Before the noble readership, may Allaah bless you, is a beautiful and scholarly advice pertaining to how to maintain excellent manners with the scholars of Islaam (1). I ask Allaah, the Most Generous, to make make it a source of benefit to His slaves and a source of happiness for me on the Day of Judgement.
Dr. Muḥammad Bazmool (hafidhahullaah) wrote in his book “Interacting with the Scholars,” pp. 56-57:
[Some manners in dealing with religious verdicts of scholars are as follows]:
[1]: You should not be stern nor defame any scholar who holds an opinion based on his knowledge-based research of an issue in which differences of opinion are accepted.
[2]: A person should have good thoughts about the religious verdicts of scholars. One should not say: ‘He (the scholar) gave this verdict because of a worldly objective that he (the scholar) is trying to obtain.’
[3]: When it becomes totally clear that a scholar has made a mistake, that particular statement is left off, not the scholar himself (2).
[4]: One should trust the knowledge, investigations and final opinions of a scholar. His (the scholar’s) words should be pondered over and understood in the best possible meaning. [And if a scholar presents something that is not clear], one should second guess and accuse himself of a lack of understanding, [not the scholar]. Consequently, one should not rush to refute nor debate the words of a scholar before he has evaluated the situation thoroughly.
Then, if one believes that he or she has come to a sound conclusion and that their may be some room for discussion in a scholar’s verdict, they should not be in a rush [to act nor speak on their discovery]. Rather, they should seek the advice of others and pray the Istakhārah prayer; next, he goes the scholar with excellent manners and politeness and presents to him his or her thoughts and findings on the issue at hand.
[Finally], when one presents his or her findings to their scholar, they shouldn’t believe that they are more virtuous than him [due to their findings]. Rather, [he or she should remember] that it was their scholar who taught them and aided them in understanding issues. [And in actuality], it was him who gave them the ability to make notice of the issue at hand.
[5]: The initial position that should be taken with the verdict of a scholar is that of acceptance. A verdict becomes unacceptable when it goes against proofs and evidences, which are obligatory for us to follow.
So, as long as a religious verdict hasn’t opposed any evidences, the issue is to be viewed as an issue in which differences of opinions and looking into the evidences are accepted.
Furthermore, the opinion of one scholar doesn’t nullify the opinion of another scholar. [However], the exception to this rule is if the issue has been taken to a judge in an Islamic country; [in that case, the ruling of a judge invalidates all other opinions].
[6]: When a scholar, his books or his verdicts are mentioned, good manners dictate that him and his works be mentioned in good light.
[7]: When a scholar is mentioned, supplication should be made for him, and his nobleness should be made known. One should not call a scholar by just his name, nor give him a nickname…
[8]: One should not point out [in a negative manner the apparent] contrasts in a scholar’s religious verdicts; wherein a scholar may have given one verdict in one place, and another verdict in another place. Rather, they should ask him about the [apparent contrast] in a polite manner, seeking to understand what the scholar meant by his words.
[9]: One should not say to his scholars: ‘Such-and-such scholar gave another verdict,’ intending by that to emphasize that what he heard goes against the words of the scholar whom he is speaking to.
I ask Allaah, the Most High, to adorn us with beautiful etiquette towards the inheritors of the prophets, our scholars.
The Qawaariyyah, (The Glass Vessels) 