عربي
Home


Articles

Articles

The Issuance of Fatwas: Chaos and Cure
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 23-11-2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Arab-Muslim World is witnessing chaos on the political, economic, and religious levels. The symptoms of this disease are embodied in the enormous chaos of Fatwas on the religious arena. This is to the degree that non-specialists have used and abused media outlets, via modern means of communication, to deliver Fatwas that spread like wildfire. 

Unfortunately, the people of knowledge and piety as well as Fatwa institutions have been denied the right to deliver Fatwas leaving this door open to all and sundry.

Fatwa is an extremely serious matter as it is tantamount to signing on behalf of Almighty Allah, and every person will be held to account for what they have said or done. Allah Says (What means): "And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." [Al-Isra`/36].

This verse clearly states that Allah prohibits His servants from pursuing that which they have no knowledge of and thus pass judgment without knowledge. [Tafseer At-Tabari. V.10/pp.257]. When a Muslim is asked about a certain matter that he doesn`t have an answer for or wasn`t acquainted with the opinions of the scholars in that regard, he/she should say: "I don`t know." This is because it is prohibited for a Muslim to pass judgment on behalf of Allah for doing so and is considered lying against Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). Allah Says (What means): "But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth,- "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so as to ascribe false things to God. For those who ascribe false things to God, will never prosper." [An-Nahil/116]. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately let him take his place in Hell." [Agreed upon].

Unfortunately, in some situations, Fatwas issued by the unqualified led to the death of many people, the destruction of a lot of property, and the loss of the moral compass of many. 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars stays alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray." [Agreed upon].

 

The above implications of Fatwa aren`t new for they have been dangerous since they existed. Jabir said: We set out on a journey. One of our people was hurt by a stone, which injured his head. He then had a sexual dream. He asked his fellow travelers: Do you find a concession for me to perform tayammum? They said: We do not find any concession for you while you can use water. He took a bath and died. When we came to the Prophet (PBUH), the incident was reported to him. He said: They killed him, may Allah kill them! Could they not ask when they did not know? The cure for ignorance is inquiry. It was enough for him to perform tayammum and to pour some drops of water or bind a bandage over the wound (the narrator Musa was doubtful); then he should have wiped over it and washed the rest of his body. {Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawood}. As reflected in this Hadith, great evil has resulted from that Fatwa.

Therefore, we should put an end to the evil resulting from the issuance of Fatwas without knowledge, as doing so is vital for the preservation of religion, lives, and wealth. In other words, disciplined Fatwa preserves the higher objectives of Sharia.

 

Some proposed methods for combatting the Fatwa issued without knowledge are as follows:

First: Spreading religious knowledge via different media outlets through allocating weekly radio and television programs where the Muftis of the Iftaa `Department provide answers for different religious questions. This is to fortify the community against the chaos in Fatwas offered by non-specialized individuals.

 

 

 

Second: Employing lessons, Friday Sermons, seminars, and lectures delivered in different venues to raise awareness on the danger of issuing Fatwas without knowledge.

 

Third: Facilitating access to Fatwa through using modern means of communication and employing Muftis in all parts of the kingdom to answer religious questions of the people to prevent their resorting to the ignorant and those who claim religious knowledge.

 

Fourth: Holding the unqualified individuals who take charge of issuing Fatwa into account as well as punishing those who dare to pass Fatwa without knowledge.

 

Fifth: Regulating Fatwa affairs by identifying the institutions and individuals entitled to deliver Fatwas.

 

 

All Muslims-Individuals and gov. or nongovernment institutions-should work on finding "specialists" from amongst the people of knowledge and piety and establish scientific institutions in charge of delivering Fatwas in a reliable scholarly manner. This is to spread Islam and clarify the Sharia rulings that are based on reliable evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah. By doing this, people will not seek Fatwas from the ignorant or those who claim to possess religious knowledge and whose Fatwas merely cause trouble and provide no solutions.

 

 

 

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

How is the beginning of Ramadan determined?

1. Completing 30 days of Sha‘ban, or
2. Sighting the crescent moon after sunset on the 29th day of Sha‘ban.
It is Sunnah to search for the moon, and it is obligatory to follow the official authorities responsible for announcing it.

What are the conditions for a valid Udhiyah?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
First: The age of the animal must meet the Sharia requirements. These requirements vary depending on the type of sacrifice:
 
Camels: Must have completed five years and entered their sixth.
 
Cows: Must have completed two years and entered their third.
 
Goats: Must have completed two years and entered their third. As for Sheep, they must have completed one year and entered their second.
 
Some scholars have permitted goats that have completed one year and entered their second.
 
The Hanafi school, along with an opinion in the Maliki school, permits sacrificing sheep that are at least six months old, provided they are healthy and physically substantial. According to the Shafi’i school, it is permissible if the sheep sheds its front teeth (ajdha') before reaching one year [Al-Iqna’, by Al-Shirbini (Vol.2/P.588)].
 
Second: Soundness and freedom from defects. The animal must be free from any defect that causes a decrease in its meat or market value. This is based on the hadith narrated by Al-Bara' bin 'Azib, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
 
"Four [defects] are not permissible in sacrifices: A one-eyed animal whose blindness is evident, a sick animal whose illness is evident, a lame animal whose lameness is evident, and an emaciated animal that has no marrow in its bones." [Reported by Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi, who graded it as authentic].
 
These defects are detailed as follows:
 
Evident Lameness: It is not permissible to sacrifice a lame animal if the lameness is severe enough to prevent it from walking to the pasture or seeking food, as this leads to a decrease in its meat. However, slight lameness that does not hinder its grazing is overlooked.
 
Evident Blindness (One-eyed): It is not permissible to sacrifice a sheep, cow, or camel that has a white film over its eye blocking light, or one that has lost an eye entirely. Weak vision that does not affect its ability to eat does not prevent the sacrifice from being valid.
 
Evident Illness: An animal with a clear sickness that prevents it from eating or moving is not valid. This includes severe mange (Jarab) that spoils the meat.
 
Extreme Emaciation: An animal so thin that there is no marrow left in its bones is invalid. The standard for emaciation that invalidates the sacrifice is that which spoils the quality of the meat to the point that people would find it undesirable even in times of plenty.
 
Additional Considerations:
These are the defects mentioned in the Prophetic tradition, and any defect that causes emaciation or reduces the meat or value is compared to them by analogy. This includes animals that are mentally unstable (diseased), those with mange, or those with a missing ear. In contrast, a slit or pierced ear does not affect the validity of the sacrifice. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no such thing in our noble sharīʿah as a "nominal" or "fictitious" marriage or divorce. Marriage and divorce are among the sacred ordinances of Allah, and it is not permissible to manipulate them or use them as a stratagem to obtain worldly gains.
The foundational purpose of a marriage contract is the permanence and continuity of the relationship between the spouses — to establish a family, and to bring forth righteous offspring. So sacred is this bond that Allah the Almighty Himself described it as a solemn covenant (mīthāq ghalīẓ), saying {what means}: "And if you wish to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin? And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?" [Al-Nisāʾ/ 20–21]
Accordingly, it is not permissible to resort to manipulation and deception in contracts that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described as a "solemn covenant" — all for the sake of material and worldly benefit. Marriage is built upon permanence and does not admit of a fixed time limit. If a time limit is stipulated in the contract, the contract is rendered invalid by the consensus of the jurists. Similarly, marriage is impermissible when there exists a mutual, concealed intention to limit its duration — even if no time limit is explicitly mentioned in the contract — for this constitutes a form of unlawful circumvention of the sharīʿah. This is to say nothing of the lying and deception that such conduct involves, the prohibition of which needs no elaboration. Lying, deception, and fraud for the purpose of obtaining worldly gains are among the gravest of sins.
If, however, the marriage contract is first concluded in a valid sharʿī manner and then registered civilly, it is sound and fully valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a mother to stop her daughter from marrying a respectable, God-fearing young man because he isn't college/university graduate?

It is impermissible to deny a woman her right in getting married except for a lawful reason, and problems can be solved through dialogue. However, she can file a suit in order for the judge to have a say in that regard.

See More