i found this interesting and thought others might too. one of the things i like about islam is the very fact that it is de-centralized with no Big Cheese (like a pope) calling the shots. i guess this article deals with the downsides of this. personally, i like the fact that there is diversity of opinion on many matters, but i can see that it would also be confusing to someone trying to practice the religion in the best way possible and it would be easy to get overwhelmed. i guess this is why some choose to pick a sheikh and follow his rulings consistently.
in a way, it is like every other field - we are bombarded with an endlessly huge amount of information to sift through.
that's really all i have to say on the subject, but thought it might make for an interesting discussion.
Muslim scholars decry ‘fatwa chaos’
* Al-Azhar University churns out 1,000 fatwas a day
* Egyptian scholar says too many unqualified opinions being spread
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Muslim scholars have condemned the explosion in the number of fatwas now being issued and called for the establishment of unified standards for pronouncing religious decrees.
Daniel Williams writes for Bloomberg News that a century ago, the fatwa department at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University issued fewer than 200 edicts a day. Now it turns out about 1,000.
“Around the world, an explosion in the number of fatwas is driving efforts by prominent Muslims to rein in the practice. That’s proving a nearly impossible task, given Islam’s decentralised nature and the growing number of outlets for the edicts,” says the report.
Muslims in Egypt seeking religious guidance may now turn to satellite television and the Internet for opinions from as far afield as Indonesia - unless they follow the fatwa issued in 2004 by the Dar ul-Ulum, India’s largest madrassa, that ruled Muslims shouldn’t watch TV.
Too many unqualified opinions: With no pope or patriarch to arbitrate orthodoxy, “it’s the nature of Islamic thought to have many options,” says Abdel Moti Bayoumi, who heads the Islamic Research Compilation Centre in Cairo. “But there are too many unqualified opinions being spread, and this is wrong.”
The result is what MENA, Egypt’s official news agency, calls “fatwa chaos”. Mainstream Islamic scholars blame TV and the Web for the proliferation of pronouncements. Confusing opinions are reaching millions of believers, these critics say.
Dissident preachers fault establishment clerics for issuing what they consider abstruse and sometimes ridiculous judgments.
Wow 1000 a day is a lot!!!!!! There is too much confusion on who and what to trust. Though I don't think there should be one main person, it might be helpful to have a group that makes the decisions together.
"The only thing neccesary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - E. Burke
"We have just enough religion to hate but not enough to love one another" -Jonathan Swift
Yes, while I don't see a need for a central theological authority figure, it does seem like annual conferences or something to authenticate these things might be helpful for everybody.
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is."
Yes, while I don't see a need for a central theological authority figure, it does seem like annual conferences or something to authenticate these things might be helpful for everybody.
There must be conference of some sort for scholars to do so. I think it is called a Multaqa'.
Fatwa means decree and decree must come from authoritative figures for example, Mufti who is an expert as far as fiqh is concerned and has authority vested by the head of state.
Sometimes people confuse between a decree and an opinion and ends up calling every opinion, fatwa.
The same thing for usage of Mullah. As far as I know it, there's no priesthood in Islam and the honorific title for an elder or learned one is Shaykh. Mullah is just a name of a person, just like Muhammad is common name among Muslims. However since American terrorism war in Afghanistan they started calling every important figure in the Taleban a Mullah, and spawns number of call-names like Mad Mullahs.
My point is that, sometimes not only people in the Muslim world confuse between decree and opinion. This is sometimes perpetrated in the Western nations when they call misleading opinions as fatwa (decree) and thinks it is incumbent for every Muslim to follow hence becomes the central creed of Islam.
Funniest thing happened when the issue of opinion of a lecturer in Al-Azhar saying about how a grown-up man and woman in the same workplace becomes relatives through breastfeeding. It was just an opinion and not a decree but when someone cries fatwa! immediately it becomes the central figurehead of Islam. This was used to paint Islam in the bad limelight, as a religion which says that you can become relatives just by breastfeeding.
Muslims in Egypt seeking religious guidance may now turn to satellite television and the Internet for opinions from as far afield as Indonesia - unless they follow the fatwa issued in 2004 by the Dar ul-Ulum, India’s largest madrassa, that ruled Muslims shouldn’t watch TV.
I know wat you mean.......but normally I just watch Peace TV nowadays....I cnt b asked with anything else :-s
same here, islam channel been showin less and less lectures during the times i watch it, though that peaceful old quran tafseer man was on yesterday, that was good!
yeah if i eva do get a TV in my own home, then im gnna bar every channel except for peace and IC
wa alaikum ussalaam wa rahmatullah
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My tears testify that i have a heart
yet i feel me and shaytan never part
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I think the meaning for shura is consultation and from that the word mushawwarah (meeting) is derived. Anyone who can correct me is welcome to do so.
In my country we have 14 states, each with its own Mufti appointed by respective Sultan of each States. Every year they have conference called Multaqa' to discuss about fatwa at national level.
Hehe... whatever it is, I am sure there's conference where fatwaas are gathered, discussed and debated. Maybe someone with knowledge in the Islamic legal process can expound the matter.
This whole issue is very very confusing for every single Muslim but particularly for reverts who start to learn about islam from other people whose own teachings of whats right and wrong may or may not come from some fatwa, and the revert doesn't know that!
Basically wasn't it the job of the Caliph to make these kinda decisions after Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa salam passed away ? When did it degenerate into anyone's-an-authority? (these are just rhetorical questions!)
the point I am getting it is if there was one single council it would be better but we would have to watch out for it as they may also be prone to error or corruption. And who watches the watchers??
Doesn't seem like there is an easy answer but I think for a start fatwas making 'exceptions' should be banned altogether. Like this whole mortgage in the west for example..i have seen a fatwa stating under particular conditions a muslim can get a mortgage from a regular bank if there is no other choice and its not for investment. But haven't they just legalised Riba then?? Conditions or not! Riba is OUT so if you are in the west then you should RENT!!
Seems people have lost that faith in Allah swt to provide for everything and want easy options made by Sheikhs. But I doubt individuals following such fatwas would be treated any differently on Judgement Day to the kaafir who said 'we just followed what our fathers taught us!' ..
First off why is by the ignorant a fatwa considered as a crazy mulla calling for the slaying of kuffars etc. A fatwa is basically an Islamic ruling that can be given on anything from, trade, marriage basically any part of life as Islam is a whole way of life. The media loves to play around with certain words like jihad and fatwa and associate them with violence of some kind or another.
As for Al Azhar university I am not really surprised why they have fatwa chaos as they have to cater for all four schools of thought, such as Hanafi, Hambali, Maaliki, and Shafi. Can you imagine four different rulings on one subject, if that isnt going to cause chaos then what is.
"By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience."Quran 103
Wow 1000 a day is a lot!!!!!! There is too much confusion on who and what to trust. Though I don't think there should be one main person, it might be helpful to have a group that makes the decisions together.
There is something called the World Fiqh Council- literally hundreds of scholars from all over the world get together and debate an issue (usually modern issues) until they all agree on it, and then issue a ruling.
They are scholars from all the sunni schools of thought.
format_quote Originally Posted by Medina83
Seems people have lost that faith in Allah swt to provide for everything and want easy options made by Sheikhs. But I doubt individuals following such fatwas would be treated any differently on Judgement Day to the kaafir who said 'we just followed what our fathers taught us!' ..
I personally don't think that is fair... if they are following real scholars who they respect, then it isn't there fault if the scholar stuffs up... but if they pick and choose the leniencies of diff scholars, then you have a point.
There is something called the World Fiqh Council- literally hundreds of scholars from all over the world get together and debate an issue (usually modern issues) until they all agree on it, and then issue a ruling.
They are scholars from all the sunni schools of thought.
assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
can you tell me more about this?
where is it held, who are the scholars, where can we read this fataawa?
-
My tears testify that i have a heart
yet i feel me and shaytan never part
-
[QUOTE=Malaikah;857912]There is something called the World Fiqh Council- literally hundreds of scholars from all over the world get together and debate an issue (usually modern issues) until they all agree on it, and then issue a ruling.
They are scholars from all the sunni schools of thought.
QUOTE]
is this a new thing? can you say more about it?
thanks.
each man thinks of his own fleas as gazelles
question authority
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