What is required of a Muslim if time is too short to consult scholars on an urgent matter?

If you know of a scholar's opinion on an issue you are facing, then act upon it. If you do not know of any opinion from the people of knowledge regarding it, then you must exert effort in seeking the truth. It has been said that the obligation falls away from you concerning that specific incident, and it has also been said that you may choose.

Ibn al-Qayyim mentions that if a layman encounters an issue and cannot find someone to ask, there are two approaches: The first: That it falls under the ruling of what was before the Shari'ah, based on the differing opinions regarding prohibition, permissibility, or suspension. The second: That it is derived from the differing opinions regarding the conflict of evidence for a mujtahid: Should one act upon the easier, the stricter, or choose?

The correct view is that one must fear Allah to the best of their ability and strive to seek the truth. Allah has established many signs that distinguish the truth, and sound human nature inclines towards it. If all of that becomes impossible and all signs disappear, then the obligation for that specific incident falls away from them.

The Fiqh Encyclopedia mentions that if a mukallaf (accountable person) cannot find someone to issue a fatwa regarding their situation, the obligation to act falls away if they have no knowledge of it, because this falls under the category of being obligated with what is beyond one's capacity.