Significance of Fatwa & Islamic Rulings

By Sheikh Muhammad Abdul-Azeez AMJA Shari`a Researcher

Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family members, companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

Many voices and much talk have been raised recently demanding making a law that prohibits issuing Islamic rulings (Fatawa) except from professional and specialized Fiqh and Shari`ah scholars, in order to control chaos that hit the Islamic Fatwa forum deep lately.

The Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA) is a pioneer authority in issuing its first publications about this critical topic, like: "The Responsibility of the Shari`ah Fatwa: Controls and Implications on the Rationality of the Ummah", by Professor Dr. Muhamad Duad Al-Barazy; and about "The Gentleman Agreement on the Fatwa and Fatwa Requesting", by Prof. Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, AMJA Secretary-General.

It is sufficient for a Muslim who would dare to issue Fatwa rulings, as a deterrent and a restraint from delving into this critical realm, to read Allah`s saying in this regard: "But say not for any false thing that your tongues may put forth, this is lawful, and this is forbidden, so as to ascribe false things to God. for those who ascribe false things to God, will never prosper. (In such falsehood) is but a paltry profit; but they will have a most grievous penalty", (Quran, 16:116-117).

Issuing Fatwa and Islamic rulings without knowledge could be compared to committing implicit and explicit grave sins, as Allah says: "Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds, whether open or secret; since and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to God, for which he hath given no authority; and saying things about God of which ye have no knowledge", (Quran, 7:33).

Giving Fatwa without knowledge could be deadly and fatal, for both the one who would issue it, as it happened with the Muslim monk who ruled to a murderer who killed 99 people that his repentance would not be accepted by Allah, and he killed him to complete the 100 number; and for the one who would request it, as it happened with a man who had a deep cut in his head, and he had a wet dream, and asked his friends if they knew an excuse for him to dry-wash for purity, and they denied it to him and urged him to fully wash with water, and he did, which caused him to die. When Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah knew of this story, he said: "They have killed him, may Allah kill them…", (Reported by Abou-Dawoud in his book: Sunnan).

Yes, to this limit could a Fatwa be very critical to the individual and to the whole Ummah, and for this reason, Abdul-Rahman Ben Abi-Layeila says: "I knew 120 of Al-Anssaar people, who were companions of the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and that one of them would ask another to give a Fatwa ruling, and he would refer him to the other, and the other to the next, etc, until the question returns back to the first one without being answered". And in another narrative: "They all would have liked to talk with each other, except daring to talk about Fatwa giving".

Al-Shu`abei; Al-Hasan; And Abul-Houssein said: "You dare to give Fatwa, but if it is referred to Omar, he would have gathered for answering it all the people who have witnessed the Battle of Badr".

Lo! How these great men valued the gravity of Fatwa giving, and how did they esteemed its status in their judgments! For this reason, they controlled the whole wide world!

Here is a list of literature that would further the knowledge about the rules and manners of Fatwa issuance:

• Responsibility of Shari`ah Fatwa: Controls & Implications on the Rationality of the Ummah, by Prof. Dr. Muhamad Fuad Al-Barazy.
• Manners of the Mufti and the One Who Requests Fatwa, by Ben Hamdan.
• Manners of the Mufti and the One Who Requests Fatwa, by Ben Al-Salah.
• `Ilaam Al-Muaqe`een `An Rab Al-`Aalameen, by Ben Al-Qaiyyem.

Prayers, blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family members, companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

Subhan'Allah!

very beneficial post, thank you brother.

very very true brother thanx alot!!
av been telling people that but they are heedless at least now i can mention the two ayahs as proof and inshaAllah someone somewhere will take heed.

Shukran Jazeela. may Allah reward u.

That was good, but I fail to see the connection with online fatwa...?

Sometimes we forget the danger of giving a fatwa. We should always try to not be know-it-alls, and rather be the, 'i'll-get-back-to-you' type.
Allahu' A'lam

It was in regards to regular people who go around saying on forums, "I think this is Haram", "This is halal", "You can't do this", etc when they aren't scholars. They're basically giving Fatwa when they say that and that's what the article's warning against.

It wasn't talking about getting actual proper Fatawa from sites (i.e. IslamToday etc) where scholars answer the questions.

Allaahu Alam.

we have all become too complacent and and often assume that because we read something online, it must be true. Sadly, the internet is a media, like all media it is only as accurate as the author. Because we read something on the internet, does not mean it is true.

We each have a responsibility to verify all we read and when we site something as fact we need to be able to give verifiable reference.

If something is simply our own opinion, we need to say that also. Opinions are fine, but people need to know it is our opinion. In my honest opinion.

don't you think people know the difference between people saying "i think this is haram", etc. and an actual fatwa from a scholar? i think it would be obvious that such opinions are not fatwas.

^True snakelegs, but they are actually sinful for doing so.

i didn't know that.
so if a girl wants to know if it's ok to have a boyfriend and people say "no it is not" - even though islam's position on this is commonly known - they are committing a sin?
i could see it when it comes to areas of fiqh that are less clear or less widely known, but there are certain things that come up again and again.

far better to quote a hadith or ayyat than to simply say so without reference. That way you show it is not your opinion and it is up to the reader to see that is what is said.

i see your point, but is it actually a sin if someone says something that is widely known, as in the example i gave?

I think you misunderstood... it was referring to people who say something is haram or halal when they don't actually know that is true.

With your example, they are repeating something that they know is true, because they heard it from scholars, but what we are referring to is someone saying so and so is haram even though he has never heard a scholar or knowledgeable person say so. So he is making it up himself.

Hope that makes sense!

yes it does. thanks, malaikah.