# What a "fatwah" is. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-fatwah-is/292255 "2005-02-28T06:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-fatwah-is/292255/1 "2005-02-28T06:02:28Z")
I was just flipping through _The Right Word_ by Jan Venolia. Among other things, the book lists words and how to use them properly. It had one entry that shocked me: “ **fatwa:** An Islamic declaration of a death sentence.” (bolding in original) I am afraid Ms. Venolia was wrong. A _fatwa_ is an Islamic legal opinion. Let us clarify it a bit. There are two primary figures in Sunni Muslim jurisprudence: the _qazi_ (also written as _qadi_) and the _mufti_. The \*qazi \*is a judge; he applies \*shariah \*(Islamic law). The \*mufti \*is one who interprets \*shariah \*and _fiqh_ (Islamic jurisprudence, the source for _shariah_). So, sometimes a \*qazi \*will present a situation to a _mufti_, the \*mufti \*will issue an opinion (this opinion is called a \*fatwah \*- the word is etymologically related to “_mufti_”), and the \*qazi \*will apply \*shariah \*based on/justified by the _fatwah_. At other times, ordinary Muslims will come to a \*mufti \*with situations and seek his ruling: he may issue a _fatwah_ on it to guide the Muslim or for the convenience of a civil or religious authority. So, to put it shortly, a \*fatwah \*is a statement of an interpretation of \*shariah \*and _fiqh_. In Shi’ism, the situation is a bit different. Any \*marja \*(religious scholar/leader) is a \*faqih \*(expert \*in fiqh \*or Islamic jurisprudence). Any \*faqih \*may issue a _fatwah_. The \*fatwah \*is, like those of Sunni _mufti_s, a statement of an interpretation of _fiqh_. However, there are no _qazi_s in Shi’ism, so the \*fatwah \*also may serve as a ruling or application of _fiqh_. When _Ayatollah al-Uzma_ Ruhullah Khomeini made his famous \*fatwah \*against Salman Rushdie, he issued a statement of his interpretation of \*fiqh \*concerning the issue at hand. According to Shi’ite _fiqh_, a _marja_’s \*fatawa \*(plural of _fatwah_) are binding only on the _marja_’s followers. An example of how a fatwah can do nothing with death: if there’s any question about a Muslim’s \*nikahnamah \*(marriage decree) or \*talaqnamah \*(divorce decree), it could be taken to a \*mufti \*who can then issue a \*fatwah \*on its validity (usually explaining why he believes it’s valid or invalid). Therefore, it has no applicability not only for Sunnis but also for Shi’ites who don’t follow Khomeini. (However, almost every Shi’ite \*marja \*has endorsed the \*fatwah \*against Salman Rushdie.) There is a saying amongst more cynical Muslims: muftis have issued _fatawa_ for and against everything in the universe. WRS ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-fatwah-is/292255/2 "2005-02-28T06:41:31Z")
It’s unfortunate that the most famous fatwah in the world happened to be a death sentence, since the word has now been borrowed into English with a meaning different from the meaning it has in Arabic, to the great prejudice of the discussion of other _fatawa_ that have nothing to do with death sentences. A few similar cases that comes to mind at present include the Afrikaans word _apartheid,_ which means any separation (“aparthood”) but refers in English exclusively to racial separation, which the word was used for in pre-1990s South Africa; and the German word _Führer_, which simply means “leader” or “guide” (from the verb _führen_, to lead) and could just as well be a tourist guide. The difference, of course, is that in English we never have occasion to use the Afrikaans or German words for these concepts; we would just say “separation” or “leader.” Whereas, since _fatawa_ are specific to Muslim jurisprudence, we might well need to use the word “fatwah” in English to refer to them, and find to our sorrow that it’s been vitiated by popular use. That’s why we translators try to be extremely careful when we need to create neologisms in the target language. ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-fatwah-is/292255/3 "2005-02-28T17:12:20Z")
How most right you are! Thank you for that elucidating post. 🙂 WRS ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-fatwah-is/292255/4 "2005-02-28T23:52:02Z")
I for one am most enlightened. Thanks, **WRS**.