Regarding Fatawa And Ijtihad

Question :

Is the door of Ijtihad open for anyone, or are there certain conditions that one must fulfill to be a Mujtahid (one who uses Ijtihad)? And is it permissible for any person to issue a Fatwa, based solely on one's views, without one knowing a clear proof? And to what degree is this Hadith authentic (at least in its meaning):
"The most audacious of you in making rulings is the most audacious of you about (entering) the Fire."

Answer:

The door of Ijtihad in the Shari'ah sense is still open, but only for someone who is qualified, someone who has knowledge of what he needs to know of a specific issue, in terms of verses of the Qur'an and Hadith; someone who is capable of understanding and deriving rulings from those two sources; someone who knows the level of authenticity of those proofs that he argues from; someone would be aware enough to not surpass a consensus of the scholars on the issue that he is discussing; someone who is knowledgeable enough of the Arabic language to enable him to understand religious texts, so that he may infer rulings from them.

A person must not speak from mere opinion in matters of religion, nor should one issue Fatwas when he doesn't know; rather, one must follow religious proofs, followed by the sayings of the people of knowledge - not only the way they view proofs but also how they infer rulings from them. Only then may one speak about what view he is satisfied with for his practice of the religion.

As for the Hadith you mentioned, 'Abdullah bin 'Abdur-Rahman Ad-Darmi recorded it in his Sunan from 'Abdullah bin Abu Ja'far Al-Misri, but the Hadith is Mursal.

May Allah send peace and blessings upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source:
The Permanent Committee
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 7 Pages 228-229