How to deal with fatwas?

[.alhamdulillah.]

could somebody explain to me the basic idea behind fatwas like are all fatwas was supposed to be accepted no matter?

Why do people give fatwas that go against the commands of allah and his messenger, because then some people believe because a scholar said you can do it, it is okay, even though it is against the commands of Allah and his messenger.

it just seems like they're often time excuses to go against what we should be doing but then why do people do them for example some people give fatwas that it is OK to purchase a house in the west with interest even though interest is clearly haram so some people will follow that fatwa and some people are like no you can't follow because it's clear so then how are we supposed to know which want to do?

And when is it OK to follow fatwas?


Also is there blame on the people if they follow fatwas even though they are haram?

[azc]

Can you some such fatwas....?

[Sabeel Shah]

aoa we have to deal fatwas be patient nd politely not even fighting or any miss behave with any one just talk in manners .

[aaj]

Some fatwas are general and apply to everyone. Such as eating food whose ingredient states animal byproduct on it. And other fatwas are more personal and specific to a specific situation and specific person. So fatwas vary and not all may be applicable to all.

In addition to the fatwa, we also have to look at the fatwa giver. You have to see how reliable is the person giving the fatwa. Is a qualified Islamic scholar who is giving the fatwa, or some some imam or local speaker who doesn't have the qualifications. Is it a sunni scholar, is it a shia scholar, etc? There are many islamic speakers but they are doing dae work (propagation of Islam), they are not qualified to give fatwas.

In addition to the qualifications of the speaker, you also have to see the knowledge of the person. Is the person well versed in the deen or is he his knowledge weak. Is he versed on the topic the fatwa is given?

For example, Zakir naik is a popular dae, he is not qualified to give fatwas. He is also weak in his knowledge, there are many things he said the scholars have corrected. He may mean well but he is not someone should be taking fatwa from.

Finally, you have to learn your deen yourself as well. This way you can tell if you should take a fatwa or a scholar seriously based on what they say in light of the Quran and the Sunnah. For example, some say that it is ok to take riba based loans to buy the house in the west. We know riba is haram and to engage in it is to wage war with Allah, do you really want to wage that war and think you will win? Others who do not know any better may follow that fatwa and the sin will on them if they know but looking for the easy way out but more so the sin will be on the guy giving the permission. But if you know your deen and know it's haram then you would reject that fatwa as it goes against Islam and find a more reliable scholar who gives a fatwa in accordance with Quran and sunnah.

There shariah compliant companies available to go through for buying a riba free house. If one wants that then they can get that.

As to when to follow fatwas, see if it's specific or general fatwa and see if it relates to your situation or not. Some people go fatwa hunting to find one that gives them the answer they are looking for. That's cherry picking to suit your desires. That is not the way to go about. But you can look at fatwa from different scholars on a given issue and see which one makes more sense gives more convincing response based on the Quran and the Sunnah and that is the one you should follow. Or sometimes it best to talk to an alim/scholar yourself, specific to your situation.


If you know a fatwa is fake or haram then you cannot follow it, otherwise you will share in the sin of that action. We do not blindly follow our priests like the Jews, we should learn our deen and use it to see if the fatwa is based on the deen and makes sense or not.

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[Scimitar]

Shariah is not rigid, it is flexible and can accomodate the shift of time and place as Islam spreads across the globe.

Thus, the rulings vary from nation to nation slightly due to x y z reasons and some fatwas apply to all Muslims regardless of where they are living.

It's not so black and white as "how to deal with fatwas" - the question itself is wrongly asked... rather, "how can I know which fatwas (rulings) apply to me and why?"

Scimi

[azc]

^ @Scimitar : Will explain the first paragraph of your post with examples..?

[Scimitar]

No, ask a jurist :D

Scimi