Find the word definition

Crossword clues for fatwa

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
fatwa
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ An earlier fatwa, handed down in 1964, elucidates the context in which the issue of contraception has been re-evaluated.
▪ Nobody has issued a fatwa or put out a contract.
▪ There was no chance that Khomeini would withdraw the fatwa.
▪ Tomorrow, the fourth anniversary of the fatwa falls.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
fatwa

fatwa \fat"wa\, fatwah \fat"wah\, n. Same as fetwah.

fatwa

Fetwah \Fet"wah\, n. [Ar.] A written decision of a Turkish mufti some point of law; also applied to opinions by certain other Islamic religious authorities on points of Islamic law, such as in Iran. [Also spelled fatwah and fatwa.]
--Whitworth.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
fatwa

1620s, from Arabic fetwa "a decision given by a mufti," related to fata "to instruct by a legal decision." Popularized in English 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a ruling sentencing author Salman Rushdie to death for publishing "The Satanic Verses" (1988). This was lifted 1998.

Wiktionary
fatwa

n. (label en Islam) A legal opinion, decree or ruling issued by a mufti or other Islamic lawyer. vb. (context rare transitive English) To make somebody the subject of a fatwa, especially a ban or death sentence.

WordNet
fatwa

n. a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority

Wikipedia
Fatwa

A fatwā (; plural fatāwā ) in the Islamic faith is the term for the legal opinion or learned interpretation that the Sheikhul Islam, a qualified jurist or mufti, can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law. The person who issues a fatwā is called, in that respect, a Mufti, i.e. an issuer of fatwā, from the verb أَفْتَى 'aftā = "he gave a formal legal opinion on". This is not necessarily a formal position since most Muslims argue that anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (fatwā) on its teachings. If a fatwā does not break new ground, then it is simply called a ruling.

An analogy might be made to the issue of legal opinions from courts in common-law systems. Fatwās generally contain the details of the scholar's reasoning, typically in response to a particular case, and are considered binding precedent by those Muslims who have bound themselves to that scholar, including future muftis; mere rulings can be compared to memorandum opinions. The primary difference between common-law opinions and fatwās, however, is that fatwās are not universally binding; as Sharia is not universally consistent and Islam is very non-hierarchical in structure, fatwās do not carry the sort of weight as that of secular common-law opinion.

Fatwa (film)

Fatwa is a 2006 American dramatic thriller film starring Lauren Holly.

Usage examples of "fatwa".

The intra-religious disputes (Sunnis and Shi'a, for example) he planned to handle through a sweeping fatwa, or religious pronouncement of tolerancethat would look admirable even to his enemies.

In 1993, the supreme religious authority of Saudi Arabia, Sheik Abdel-Aziz Ibn Baaz, issued an edict, or fatwa, declaring that the world is flat.

These decrees, fatwas, were issued according to interpretations of Muslim Law which the Caliph, Mufti or Qazi 0udge) was empowered to give.