Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Farhad Daftary, A Short History of the 

Ismailis (Princeton, N.J.: Marcus Wiener Publishers, 

1998); Heinz Halm, The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise 

of the Fatimids. Translated by Michael Bonner (Leiden 

and New York: E.J. Brill, 1996).

fatwa

Most legal systems have a tradition that allows 

experts to state their opinions with respect to 

questions of law. In Islamic law, one way this is 

done is by issuing a fatwa, which is an opinion 

based on knowledge of the q

Uran

 and the 

sUnna

of Muhammad. It is given orally or in writing in 

response to a question asked by a man or woman. 

The legal 

aUthority

 who answers the question is 

called a 

mUFti

, an author of fatwas. He should be 

knowledgeable in the sacred scriptures of Islam 

and the 

sharia

, though he is not required to follow 

the rulings of a specific Islamic legal school (madh-

hab). The fatwa is different from a decision made 

in a court of law by a judge (qadi) because it does 

not require review of evidence and testimony from 

two parties in the context of a legal hearing or trial. 

Rather, it is an informed response to a question 

that may concern, for example, a matter of wor-

ship, marriage and divorce, inheritance, business 

and finance, crime, 

apostasy

, or daily behavior. 

Thus, a person might request a fatwa for some-

thing as seemingly trivial as to whether one can 

brush his teeth in the daytime during the r

amadan

fast (which might invalidate the fast for that day), 

or as important as to whether a Muslim can live 

in a country ruled by non-Muslims (which might 

require a 

Jihad

). The fatwa is only advisory, which 

is underscored by the phrase “and God knows 

best” (Allah aalam) that often occurs at its conclu-

sion. Indeed, fatwas may contradict each other, 

in which case the questioners are left to decide 

for themselves. Although many are given orally, 

those that are issued by a powerful or influential 

mufti may be written, collected, and published. In 

the past, most fatwas addressed questions coming 

from local Muslim communities, and this is still 

often the case, as it is among Muslims living in 

the United States and Europe. Since the introduc-

tion of the modern print and electronic media, 

however, fatwas can reach a global audience. 

Many leading Islamic organizations and religious 

authorities now have Internet sites where people 

can submit questions, receive advisory opinions, 

and review opinions given in answer to questions 

asked previously by others online.

See also 

fiqh

; 

ijtihad

; r

Ushdie

, s

alman

.