What is a Fatwa?

Fatwas (or, actually, as a plural: fatawa) are legal opinions issued by Islamic scholars. These scholars explain their personal assessment through a written judgement regarding a certain question of Islamic law. Fatwas are issued in the scholar’s behalf or in behalf of an institution or a ruler.

The fatawa (legal opinions issued by Islamic scholars) documented by us were neither commissioned by the Institute of Islamic Studies nor drawn up by the Institute, but rather were merely collected from Islamic sources by the Institute and translated into German.

The reader of the fatawa documented by us should know that the fatawa are fundamentally not legally binding for Sunni Muslims. Muslim Sunnis are free to comply with fatawa, or to refrain from doing so.

If you would like to know more about fatawa, then we would recommend the introductory article “Was ist eine Fatwa?” (What is a Fatwa?).