Fatāwā and its importance in Islam
by Hana Arisesa
The knowledgeable person, especially in the Islamic teaching is highly recognized. This statement is according to the Surah 58 Verse 11. Allah The Exalted says:
“Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well--Acquainted with what you do”.
In the Islamic tradition the knowledgeable person identically to the scholars. They deserve to this position due their effort to study, protect, and convey the Prophet mission. They take care of this Shari’ah both by explaining what is still unclear, explaining the law, giving and warnings to the ummah, so that it becomes a fortress that rejects various kinds of thread, doubt which is committed by the enemies of Islam. This practice has been carried out continuously since the Prophet time until nowadays.
As a successor of the prophet, the Islamic scholar has important role on the society. One of the major duties of the scholar is to give explanation about Islamic law in all aspects. Then this emerge what then be called fatwa (legal opinions). A fatwa is generally understood as an Islamic legal opinion given by an individual mufti (fatwa-giver) or group of muftis or ulama at the request of someone, called mustaftï (fatwa seeker) (Sirry, 2013). There are some important terms concerning fatwā, first a question from the seeker (istiftā), a jurisconsult (mufti), and an answer (jawāb).
The evolution of the fatwā in the Islamic history changes gradually according to the circumstances of the times. In the time of the prophet the follower asks directly the Prophet Islamic belief in all aspect as well as the life guidance at that time. After the prophet die, this duty went to his companion, individually or consensus among them, especially new la product that emerge during this era. Due to the problem still not yet complete and the capability of the companion, there is no dispute about the different opinion on fatwā. Afterward, coming a periode when the fatwa plays important position to build Islamic legal jurisprudence. History acknowledge the four legal school which still exist until now, i.e. Hanafī, Malikī, Syafiī, and Hambalī Madzab.
Is the door Ijtihad closed?
It is existing in the Islamic history the discussion about whether the door of ijtihad has been closed or not. Due to the flexibility of its teaching, Islamic as the last revealed religion, must be survive to the challenges, and it is. History records the development of fatwā, which in that each era can answer various new problems that have just emerged in that era. With their capability, the explanation and decision of the legal law can be determined as guidance of the ummah. However, not just any scholar can give fatwas, but only scholars who have been permitted and have reached the degree to give fatwas only have the capability on that. Then, the problem is, the requirements for that are very strict, then only a few of scholar periode by period can be acknowledge.
As problems and issues increase in every periode, the role of ijtihad becomes more and more important. The discussion about the door ijtihad has been reported by (Hallaq, 1984). He argues that the door ijtihad is closed. The contribution of ijtihad to build the positive law is still needed (Hallaq, 1984).
Variation of the fatwā
If we examine carefully about the fatwas that occurred during the historical period of Islam, we will find various product fatwas in each era. Some of them are suitable only in their time, some them are re-evaluation of the previous fatwa. The fatwa can be classificated into several categories. According to (Skovgaard-Petersen, 2015), the fatwa can be divided into: The Ephemeral fatwa, The School Fatwa, The Court Fatwa, The Public Fatwa, the state fatwa, and The Collective Fatwa.
The ephemeral fatwa is fatwa which intended to answer everyday personal life conduct. The school of fatwa is product of the classical Islamic legal school in the time history. This kind of fatwa is preserved, codified, and passed generation by generation. The Court fatwa is identical with product fatwa from the legal institutional. The fatwa is collected and registered in the court proceeding. The public fatwa is the most recent and relevant type of fatwa. It means published fatwas, whether in print or in other modern mass. Next, the state fatwa, which is a fatwa given by a mufti who has been appointed the official mufti of the state. Lat, the collective fatwa, which a fatwa given not by an individual mufti, but by a group of muftis who have reached a consensus on the issue.
The role of fatwas in the modern era and its application
Even though Muslims do not need fatwa all the time to know what is right or wrong, they do seek fatwa on new practices. In the modern era, fatwas become a central point in solving contemporary problems, rather than classical fatwa products that emphasized on the explaining religious laws. Due to technological advances, various kinds of problem emerge. Several fields in contemporary issues that require a fatwa in the application of the law are in the fields of finals, health, education, to political issues.
(Rispler-Chaim, 2008) study about the fatwa on the medical area. This fatwa regarding Selection of the Sex of a Fetus as Paradigm. The selection of the fetal sex is about contemporary problems that have just arisen due to technological developments in gene manipulation. However, due to different culture, the acceptance of this method also varied. The fatwa on this issue is case-by-case approach. Modern Muslim religious scholars have identified advantages and disadvantages of this practice, permitting it in certain cases while forbidding it.
Dealing on the contemporary issue, the fatwa also plays an important role in explaining the law related to Islamic financial (IF) problems (Atiq-uz-Zafar, 2019) and capital market issue (Al-Alwani, 2005). In accordance with the modern era, Islamic financial institutions make new products that require fatwa validation from the mufti. The recent issue on the modern financial produk is cryptocurrency. It is a virtual digital currency tool that can be used for payments. It projected can replace the existing physical currency. However, due to its nature contains uncertainty lead to several scholars judge it as forbidden. (MUI, 2021). Moreover, the fatwa in the capital market also has some degree of difficulties. before a muti gives a legal fatwa on a contemporary issue, a mufti must know in depth the object of the contemporary problem. So, a mufti is required to master two different sciences. This is what makes it difficult for fatwa discourse on contemporary issues.
The unique characteristic of the fatwas issued on contemporary issues is their dynamic nature according to the situation and time. Changing in legal law can occur at any time depending on the many factors that underlie a mufti in making his decision. This one example of this issue is regarding the fatwa on to use the internet (Al-Kandaria & Dashtib, 2015)
Conclusion
After a brief overview in the paragraphs above, it can be concluded that the role of fatwas related to contemporary issues is very important. Fatwas are not only a tool to decide the law, but also fatwas can play a role in the development of contemporary problems, even though in today's times, a scholar also knows the sciences required to become a mufti, he also has to know contemporary problems being asked. The fatwa is a reference for someone who wants to get information about the problem. however, there are doubts whether a fatwa can be strongly binding on individual individuals or groups. The future is expected to reveal this assumption.
Bibliography
Al-Alwani, S. T. (2005). The Role of Islamic Ijtihad in the Regulation and Correction of Capital Markets. In Issues in Contemporary Islamic Thought. International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Al-Kandaria , A., & Dashtib, A. ( 2015). Fatwa and theinternet: a study of the influence of Muslim. Prometheus,.
Atiq-uz-Zafar, G. G. (2019). Fatwa Institution and Product Development for Islamic Finance in Pakistan. Policy Perspectives, 107-126.
Hallaq, W. B. (1984). Was the Gate of Ijtihad Closed? International Journal of Middle East Studies, 3-41.
MUI. (2021, Nov 12). Keputusan Fatwa Hukum Uang Kripto atau Cryptocurrency. Retrieved from MUIdigital: https://mui.or.id/berita/32209/keputusan-fatwa-hukum-uang-kripto-atau-cryptocurrency/
Rispler-Chaim, V. (2008). Contemporary Muftis between Bioethics and Social Reality: Selection of the Sex of a. The Journal of Religious Ethics, 53-76.
Sirry, M. (2013). Fatwas and their controversy: The case of the Council of Indonesian Ulama (MUI). Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 100-117. doi:10.1017/S0022463412000641
Skovgaard-Petersen, J. (2015). A Typology of Fatwas. Die Welt des Islams, 278-285.