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23 articles
Fatwa and evidence
Can I ask several scholars until I like the answer?
A second question to understand an answer is normal. Collecting opinions to pick the easiest one is what scholars call chasing concessions.
Fatwa and evidence
If I read a sahih hadith, can I work out the ruling myself?
No. A sahih hadith proves the words are authentic, not that you have the ruling. Getting from text to ruling takes trained skill, not a quick reading.
Fatwa and evidence
Do I have to follow a madhhab?
Following one of the four schools is a long-accepted path, and scholars discuss the question themselves. A non-specialist's job is to ask someone qualified.
Fatwa and evidence
Does a fatwa change with person, place and circumstance?
The ruling stays fixed. The fatwa applying it can change when the person, place or circumstance changes — that is precision, not inconsistency.
Fatwa and evidence
Can I take a fatwa from Google, TikTok, YouTube, or ChatGPT?
A search engine, a clip, and a chat assistant can point you to a scholar's answer. None of them can carry the responsibility of giving one.
Fatwa and evidenceSeries guide
Fatwa in the digital age: the series map
One post on digital fatwas, tied to four companion posts on how a fatwa actually works.
Fatwa and evidence
How do I ask a religious question properly?
The answer is only as good as your question. Say what happened, when, in what words, and what the contract states — skipped details decide rulings.
Fatwa and evidence
What do the words in a fatwa mean?
A dictionary of forty fatwa terms — fard, wajib, makruh, rukhsah, qada, khilaf — with a meaning line, what it doesn't mean, and a link to each.
Fatwa and evidence
What do sahih, hasan and da'if mean?
They are grades scholars give a hadith after examining who reported it — authentic, reliable, or weak. A grade judges the report, not the Prophet.
Fatwa and evidence
What are the four schools of Islamic law?
Four long-standing traditions of working out Islamic law — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. Not four religions, and not four versions of Islam.
Fatwa and evidence
What is the Hanafi school, and where is it followed today?
A legal tradition tracing to Abu Hanifa in eighth-century Kufa. Today its followers span Turkey, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Fatwa and evidence
What is the Hanbali school of law?
A legal tradition traced to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, a hadith scholar in Baghdad known for weighing text over analogy. Followed today across Arabia.
Fatwa and evidence
What is the Maliki school of law?
A legal tradition traced to Malik ibn Anas of Madinah, known for weighing the city's practice and public benefit. Followed across North and West Africa.
Fatwa and evidence
What is the Shafi'i school of law?
A legal tradition traced to al-Shafi'i, who wrote the first systematic work on legal method. Followed today in Egypt, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Fatwa and evidence
Two scholars disagree — whom do I follow?
Follow the scholar you have the strongest reason to trust for knowledge and integrity. You are not being asked to weigh the evidence like a jurist.
Fatwa and evidence
What do wajib, sunnah, mubah, makruh, and haram mean?
Five words fiqh uses to describe an act, not a person. Wajib brings reward and sin; sunnah rewards doing, makruh rewards leaving; haram brings sin alone.
Fatwa and evidence
What does "the evidence" mean in a fatwa?
The basis a ruling rests on. Scholars agree on four sources — Qur'an, Sunnah, consensus, and analogy. Naming a verse is not the whole of it.
Fatwa and evidence
What is a fatwa?
A fatwa is a qualified scholar's answer to one specific question of Islamic law. It tells you what the Sharia says about that case. It does not create the ruling.
Fatwa and evidence
What do scholars mean by "there is a difference of opinion"?
It means scholars disagree on the ruling for real, documented reasons. It does not mean every view is equal, or that you may pick the easiest.
Fatwa and evidence
Who is a mufti, and who may give a fatwa?
A mufti is a scholar trained and recognized as qualified to answer questions of Islamic law. Fame, eloquence and sincerity are not the qualification.
Fatwa and evidence
Why did the madhhabs arise if the Qur'an is one?
The text is one; reading and applying it is human work. Schools formed once that work was written into method, taught and carried forward for centuries.
Fatwa and evidence
Why do fatwas differ between scholars?
Fatwas differ because a report may not reach every scholar as established, because wording can be read more than one way, and because cases differ.
Fatwa and evidence
Why does the mufti ask so many questions?
He is not ruling on an idea — he is ruling on your case. Wording, timing and custom decide the answer, and his questions confirm each one.