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A fatwa is a legal decree in Islam made by someone knowledgeable in Islamic law, and can cover a range of topics. It is not legally binding and must be supported by precedent. The Qur’an, sharia, hadith, ijma, and qiyas are sources of Islamic jurisprudence. Fataawa can be contradictory and are not always political. The infamous fatwa against author Salman Rushdie is not representative of all fataawa.
In Islam, a fatwa is a legal decree made by someone who has extensive knowledge of Islamic law. Westerners have become confused about the precise meaning of a fatwa, thanks to the politicization of fataawa (plural of fatwa) by activists and extremist organizations. Fataawa can in fact rule everything from whether or not to wear makeup for women to how best to settle a land dispute, and they are not considered legally binding, which is very important.
Islamic jurisprudence is extremely complex, just like other systems of jurisprudence based on religious values. The Qur’an is regarded as an authority on jurisprudence, along with sharia, or Islamic law, and hadith, the records of the prophet’s words and deeds. Historically, Islamic jurisprudence has also included the ijma, or consensus of the Islamic community, along with the qiyas, reasoning by analogy used by Islamic scholars. Also, periodic fatwas can be issued to address the changing world.
Traditionally, a fatwa can only be issued by someone who is extremely knowledgeable about Islamic law, and ideally a fatwa comes from a place of sincerity and genuine concern. To be considered a valid fatwa in many regions, the fatwa need not be personal or political in nature and should be appropriate for the modern world. Many Muslim countries have appointed a mufti to issue fataawa, acting as religious authority.
When a fatwa is issued, the issuer must provide backup and support. It is not enough to say that something must be done in a certain way; the issuer should be able to find precedent in the very large body of Islamic jurisprudence, and a fatwa is often supported by citations from other sources so that people can understand the reasoning behind the fatwa. It is also possible to see contradictory fatwas from different religious authorities, and in some cases these authorities may meet to discuss the issue and issue a new fatwa reflecting the outcome of the discussion.
Fataawa are not legally binding. Muslims requesting a fatwa on a matter of concern may seek a second opinion or even ignore the fatwa, especially if they feel it contradicts the spirit of Muslim law and life. Fataawas generally rely on scholarly support to gain popular ground, and if a fatwa is also used in an Islamic court, it could gain additional weight with the Muslim community.
An infamous fatwa was issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 ordering the death of author Salmon Rushdie, and some Westerners are under the mistaken impression that all fataawans take the form of execution orders. This is not, in fact, the case; a counterexample from Al-Azhar University scholars, recommends interfaith study among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, illustrating the incredible diversity of fataawa.
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