What is "fatwa"

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 is a 2006 American dramatic thriller film starring Lauren Holly.