A fatwa (Arabic: فتوى) plural fatāwa (فتاوى), 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 Mufti.
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 fatwas, 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, such as Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Hugo Chávez.
Because Islam has no centralized 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 fatwas.
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; individuals are free to accept them or not. 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." [1]
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 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 nations where Islamic law is not the basis of law, different Muftis 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
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