Fatwas

Simply put, fatwas, or Islamic legal pronouncements, are confusing to many people. Understandably, non-Muslims have a general unfamiliarity with fatwas. It's somewhat surprising, however, that Muslims also have frequent questions about fatwas. Islamic scholars called muftis issue fatwas but there's no coordination among the muftis, so it's not uncommon for contradictory fatwas to be issued.

Consequently, the editors at Arab News decided to address the subject of fatwas to clear up any misunderstanding.

Nobody's fatwas or rulings are binding on all Muslims. A fatwa is binding only to the scholar issuing it. It is he who considered a particular case, looked into all the relevant evidence and formulated his ruling on the basis of his research and study that is committed to it. If I give you a ruling saying, for example, that music is not forbidden, while you read in Dar Al-Ifta's publications or on their website that it is forbidden, you need to look into the evidence supporting each of the two views. Neither ruling is binding on you, but my ruling is binding on me, and the Dar Al-Ifta's ruling is binding on the scholars who issued it. [Note: Dar Al-Ifta is an Islamic authority for issuing religious edicts, but it does not oversee all edicts. There is more than one Dar Al-Ifta.]

What should be the position of a person who cannot distinguish the validity of evidence, or does not understand the intricacies involved in arriving at a ruling? The answer is that he should simply follow a scholar whom he trusts to be sincere, honest, and would not compromise his religious standpoint in order to please any human being.

Got all that?

My interpretation is that the followers of the religion of peace have options regarding which fatwas to comply with. It's all based on which mufti a Muslim trusts to be sincere and honest.

In summary, muftis issue fatwas which are binding only on themselves and their followers. However, it appears that Muslims can pick any mufti they want to follow. Of course, if a Dar Al-Ifta for a nation, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, issues a fatwa, it likely is binding on all Muslims in the country. When a mufti not affiliated with the Dar Al-Ifta issues a fatwa, it's binding only on his followers.

Everybody clear on this subject now?

Frankly, I'm not. The entire scheme seems analogous to having one county with a dozen county sheriffs. Everybody is forced to sidle up to one sheriff just to protect himself from the other sheriffs. Nonetheless, it does explain how one Muslim (Sunni) can go to war with another Muslim (Shiite). Two muftis in one country, like two sheriffs in one county, don't always agree.