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Regarding Fatwas

By: admin

Question

I do not have any faith in fatwas because to me it is an opinion of one person and Islam does not supports the will of one person, Hazrat Zaid when was made governor and Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) asked him how he will make his decisions then he replied that by Qur’an if not found in there then by Sunnah if not found in there by “Ijtehad” and that was a group of people who will sit and decide in light of Qur’an and Sunnah that what should be done and Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) Said that “Jamat Per Allah ka Hath hota hay” I do not remember it exactly but it was some thing like that, and it meant that one person cannot decide what is to be done if a problem arrives, solution of which is not found in Quran or Sunnah then a group of people “Alim-e-Dins” will sit together and decide that what has to be done and no one has the right to declare that this or that should be done without the consent of a group or Jamat so according to this I believe that there is no ground for a fatwa and no one can give a fatwa only a group of people can sit and decide what should be done not by a person so I like to know that am I right or am I wrong and in what I am wrong

Regards

Reply

There are certain clarifications required regarding the information that you have referred to:

Fatwa merely implies an opinion. Fatwa is, therefore, not a matter of belief. One may hold a particular Fatwa to be correct or incorrect, depending upon the evidence – from the Qur’an, the Sunnah or common sense – presented to support it. There can obviously be a difference of opinion regarding the accuracy or otherwise of a particular Fatwa, depending upon one’s understanding and application of the directives entailed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah;

It was not Hadrat Zaid, but, in fact, Hadrat Mu`az ibn Jabal (ra), who, while being sent as the governor of Yemen, who gave the referred answers to the Prophet’s questions;

“Ijtehaad” does not necessarily imply “a group of people who will sit and decide in light of Qur’an and Sunnah”. On the contrary, Ijtehaad may involve a collective or an individual’s decision, depending upon the issue and the level at which it is being done;

The referred saying of the Prophet (pbuh) does not relate to Ijtehaad, but, in fact, relates to remaining obedient to and attached with the Muslim state. The word “Al-Jama`ah” has, generally, been used in Hadith for the Muslim state;

In view of the foregoing, it should be clear that one may or may not agree with the Fatwa of another individual, yet no one has the right to hinder another person from giving his opinions according to his particular understanding of Islam.

Nevertheless, We do agree with you to the extent that there can be a certain sphere and nature of issues, in which an individual should refrain from giving Fatwas. These issues should strictly be left to decisions taken by the representatives of the Muslim collectivity.

We hope this helps.

UIUK team

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