Issuing the right Fatwa prevents the excessive reliance on ill-favored licenses and protects against deviation from religion; indeed, the sound Fatwa is the only thing capable of encouraging people to adhere to the rulings of Shari’ah. Hence, Muftis should reconsider the issue of women taking over as judges, since embarrassment and shunning mistakes and sins represent a crossroad where the issuance of Fatwa loses its way between excessiveness and laxity. If conclusive and explicit evidence in Shri’ah is found, then it precludes reconsideration or renewal, and there is nothing to do but to surrender to Allah Almighty and His Prophet (PBUH). Issuing lax Fatwas concerning Takfir, Tafseeq (corruption) and Tabdee’ (introducing innovation into religion) has incited the assault and violation of infallible bloods.
There is no doubt that those working in the field of Iftaa’, know very well the rules taken for granted by jurists and theologians, such as “The rule is connected with the cause whether it exists or not”; the rule exists if the cause does and the rule does not exist if the cause does not. Nevertheless, the issuance of Fatwa is still swaying between permissibility and impermissibility in a way that leaves people perplexed and confused between reassurance and embarrassment.
Another thing that drew my attention is the issue of “custom”; in fact, it has a serious impact on adapting Fatwa and stranding it to intolerance and rigidity. The dilemma here is that the basic rule stating “Fatwa changes according to custom” has become almost neglected or rarely applied. Even if it is applied, the custom of a specific country is taken into consideration while issuing Fatwa, yet, with the intention to spread such Fatwa across another country where this considered custom does not prevail. This may lead to peoples’ confusion and perplexity, especially when the scholars of a given country would try to issue independent Fatwas that suit their customs and traditions. Alas, things get worse when a sharp division occurs between two competing groups, where one group adopts the Fatwa of its country and the other group adopts the Fatwa of another country. Had each group just adopted a different Fatwa, there would be no harm; alas, each group struggles to deem the other group’s Fatwa as wrong and may accuse them of Fisq (corruption), Ibtida’ (introducing innovation into religion) or intolerance. The reason of this tragedy is the attempt to impose a Fatwa, issued to fit with a certain custom of specific country, on countries where this custom does not prevail.
The responsibility is heavy; many of peoples’ pains and the families that suffer problems, break ups and disintegrations were the outcome of stereotypical Fatwas and the rulings issued to suit the customs of a specific environment rather than another, or according to outdated customs that had been changed and adjusted so many times. Yet, the Fatwas issued accordingly are still typically circulated and taken for granted, as if legislation has stopped peoples’ lives to a certain date and a certain geographic environment.
