FATWA

Technical term for the legal judgment or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist (mufti) can give on issues pertaining to the shariʿa (Islamic law).

Originally only a mujtahid, that is, a jurist satisfying a number of qualifications and trained in the techniques of ijtihad ("personal reasoning," the fourth source of Islamic law after the Qurʾan, the Prophet Muhammad's sunna, and ijma, or consensus), was allowed to issue a legal opinion or interpretation of an established law. Later, all trained jurists were allowed to be muftis. Fatwas are nonbinding, contrary to the laws deriving from the first three sources, and the Muslim may seek another legal opinion. The fatwas of famous jurists are usually collected in books and can be used as precedents in courts of law.

Because most Muslim countries stopped following the shariʿa during the twentieth century and adopted secular legal systems, fatwas are issued mostly on a personal basis or for political reasons. The practice of having a government-appointed mufti issue fatwas justifying government policy has been a major criticism by reformist contemporary Muslim movements. However, many of the latter often allow individuals without the requisite legal training to issue fatwas. Such edicts may be considered by their followers as binding but they are not recognized by the jurists or the rest of the Muslim community as legitimate juristic opinions.

Bibliography

Masud, Muhammad Khalid; Messick, Brinkley; and Powers, David S., eds. Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and Their Fatwas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

wael b. hallaq updated by maysam j. al faruqi