesser in reward than the person who speaks. This is because admitting ignorance is more difficult on the soul.”

Abu Talib Talib Makki (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) says: “This is because the beauty of a person remaining silent for the sake of Allah out of piety is like the beauty of a person who speaks of knowledge for the sake of Allah willingly.” [4]

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) narrates from someone of knowledge who said: “Learn to say, ‘I do not know’, and do not learn to say: ‘I know’. This is because if you say: ‘I do not know’, they will teach you till you know. But if you say, ‘I know’, they will continue questioning you till you have no answer.” [5]

Abu Khaythamah al-Nasa’i (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) narrates on the authority of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “It is part of knowledge for a person who does not know, to say Allah knows best.” [6]

Ibrahim al-Nakha’i (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) asked a question to ‘Amir ash-Sha’bi (rahmatullahi ‘alayh), who was a great Imam and a great scholar from among the Tabi’in (followers). So the latter replied: ‘I do not know.’ On hearing this, Ibrahim al-Nakha’i (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) said: “I take an oath by Allah that this is a true ‘Alim—he was asked about something which he did not know and he said: ‘I do not know’.”

Source: The Sunnah Way Of The Sufis, Zam Zam Publishers, Pages 80-82
[1]Ad-Daraqutni;Ghara’ib Malik. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi:Asma man rawa ‘an Malik. Abu Da’ud:Kitab al-Fara’id, Vol 3, p 164. Ibn Majah: in the introduction to his sunan, chapter eight.
[2]Al-Munawi:Fayd al-Qadir bi Sharh al-Jami’ al-Saghir, Vol 4, pp. 387-388
[3]Al-Mawardi:Adab ad-Dunya wa ad-Din, p. 82 as quoted inSharh al-Ihya, Vol 1 p. 394 of Az-Zabidirahmatullah ‘alayh
[4]Al-Ghazzali:al-Ihya, Vol 1, p. 69
[5]Ibn ‘Abdil Barr,Jami’ Bayan al-‘Ilm, Vol 2, p. 55
[6]Abu Khaythamah an-Nasa’i:Kitab al-‘Ilm, p. 120

[Ümit]

This does not count for Alims only. this is a great advise to anyone. If you do not know something for sure then you can just say that instead of arguing with no basis.

But most of the time, people do know something...but they are not sure, or they do not know the details...but they still want to help.
In those cases saying "i am not sure, but..." or "I do not know the details, but..." or "this may be because of..." then to remain still in my opinion.
with this, you are still saying that you do not know exactly, but you still share your information.

[azc]

This does not count for Alims only. this is a great advise to anyone. If you do not know something for sure then you can just say that instead of arguing with no basis.

But most of the time, people do know something...but they are not sure, or they do not know the details...but they still want to help.
In those cases saying "i am not sure, but..." or "I do not know the details, but..." or "this may be because of..." then to remain still in my opinion.
with this, you are still saying that you do not know exactly, but you still share your information.

here sharing personal opinion is negated. However, Sharing authentic information based on ahadith concerning the matter or scholarly opinion is a different thing.

[Ümit]

here sharing personal opinion is negated. However, Sharing authentic information based on ahadith concerning the matter or scholarly opinion is a different thing.

I am sorry, I do not follow...can you please explain what you exactly mean with this?

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[azc]

I am sorry, I do not follow...can you please explain what you exactly mean with this?

In religious matter us being laypeople should abstain from giving any ruling based on conjecture or own opinion or understanding the concerned matter.

It's safer to keep quiet. Or share the fatwa of scholars based on evidences from Quran and sunnah.

[Ümit]

Yes you might be right on that. the safer case is to remain silent. it certainly is wrong to act as if you know for sure and give him false information.

But in a lot of cases someone is searching for an answer and he needs help. And I think it would not harm if you share the information you have so that at teast you can point him to the right direction but to make him clear that you are not certain about it.
The intentions are good.

Seeing someone doing something completely wrong, just because I decided to keep silent because I was not sure about my information...is worse in my opinion.
What are your thoughts in this?

[azc]

^If someone asks for any suggestions or solutions pertaining to his personal problems, he should be helped in sincere manner but if his query is regarding religious issues, I prefer to seek the fatwa or article or book concerning his matter or advise him to consult his local scholar or keep silent because what we post on the forum without knowledge will be accountable for on the judgement day.