Ibn Abdul-Barr al-Maliki said:
وقَدْ يُسَمّى العالِمُ عالِمًا وإنْ جَهِلَ أشْياءَ كَما يُسَمّى الجاهِلُ جاهِلًا وإنْ عَلِمَ أشْياءَ وإنَّما تُسْتَحَقُّ هَذِهِ الأسْماءَ بِالأغْلَبِ
“A scholar may be called a scholar despite being ignorant of some things, just as an ignoramus may be called an ignoramus despite knowing some things. These labels are merited based on the predominant [state of the person].”
[“Al-Tamheed”, 17/187].
