Fatwa meaning explained: what a fatwa is

What does fatwa mean?

In its dictionary sense, the introduction gives a fatwa as what a jurist has given as an answer 1. The same introduction says the term keeps that sense, with one condition: the question must be about a matter of Sharia, and the ruling sought must be a Sharia ruling 1.

So a fatwa has two parts: a question put to a jurist, and an answer. The one who asks is the mustafti, and the one who answers is the mufti 2.

What does the Quran say about asking for a fatwa?

Both verbs come from one root, f-t-y. In An-Nisa 4:127 (surah 4, verse 127), people ask for a ruling about women, and God gives one. The verse is shown below with its two words.

Who gives a fatwa?

The introduction quotes Ibn Hamdan, who describes a mufti as one who informs of God's ruling, knowing its evidence 4. It also quotes Ibn al-Qayyim, for whom a mufti informs of God's ruling without enforcing it 5.

Al-Ghazali, in al-Mustasfa, says a jurist is able to give a fatwa only after he knows the sources that yield rulings and how to draw rulings out of them. He lists those sources as the Book, the Sunnah, consensus and reason 6.

Answering every question is not a condition of the mufti, al-Ghazali says. He reports that Malik, asked forty questions, said "I do not know" to thirty-six of them 7.

Why is a fatwa about one case?

In the main text of Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti, Ibn al-Salah says that when a question has distinctions in it, the mufti must not give an unqualified answer. He may ask the questioner for the details, or answer the case he knows applies, saying "this is if such and such" 8.

So the answer depends on the facts of the case. An article cannot ask for those facts, because it is written for every reader at once. Ilmwell explains and attributes what the four Sunni schools hold. We do not issue fatwas.

Where should you ask a scholar you trust?

Identify a qualified scholar you trust, or an established fatwa body. Al-Ghazali argues that a layperson cannot be required to reach ijtihad (independent reasoning from the sources), so asking the scholars is what remains for him 9. He says a layperson asks only someone he knows for knowledge and uprightness, not someone known for ignorance or for wrongdoing 10.

Present the full circumstances of your case to that scholar or body, since the answer depends on them 8. A scholar may say that he does not know an answer; al-Ghazali says a mufti need not answer every question 7.

Keep two things apart. A published general answer, including this page, explains what scholars hold, and it does not rule on your own case. A ruling on your own case can come only from the scholar or body you ask about your facts. A local imam or mosque can help you find one.