fatwas
Muftis' legal opinions
Fatwas is the plural of fatwa, a formal ruling or opinion on Islamic law issued by a recognized religious authority.
A fatwa interprets how religious principles apply to specific situations—from dietary questions to financial transactions.
In Western media, the word gained prominence from the 1989 fatwa calling for Salman Rushdie's death, which has skewed popular understanding toward death sentences, though most fatwas address mundane matters of religious practice.
Authoritative decisions on matters
- IslamicOf the Muslim religion
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- scholarsExperts in a field
- opinionsSubjective beliefs or assessments
edicts · decrees · halal · haram · guidance · permissibility · religious law · interpretation
Of food consumption
- financeProvide money for
- prayerAddress to deity
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
- marriageFormal union between partners
divorce · inheritance · pilgrimage · zakat · banking · insurance · technology · medical ethics
Fatwa-targeted novelist
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
Salman · bounty · threats · controversy · censorship · targeting · political · radical
Deliberative governing bodies
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
- officialAuthority-sanctioned person or status
- issuanceOfficial release or distribution
- requestsFormal expressions of want
petitions · inquiries · certification · documentation · advisory · institutions · boards · deliberation
rulings
Authoritative decisions on matters
- IslamicOf the Muslim religion
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- scholarsExperts in a field
opinions · edicts · decrees · halal · haram · guidance · permissibility · religious law · interpretation · clerics
dietary
Of food consumption
marriage · divorce · inheritance · pilgrimage · zakat · banking · insurance · technology · medical ethics · permissible
Rushdie
Fatwa-targeted novelist
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
Salman · blasphemy · bounty · threats · controversy · censorship · targeting · political · radical · extremism
councils
Deliberative governing bodies
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
- officialAuthority-sanctioned person or status
- issuanceOfficial release or distribution
requests · petitions · inquiries · certification · documentation · advisory · institutions · boards · deliberation · consensus
- Islamic LawShariah, Islamic law, qadi, mufti, ijma
- Islamic mediaQuran recitation, religious broadcasting, satellite channels, Friday prayers, call to prayer
- Islamic jurisprudenceijma, Islamic law, legal theory, primary sources, secondary sources
- religious lawreligious law, canon law, Islamic law, sacred law, Mosaic law
- Islamic historycaliphates, Quran, Umayyad Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, caliphate
- religious conflictreligious war, holy war, sectarianism, Great Schism, crusade
fatwascivil laws
Statutes governing citizen disputes
statutes · court rulings · executive orders · constitutional provisions · government regulations
fatwaspersonal devotion
Sincere individual commitment