Confusions arisen over deliverance of Fatwa and its explanations
Brief discussion on articles of the Constitution that can be related to Fatwa. The articles are –
a) Article 31,
b) Sub-Articles (1) and (2) of Article 28
c) Sub-Article (1) and (5) of Article 35
Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 and its usage in dispute resolution for Muslims
Legal proceedings of a Supreme Court case on Fatwa titled “Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and others vs Bangladesh and others”
Judgment of the aforementioned Fatwa-related Supreme Court case.
Fatwa, an Arabic word, means a verdict or judicial pronouncement on debatable questions of personal or social interest given by a mufti (juries consult).
A fatwa is simply an opinion handed down by an Islamic scholar about some aspect of Islamic law. There is a binding rule that saves the fatwa pronouncements from creating judicial havoc, whether within a Muslim country or at the level of the Islamic world in general: it is unanimously agreed that a fatwa is only binding on its author.
Still, sometimes, even leading religious authorities and theologians misleadingly present their fatwa an obligatory, or try to adopt some "in-between" position.
In recent years, the term “fatwa” has been widely used throughout the media, usually to indicate that corporal punishment has been dealt to someone or some group of people. The limited use of this term has resulted in a limited understanding of its meaning.
Most importantly, a fatwa is not by definition a pronouncement for meting out punishment. A fatwa is an Islamic legal pronouncement, issued by an expert in religious law (mufti), pertaining to a specific issue, usually at the request of an individual to resolve an issue where Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), is unclear. Typically, such uncertainty arises as Muslim society works to address new issues – issues that