The Shifting Moral Universes of the Islamic Tradition of Iftā: A Diachronic Study of Four Adab al-Fatwā Manuals

The importance of Islamic non-binding opinions, or fatwas, for scholarly research is now well-established. Perceiving the fatwa as a meeting point between legal theory and social practice—an understanding which is shared by many contemporary muftis—historians, legal scholars, and anthropologists have dressed a rich catalogue of the functions of fatwas in Muslim Societies. Although this literature is too extensive to be reviewed here, there appear to be four interrelated thematic levels: fatwas as legal tools; as social instruments; as political discourses; and as doctrinal-reform devices. As technical tools, fatwas were part of the litigation process, issued at the request of the qadi (judge) and impacting court cases; fatwas were also cheaper and less conflictual alternatives to legal proceedings. They are thus not mere reflections of legal practice, but distinct contributions to the relationship between law and society. Fatwas routinely contributed to the social stability of Muslim communities by “providing formal administrative organization and informal networks for running the affairs of society.” 1 They provided a sense of order and identity, circumscribing, in the elegant formulation of Skovgaard-Petersen,“the mental and moral universe of their day, always balancing around the boundaries of what is conceivable, legitimate and right.” 2 Varying in time, place, and circumstance, as the stylized formula goes, fatwas were historically a privileged genre for the development of Islamic law, incorporating into the furu “(branches of fiqh).