Fatwa

A fatwa (Arabic: فتوى) plural fatāwa , is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. Usually a fatwa is issued at the request of an individual or a judge to settle a question where "fiqh," Islamic jurisprudence, is unclear. A scholar capable of issuing fatwas is known as a mujtahid.

The overwhelming majority of fatwas are on mundane matters (for examples see the archives linked below). Several have declared war or pronounced death sentences, most notably the fatwa for the execution of Salman Rushdie issued in 1989 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the 1998 Fatwa proclaimed by Osama bin Laden declaring war against America. These two fatāwa, in particular, have drawn a great deal of attention in Western media, which has given rise to the use of the term fatwa to apply to statements by non-Muslims that advocate an extreme religious or political position.

Because Islam has no centralized, international priestly hierarchy, there is no uniform method to determine who can issue a valid fatwa and who cannot, and upon whom such fatwas are binding. Some Islamic scholars complain that too many people feel qualified to issue fatāwa.

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Muhammad Sayid Tantawy, who is the leading religious authority in the Sunni Muslim establishment in Egypt, said the following about fatwas issued by himself or the entire Al-Azhar University:

"Fatāwa issued by Al-Azhar are not binding, but they are not just whistling in the wind either; individuals are free to accept them, but Islam recognizes that extenuating circumstances may prevent it. For example, it is the right of Muslims in France who object to the law banning the veil to bring it up to the legislative and judicial authorities. If the judiciary decides in favor of the government because the country is secular, they would be considered to be Muslim individuals acting under compelling circumstances." Otherwise, they would be expected to adhere to the fatwa. [1]

Yet, according to the Islamic science called "Usul al-fiqh" (Principles of Jurisprudence), a fatwa is binding on the Umma when these four conditions are satisfied:

1. It is in line with relevant legal proofs, deduced from Koranic verses and hadiths;
2. It is issued by a person (or a board) having due knowledge and sincerity of heart;
3. It is free from individual opportunism, and not depending on political servitude;
4. It is adequate with the needs of the contemporary world.

In Morocco, where king Mohammed VI is also Amir al-Muminin (Commander of the faithful) have tried to organize the field by creating a scholars' council (conseil des oulémas) composed of muslim scholars (ulema) which is the only one allowed to issue fatwas. In this case, a national theocracy would in fact compel intra-national compliance with the fatwa, since a central authority is the source. Muslims in other nations would obviously not be required to obey.

In nations where Islamic law is the basis of civil law, fatwas by the national religious leadership are debated prior to being issued. Thus, they are rarely contradictory. If two fatwas were contradictory, the ruling bodies (combined civil and religious law) attempt to define a compromise interpretation that will eliminate the resulting ambiguity. In these cases, the national theocracies expect fatwa's to be settled law.

In nations where Islamic law is not the basis of law, different mujtahids can issue contradictory fatwas. In such cases, Muslims would typically honour the fatwa deriving from leadership of their religious tradition. For example, Sunni Muslims would favor a Sunni fatwa over a Shiite one.

The word fatwa is used also loosely or as slang for other sorts of decrees, for example:-

"The pope issued a fatwa." (in a BBC television history program)

"The town's scuba diving club's committee at last issued its fatwa about rebreathers."

Quotes

• "In Sunni Islam, a fatwa is nothing more than an opinion." ― Maulana Mehmood Madani, president of the Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind [2]
• "The current fashion for online fatwas has created an amazingly legalistic approach to Islam as scholars - some of whom have only a tenuous grip on reality - seek to regulate all aspects of life according to their own interpretation of the scriptures." ― Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, January 17, 2006

See also

• taqlid, ijtihad, ijma, Tafsir, list of Islamic terms in Arabic, posek
• List of famous fatāwa
• Papal bull

External links

• Text of Osama bin Ladin’s Fatwa urging jihad against Americans
• 'Fatwa' helps Proctor & Gamble in Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign
• The Fatwa and Revolutionary Islamic Movements

Fatwa websites

• www.Islam-QA.com (Salafi/Wahabi), Saudi Arabia, maintained in 7 different languages viz. English, Arabic, Urdu, Francais, Indonesian, Japanese, Spanish.
• www.SunniPath.com by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Pakistani-Canadian (based in Jordan), having both Hanafi and Shafi fiqh answers.
• www.Fatwa-Online.com (Salafi/Wahabi), Saudi Arabia. Also mirror site www.eFatwa.com
• www.IslamToday.com (Salafi/Wahabi) - Saudi Arabia, maintained in 4 different languages viz. English, Arabic, Francais, Chinese.
• www.ShariahBoard.org (Audio Urdu) by Mufti Nawal-ur-Rahman, Hanafi (Deobandi) - Chicago, USA
• www.IslamOnline.net - Contemporary scholars from North America, Europe, MiddleEast.
• www.AskImam.org by Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Hanafi (Deobandi) - South Africa.