brothers and sisters,

As a new Muslim convert, I've noticed there are a buch of fatwa/advice websites on the internet. How do you tell which ones are legitimate (i.e. actually have authority to offer such advice)?


Salaam,

N-

wa alaikum assalam,

It's definately a difficult thing to figure out. Some websites base their rulings on the precidents of madhabs, schools of thought, that developed over the centuries. Others base their rulings soley on the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet (saws), without taking into account how the madhabs have interpreted these sources. The posters on this website tend towards the later group.

As a newbie, I'd recommend IslamOnline, because it finds a balance between the different sources. Oftentimes, their rulings will present the different points of view.

Wa Alaykum Salam Wa Rhametullahi Wa Berekatu,

The most important way is to ask Allah for guidance and that He helps you in making the correct moves.

I personally use this sometimes:

http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng

Salaam

Even Islamonline uses that site bro

Wa Alaykum Salam Wa Rahmetullah Bro,

Yep, I've notice they use some answers from there Alhamdulillah.

I use IslamToday, Islamqa, Fatwaonline, Fatwaislam, IslamWeb.

Islamtoday answers back really fast. They are Alhamdulilah good trustworthy [knowledgeable] scholars.

I would reccomend them [esp for response to answers]
Islamqa has a very big fatwa 'archive', Alhamdulilah. I've sent a few questions, and I didn't receive a response, Allahu Alam maybe they already had the answer posted. But the Sheikh is Alhamdulilah on the Quran and Sunnah, and is straightforward with any answer. May Allah preserve him, ameen

FatwaIslam and FatwaOnline are both great sites, they however do not accept new questions (Allahu Alam), but are more like archives of old and new fatawaa from the greater scholars (i.e. ibn baz, uthaaimeen, albani, etc rahimuhuhullah).

IslamWeb accepts new questions, and they are also on the Quran and Sunnah Walhamdulilah,

Usually those are the ones I visit,


Hope that helps.

Wa'alaykum Asalaam Wa Rahmatullah

Assalamoalikum
Well the basic difference between a genuine site and a fake one, or even a genuine scholar and a fake one is that the genuine ones quote Ayaat of Quran and Sahih Hadith with references to back their Fitwas and beliefs. So go to the sites which give Quranic Ayaat and Sahih Hadiths etc
Hope I helped