Standard fatwa

Author: Abdullah Heydari

• abstract

The standard fatwa (in persian: فتوای معیار) is one of the issues of countries that adhere to Islamic laws, based on which it should be clarified which jurist's fatwa the country's laws are based on. This issue is the result of the variety of fatwas and jurisprudential schools. Disagreement between jurists is the basis of the question as to which fatwa is the criterion that determines the compatibility of the law with the Sharia? There are about eight ways and possibilities among the Shia jurists to determine the standard fatwa: the fatwa of a collective council of jurists, the fatwa of the guardian, the fatwa of the most knowledgeable jurist, the efficient fatwa, the fatwa of each of the jurists, the easiest fatwa, or the fatwa according to caution might be the standard fatwa. Among the Ahl al-Sunnah, regardless of those who believe legislation to be forbidden, there are three opinions: consultative legislation, legislation based on one of the fatwas, and legislation based on ijtihad or extraction of laws from the Sharia.

Explanation and definition of the standard fatwa

Islamic countries that decide to make laws and rule based on Islamic jurisprudence are bound to adapt the laws and regulations of the society to Islamic jurisprudence and Sharia, at least to the extent that these laws do not oppose them. In this path, there is no way except to refer to the opinion of jurists as experts who know the Sharia, and the law must be compatible with the fatwa of jurists. Since the jurists differ in many fatwas, it is necessary to first find a criterion for choosing a fatwa so that the law and its implementation can be measured based on that fatwa. From here, the discussion about the standard fatwa arises as to whose or which fatwa should be set as the standard in legislation. Therefore, the standard fatwa is the one that forms the center around which legislation takes place and the laws of Islamic countries are measured by that.

Review of literature

There are traces of the discussion about the standard fatwa in Ḥuqūq-i Madanī, authored by Sayyid Hasan Imami (1929). In his work, he mentions that the civil law was compiled according to famous theories. A serious discussion about the standard fatwa in legislation, however, started in 1985. The then representative of Tabriz raised this question before the Speaker of the Parliament: What is the criterion for determining whether the resolutions of the Parliament are not inconsistent with the rulings of Sharia? The consensus of Shia jurists, the consensus of Muslims, the famous fatwa or the opinion of and ijtihad by the Guardian Council? The Speaker of the Parliament transferred the question to the Guardian Council. In response, the Guardian Council wrote: Determining the contradiction or compliance of laws with Islamic standards is based on the opinion of the jurists of the Guardian Council, issued in a fatwa. This question was the beginning of discussions about the standard fatwa. Particularly within the 1390s SH (2012-2021), there were serious discussions, articles were written and views and theories were raised about it. The articles and writings that have so far been written in this regard are as follows:

Some written works

Template:Main Some books that address legislation in Islamic societies in general, such as Bāyastihāyi Taqnīn (2006) by Ahmad Ḥājī Dihābādī or Sharī‘at va Taqnīn dar Kishvarhāyī Islāmī (2018) by Sayyid Ibrahim Husseinī, also refer to the standard fatwa. Also, a PH.D. dissertation titled Jāygāh-i Fatwa dar Niẓām-i Qānūnguḏārī-yi Islāmī (2020) was written and defended by ‘Abdullah Ḥeydarī. In addition, many articles have been published on this topic:

• Fatwāyi Mi‘yār dar Qānūnguḏārī, Hasan‘ali ‘Aliakbarīyān, Dīn va Qānūn journal, first year, 2014 winter
• Fatwāyi Mi‘yār dar Qānūnguḏārī dar Niẓām-i Ḥuqūqī-yi Jumhūrī-yi Islāmī-yi Iran, Hādī Ḥāj Zādih, Muṭāli‘āt-i Islāmī-yi Fiqh va Uṣūl journal, No. 102, 2015 autumn
• Imkān Sanjī-yi Fiqhī-yi Qānūnguḏārī bar Mabnāyi Fatwā-yi Mashhūr, Mas‘ūd Jahāndūst Dilinjān, Pajouhishnāmi-yi Fiqhī, No. 7, 2015 autumn and 2016 winter
• Fatwāyi Mi‘yār dar Qānūnguḏārī, Muhammad Javād Arasṭā, Fiqh-i Ḥukūmatī journal, No. 7, 2019 spring and summer
• Fatwāyi Mi‘yār dar Qānūnguḏārī; Inṭibāq bā Maṣāliḥ-i Ilzāmī, Mohsen Jahāngīrī and Muhammad Ali Banāyī Kheyrābādī, Āmūzih-hāyi Fiqh-i Madanī journal, round 13, No. 23, 2021 spring and summer
• Fiqh-i Jāmi‘i Miḥvar; bistar-i Bāzshināsī-yi Fatwāyi Mi‘yār dar Qānūnguḏārī, Mahdi Rajā’ī and Muhammad Javād Arasṭā, Ḥukūmat-i Islāmī quarterly, No. 100, 2021 summer

Diversity of opinions in the discussion on standard fatwa

There are eight ideas and possibilities among Shia jurists in the discussion on determining the standard fatwa. Not all these possibilities have been mentioned by jurists about choosing the standard fatwa in legislation; rather, some of them are possibilities that have been raised in other discussions. However, based on the statements of the past jurists, they can be examined as possibilities in the discussion on the standard jurisprudence. These ideas are: the fatwa of a collective council of jurists, the fatwa of the guardian, the fatwa of the most knowledgeable jurist, the efficient fatwa, the fatwa of each of the jurists, the easiest fatwa, and the fatwa according to caution as the standard. Among the Ahl al-Sunnah, regardless of those who believe legislation to be forbidden, there are three opinions: consultative legislation, legislation based on one of the fatwas, and legislation based on ijtihad or extraction of laws from the Sharia.

The fatwa of a collective council of jurists

One viewpoint about the standard fatwa is that, in legislation, the standard of assessment is the fatwa of a collective council of jurists. Clearly, the requirement of a consultative fatwa is to act according to the idea of the majority of the jurists, because consensus on all issues is impossible. In Iran, with the first-rate law during the constitutional era and the establishment of the Guardian Council in the Islamic Republic, the responsibility of evaluating the conformity of the enactments and laws passed by the parliament with the rules of Sharia has been given to a council of jurists. At the time of the enactment of the Constitution, as stipulated by Sayyid Mohammad Hosseini Bihishtī, the vice president of the Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution, and later, as stipulated by Lutfullāh Ṣāfī, the then secretary of the Guardian Council, the fatwa of the Guardian Council was the standard. This opinion was accepted by Imam Khomeini, the then leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is a point of view similar to this one among the Ahl al-Sunna, about the disagreement about religious rules or social affairs, that is called collective ijtihad. In case of a disagreement, the arbitration panel or the Supreme Court will arbitrate the matter and the opinion of the majority will be acted on.

Proof

The Guardian Council has presented no arguments for this viewpoint in its ideas. However, we can argue as such: According to hadiths such as the Maqbūlah (hadith accepted by jurists as authentic without approving its document) narrated by ‘Umar ibn Ḥanẓalah from Imam Sadiq (AS) in which his holiness said, “يَنْظُرَانِ‏ إِلى‏ مَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ مِمَّنْ‏ قَدْ رَوى‏ حَدِيثَنَا، وَ نَظَرَ فِي حَلَالِنَا وَ حَرَامِنَا، وَ عَرَفَ أَحْكَامَنَا، فَلْيَرْضَوْا بِهِ حَكَماً؛ فَإِنِّي قَدْ جَعَلْتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاكِما”, competent jurists have been appointed by the Infallible Imam as the arbiters and the rulers in the Shia society. Therefore, all jurists have the competence and eligibility to formulate the laws and regulations governing the society according to their jurisprudential opinions. However, for the sake of order in affairs, this authority has been vested in a certain number of people. Others avoid to interfere in this area; as a result, the laws are evaluated and approved according to the fatwas of those certain jurists.

The well-known fatwa

Relying on the well-known fatwa of jurists is another attitude in the discussion on the standard fatwa in legislation. This attitude was taken into consideration in writing the initial draft of Iran's Civil Code by Sayyid Muhammad Fāṭimī Qomī. Also, according to Mohammad Mehdi Shab-zindidār, a jurist in the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Mohammad Ishaq Fayyadh, a religious marja' living in Najaf, has the same opinion. Among the jurists of the past, Muhammad bin Makkī, known as the First Martyr, believed in the authenticity and validity of the well-known fatwa.

Proof

No argument was found in the research resources for the necessity of conformity of the law with the well-known fatwa. However, two reasons have been mentioned for the validity of the well-known fatwa, which can be reasons for why the law has to conform to the standard fatwa. First of all, religious scholars’ fatwas are the path, that is, they are the way and route to find the real divine decrees, and implementing them is not a matter in itself. There is a possibility of finding the truth in the fatwa of each Mujtahid, and the probability of finding the truth increases with the number of mujtahids’ opinions. Therefore, when the majority chooses one opinion and another group chooses another opinion, it is more probable for the view of the majority to be the real rule than that of the minority. In such cases, human reason requires to choose the side that is more likely to be the truth. Moreover, in the hadith narrated by ‘Umar ibn Ḥanẓalah from Imam Sadiq (AS), his holiness has ordered the well-known fatwa to be followed in controversial matters, “وَ يُتْرَكُ الشَّاذُّ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بِمَشْهُورٍ عِنْدَ أَصْحَابِكَ؛ فَإِنَّ الْمُجْمَعَ‏ عَلَيْهِ‏ لَارَيْبَ فِيهِ”. This Maqbūlah is talking of acting on the well-known hadith; however, it is not specifically about hadiths, because the criterion that Imam (AS) has mentioned in the end is important, where his holiness has said that, rationally, there is no reason to doubt the popular and well-known matter. In other words, it is more probable to be the true rule.

The fatwa of the guardian

The third point of view is that, in legislation, the standard fatwa is the guardian's fatwa. It means that the head of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a just who is pious, aware of the times, brave, has management ability and is resourceful (the fifth principle of the Iranian Constitution). Certain powers and duties are listed in the Constitution for the leader of the system. On this basis, and in fact, the general management of the country is vested in the religious leader of the system. This view also requires that the laws and enactments approved by the parliament should be weighed with the fatwa of the leader. This view has been expressed by people such as Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, a jurist, and ‘Abbās Ka‘bī, a lawyer in the Guardian Council. The same opinion is extracted from the words of Mohammad Mu’min, one of the former jurists of the Guardian Council.

Proof

The arguments that confirm this principle are all based on the position of the guardian, particularly in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those who argue in favor of this, in fact, consider legislation, implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the law to be the responsibilities of the guardian. Accordingly, the standard fatwa should be the fatwa of the guardian. ‘Abbās Ka‘bī, of the lawyers of the Guardian Council, says that the guardian jurist has the eligibility to recognize the conformity of rules and regulations with Islamic standards, and he should exercise this eligibility through his ijtihad. The Guardian council has no validity or subjectivity in itself and supervises the laws only on behalf of the guardian jurist. Therefore, for the Guardian Council, the standard fatwa should be the fatwa issued by the original competent jurist, who is the guardian jurist. Muhammad Javād Arasṭā, researcher in jurisprudence, has also emphasized the position of implementing the law and its requirement, which is legislation. He maintains that we can argue as such for this theory that based on the evidence for the guardianship of the jurist, as the administration of the government has been vested in the competent jurist, all the means of administering the government, including lawmaking, have been entrusted to him as well. If someone is in a ruling position, but is not allowed to make laws, he cannot rule the country. According to the general scope of the evidence for the guardianship of the jurist, the guardian has the power to make laws; therefore, his fatwa must be the standard fatwa in legislating laws. It has also been said that the competent jurist who leads the political system of the Islamic society is in charge of implementing the Sharia and executing divine rules in the Islamic society. The prerequisite of implementing the Book and Sunnah is that rules and regulations must conform to the guardian jurist’s fatwas. It is because he considers his fatwas as divine orders and, based on his principles, the verdicts distinguished by other jurists have no validity in the law of Sharia and, thus, he cannot implement them.

The fatwa of the most knowledgeable jurist

The fourth viewpoint holds that the criterion and standard for making laws is the fatwa of the most knowledgeable jurist of the time. Among the contemporaries, Muhammad Qā’inī, of the professors of Fiqh and Uṣūl at the highest level of graduation at the Seminary, believe so. In individual affairs, however, the great majority of Shia jurists believe in following and imitating the most knowledgeable and learned jurist; however, their ideas do not always require following the most knowledgeable in the lawmaking position. Because, a jurist might consider it necessary to follow the most knowledgeable jurist in individual affairs, but believe legislation to be of the type of the ruling of the ruler and the judge's opinion and not consider the highest knowledge to be a condition there.

Proof

For this opinion, the two reasons of the principles of the wise and hadiths supporting the fatwa of the most knowledgeable person have been cited. The principle of the wise in various issues is to refer to those experts who have more knowledge and expertise than others. This method of the wise has not be rejected by the Prophet and the Infallible Imams (AS). Therefore, it is necessary to refer to a jurist who is more knowledgeable than others in religious matters as well. Naturally, it is also necessary to refer to the most knowledgeable jurist in legislating laws. Based on the hadith narrated by ‘Umar ibn Ḥanẓalah, when two arbiters disagree, Imam Sadiq (AS) says, “الْحُكْمُ مَا حَكَمَ بِهِ أَعْدَلُهُمَا وَ أَفْقَهُهُمَا وَ أَصْدَقُهُمَا فِي الْحَدِيثِ وَ أَوْرَعُهُمَا”. Also, in the hadith narrated by Dāvūd ibn Ḥaṣīn from Imam Sadiq (AS), his holiness said, “يُنْظَرُ إِلَى أَفْقَهِهِمَا وَ أَعْلَمِهِمَا بِأَحَادِيثِنَا وَ”. Based on these hadiths, in case of disputes in arbitrations, the ruling of the most knowledgeable arbiter is the standard. Since this hadith is not specific to judgments and arbitrations, the same criterion is true about fatwas, as well, because the aim is to find the real verdicts and implement divine rules and regulations. According to Muhammad Qā’īnī, just as in individual affairs where the fatwa of the most knowledgeable jurist is the first, the same must be the standard in collective matters and the administration of the country.

The efficient fatwa

Some researchers believe that the standard fatwa in legislation must be the most effective one. A fatwa is considered effective if it has three attributes: 1) It should be based on the accepted principles of Islamic jurisprudence and should not be uncommon. 2) It should form a harmonious collection with the other fatwas based on which laws are made. 3) It should respond to the needs of the time and the Islamic government. This theory, whose roots can be found in Ṣadr’s statements in the book Iqtisaduna, has been propounded by Muhammad Javād Arasṭā, a professor at university and the seminary. He has stated, “I did not use my fatwa as a criterion in compiling the economic school of Islam, but rather a fatwa that can create a harmonious system with other components of the economic school of Islam”.

Proof

In short, the reason for this point of view can be explained as follows: based on religious reasons, the fatwa of the jurist is valid. In legislation, however, the fatwa that is used as the criterion should have an advantage and preference over other fatwas. The following advantages can be considered as the criteria for preference: A) It should be stronger than other fatwas in providing benefits and repelling harms, and thus in solving individual and social problems; since, divine rules and laws have been set based on true benefits and harms. Therefore, we can conclude that any fatwa that is more congruent with rational or intellectual benefits is more probable to be in conformity with God’s real decree. B) It should have greater integrity and harmony with those fatwas that have formed the basis of other laws; because, religious rules are a coherent and interconnected set, all of which have been legislated to ensure justice and benevolence. C) It should have more proponents among the jurists as far as possible; because, the more accepted the fatwa is among the jurists, the higher its validity will be.

Choosing between all fatwas

The permissibility of making laws based on the fatwa of any qualified jurist is another theory regarding the issue of the standard fatwa. According to this theory, the compliance of the law with any of the fatwas of the Shia jurists is sufficient, even though that jurist may not be the most knowledgeable or the guardian jurist or if the fatwa is not the well-known fatwa. One of the authors of Afghanistan's Shia Personal Status Law has adopted this opinion and has called it the theory of discretion in legislation. This theory can also be attributed to some past jurists as well. Because, about a person who is confused between two different fatwas, Muhaqqiq al-Hilli has quoted the opinion of a group of jurists who said that he can follow the easiest fatwa.

Proof

A number of reasons have been cited for this point of view: First is adherence to the conduct of the religious people, with the explanation that during the lives of the Infallible Imams, their companions and followers used to refer to prominent religious scholars and the Imams’ companions, while they were very different together in terms of scientific excellence and even had differences of opinion. This tells us that it is permissible to refer to any of the prominent scholars of Sharia in religious matters, as the Prophet and the Infallible Imams guided the Islamic community to refer to their companions. If it was necessary to refer to the most learned ones, then people would have had to refer exclusively to the Prophet and the Infallible Imams, because nobody was more knowledgeable than them in that era. The general scope of the meaning of the nafr verse and the question from the ahl al-dhikr, as well as the general scope of the hadiths about the necessity of referring to the scholars of religion can be cited as evidence for this matter. Because, on the one hand, religious texts have obliged Muslims to refer to religious scholars, and on the other, there is no doubt that the levels of understanding of the narrators at the time when the hadiths were stated by the Infallible people were different. Also, in later times, there have been differences in understandings because of differences in perceptions and assumptions. Despite this, the Sharia has referred the society to religious scholars. This means that the Sharia does not consider this amount of division to be harmful and counts all opinions as valid. In addition to the abovementioned evidence, Muhaqqiq al-Hilli has cited the verse “يُرِيدُ اللّٰهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ ولٰا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ” (Baqarah: 185), and the verse “مٰا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ” (Hajj: 78) and the hadith “بعثنی بالحنيفية السهلة السمحة” to support the permissibility of referring to the simpler fatwa. It is clear that when man can act according to the simplest fatwa, he can in fact choose between all the differing fatwas.

The fatwa according to caution

The other possibility is to set the fatwa according to caution as the standard when making laws. This possibility has no proponent and has merely been mentioned as a scientific probability. An evidence for this can be the obligation to fulfill divine duties, from which one cannot be released without acting according to caution. This idea can be understood from what Muhaqqiq al-Hilli has written in his Mi‘rāj al-Uṣūl about an individual who is confused between two differing fatwas. After quoting the simplest fatwa, he has written, “إذا اختلفت (الأمّة) على قولين، هل يجب الأخذ بأخفهما حكماً بتقدير عدم الدلالة على كل واحد منهما‌؟ صار إلى ذلك قوم و قال آخرون: بالأثقل”. This standpoint, however, is about choosing a fatwa in the area of individual actions. Nonetheless, because of the similarity between individual and collective actions, this standpoint can be extended to legislation as well.

The standard fatwa in Sunni Jurisprudence

Those among the Ahl al-Sunnah who allow legislation based on the Sharia, have difference of opinion about how laws can be made based on the Sharia. They have proposed at least three opinions.

Consultative legislation

Some Sunni jurists believe that in order to make laws based on the Sharia, a definite group of religious scholars need to be determined who will write the Sharia in a new way in the form of articles of law. Naturally, a consultative work proceeds based on the majority vote. Al-Zuḥaylī, a contemporary jurist, believes so and calls it as collective ijtihad. A similar attitude exists among the Ahl al-Sunnah regarding disagreements about the rules of Sharia or social affairs, such that in the case of a dispute between the arbitration panel or the Supreme Court, this group will arbitrate and the vote of their majority will be acted on.

Choosing an efficient and fit for purpose fatwa

One viewpoint among the Sunni scholars is that the legislative body should set as law a vote and fatwa that fits the purposes of the Sharia and meets the needs of the time. This law can be formulated based on the fatwas of scholars of one or several Islamic denominations. This method has a history in Sunni society. Majallat al-Aḥkām al-‘Adlīyya was published based on this criterion during the Ottoman Caliphate, and fatwas were selected in this collection that met the needs of the time. Before that, another collection called "Fatāvā-yi Hindīyyah" was published based on the Hanafi denomination, in which the selection criterion was the superior and preferable fatwa. In one of his criticisms, Zarqā considered staying limited to the Hanafi denomination as one of the weak points of the Majallat Al-Aḥkām and believed that if it did not remain exclusive to a particular denomination, it would be better able to respond to the needs of the time. The mentioned criticism indicates that this opinion is acceptable with some developments. This point of view is called selective (Intiqāyī) ijtihad.

Choosing the strongest fatwa based on the reason and criteria of preference

A number of Sunni scholars believe that legislation should be based on ijtihad and inference from religious evidence, such that the opinions of the jurists of the Islamic denominations are considered along with their evidence, then the strongest fatwa in terms of its evidence will be chosen as the law based on the preference criteria. The criteria for superiority include being compatible with the people of the time, being easier for the people, further fulfilling the purposes of the Sharia, attracting the interests of people and warding off corruption from them. Qarḍāvī holds this idea among the well-known contemporary jurists. This point of view is not confined to the circle of the sayings of various denominations, but beyond that, based on the evidence and criteria of ifta, it may set as law an opinion that has no history among the jurists of various denominations. A group of late Sunni jurists held this opinion, and sometimes this point of view is referred to as initial selective ijtihad.

Related Essays

• Law making
• Converting jurisprudential rules into law
• Study resources of standard fatwa
• Customary lawmaking
• Guardian Council
• The relationship between law and Sharia

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