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Assalam o alaykum,

Al-Ifta'

A concept which may also be related to ijtihad is al-Ifta' (to give Fatwa). Fatwa is the Shar`i answer to a question related with an Islamic issue. The plural is Fatawa, the person asking the question is mustafti, and the one who gives Fatwa is mufti.

Mufti must, in reality, be a faqih at the level of ijtihad. So according to the Usul al-Fiqh, real muftis are mujtahids and naming muftis the persons who are not at the level of mujtahids is nothing, but allegorical way (majazi). Muftis, if they are not at the level of mujtahids, are just naqils (narrators/reporter).

Fatwas are given by:

1. Ijtihad.
2. Takhrij.
3. Reporting the view of mujtahids.

Each school of thought has its own way of dealing with the ifta institute with some requirements.

Hanafis have three types of sources:

1. Zahir al-Riwayah: Ijtihads and opinions of Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad [may Allah have mercy on them]. This group is the strongest of its kind.

2. Nawadir: These are not as authentic as Zahir al-Riwayah.

3. Nawazil (al-Waqi`at, al-Fatawa): These are the opinions of imams other than Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.

Mufti in each case must mention the mujtahids name he is referring to and the name of the book he is basing his fatwa on. Of course, there are some rules and regulations to be followed by muftis when he is to select one opinion from several opinions available on the subject in his madhhab.The enormous amount of literature already available in this area will help the mufti in his Fatwa.

[Excerpts from Usul al-Fiqh of Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci].

to be continued...