Fatwa
*Fatwa* is a qualified scholar's answer to one specific question of Islamic law, reporting what the ruling is rather than creating it.
What it means for me: Not every religious answer is a fatwa. A class is teaching; a sermon is a reminder; an article is explaining. A fatwa answers a described situation for the person who asked it. It should not travel to someone else's different situation as a general rule. Read What is a fatwa?.
Example: You read a fatwa on a financial question and admire the answer, so you send it to a friend. Your friend's situation differs in a detail you did not notice. What reached him is a new question, not a ready answer.
Do not confuse with: *Hukm* and *qada*. Hukm is the ruling of the Sharia itself, and fatwa is a scholar reporting that ruling. Qada, in this sense, is a judge's binding decision that ends a dispute.
If scholars differ: Some scholars set a wide list of qualifications a mufti must hold before answering; others describe a narrower core. They also differ on whether a mufti may answer against their own school's settled view, in genuine need. The difference is named here as a difference and not decided; the mufti is the reference.
Often appears in
See the term in context
Will Allah hold me accountable for a fatwa that I transmitted by mistake, after having misunderstood it from a website and not knowing of its error?
As long as you are not among those qualified to issue fatwas, you are not permitted to issue a fatwa merely by reading one. Instead, confine yourself to conveying the text of the fatwa only. Beware of attempting to…
Is it permissible for a Mufti's fatwa to contradict a judge's ruling, such as in the case of divorcing a menstruating woman? And what if the questioner acts upon the Mufti's fatwa both before and after the judge's ruling?
It is permissible for the Mufti to issue a fatwa according to what he deems to be preponderant, even if it contradicts the judge's ruling. The judge must submit to the truth. This is supported by Ibn Mas'ud's fatwa,…
Is refraining from issuing a fatwa on controversial issues—when the questioner is already acting upon one of the opinions, yet is unaware of all the opinions and their correctness—considered a concealment of knowledge?
May Allah reward your piety for refraining from issuing fatwas due to their seriousness. However, strive to seek knowledge so that you may have insight, for indeed, those who teach people good are prayed for by the…
Questions that use it
Is it permissible for the Mufti to retract his fatwa concerning divorce if the husband presents new evidence that he had not mentioned previously due to his ignorance, such such as claiming that he did not utter the words of divorce, but rather that it was based on his wife's statement?
Is the questioner considered an unlearned person (ammiy), and when is he considered a mujtahid (independent interpreter of Islamic law)? How does he seek a fatwa from his heart, and what should he do to obtain a fatwa, given that he is a medical student who has read about fatwas and their differences?
Will the Mufti who erred in his fatwa and followed it be held accountable, and will my prayer be invalidated if I acted upon his erroneous fatwa concerning the nullifiers of prayer?