Voluntary Work in Islam: The Context of Transferred Fatwa

مراعاة السياق في نقل الفتوى

Abstract

This article speaks to a vital problem: "transferred fatwa" - enforcing religious rulings devoid of understanding the original context of the fatwa. The author posits that the many of the new muftis of today, and even fatwa programs on television, apply historical fatwas to modern day situations, completely disregarding the implications of including the temporal, spatial, statutory, and individual contexts. Refusing to understand the relevance these contexts have in determining for example 'time', effectively results in confusion or incorrect religious decisions. Many assert their reasoning by arguing that earlier scholars were more knowledgeable so we could apply their findings irrespective of context.

The research stresses the importance of understanding context (fiqh al-waqi') when issuing a fatwa. The study has two chapters. The first chapter discusses context within Islamic Shari'a, using examples based in the Qur'an and Sunna, and explains the dissenting judgements and differing opinions that are permissible for jurists. The second chapter enters into a comparative study of historical jurisprudential processes and modern jurisprudential review processes that emphasize the value of examining the verdict in context, and the potential for differing verdicts based on these different contexts. Ultimately, the author wants to draw attention to this weakness in methodology and offer suggestions for how to issue a fatwa in more contextually aware way.