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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.

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Does ill-gotten money hinder the answering of the Du`a(supplication) and the means of subsistence?

Sins hinder the answering of the Du`a, and deprive the sinner from means of subsistence; whereas, acts of obedience facilitate making a living. Allah, The Almighty, says in the Holy Quran: “And for those who fear God, He (ever) prepares a way out. And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine.”{At-Talaq/2-3}.

My husband wanted to sell a piece of land that was his own, but his father insisted that he transfer the land in his (the father’s) name so that he could sell it at a higher price. Then, my husband and his father would split the price. After my father-in-law sold the land, he denied everything and refused to acknowledge my husband’s right. My father-in-law passed away a year ago, and my husband’s brothers divided the inheritance, refusing to acknowledge that this land was a trust held by their father for my husband until it was sold. Are they sinful for knowingly denying that the land belongs to my husband, and what is the ruling on praying against them?
 
 
 
 
 

All perfect praise be to Alalh, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.
Among the rights of the deceased upon their heirs are: preparing them for burial at death, settling their debts, returning people’s rights to them, executing their will, and then dividing their estate. What was mentioned in the question falls under the rights of others, even if they are among the heirs, and the deceased is not absolved of it unless it is returned to its rightful owners. This is because Allah, Almighty, forbids consuming others' wealth/properties unjustly. However, do not give up on seeking a solution by involving righteous and well - respected individuals who may have influence over them, in the hope that Allah guides them to goodness and correctness. As for supplicating against them, the prayer of the oppressed is not rejected, even if the oppressed person is not a Muslim. And Allah knows best.
 
 
 
 
 

It was found out that a man divorced his wife for the third time in 2005, but they continued cohabiting as man and wife. However, when they realized that what they were doing was unlawful, they came the Iftaa` Department in 2009 and were told that they can`t be together. What is the position of Sharia on this couple?

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Her Iddah* period starts after the third divorce. As for the continued cohabitation, it is unlawful because being ignorant about the rulings of Sharia while in Dar Al-Islam* is no valid excuse. If a baby came as the fruit of this unlawful consummation of marriage, then a judge of Sharia has the final say in this regard because lineage is a serious matter. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
* ʿIddah: a specified period of time that must elapse before a Muslim widow or divorcee may legitimately remarry. The Qurʾān (Sura,2/verse,228) prescribes that a menstruating woman have three monthly periods before contracting a new marriage; the required delay for a nonmenstruating woman is three lunar months.
* Dar Al-Islam: designates a territory where Muslims are free to practice their religion, though this often implies the implementation of Islamic law, whereas Dar al-Harb represents those lands ruled by non-believers

What is meant by "Recalcitrance of the woman toward her husband doesn`t render her divorced"?

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
It means that her being recalcitrant (Nashiz) doesn`t make her divorced. Rather, she has to be divorced by husband or Sharia judge to be considered divorced. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

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