List of fatwas
A fatwa is a non-binding legal opinion in Islam, issued by an Islamically qualified religious law specialist, known as a mufti, on a specific issue. The following is a list of notable historical and contemporary fatwas.
Pre-19th century
;1504 Oran fatwaThe Oran fatwa was issued in 1504 to address the crisis that occurred when Islam was prohibited in Castile in 15001502, and Muslims in the realm were required to convert and conform to Christianity. The fatwa sets out detailed relaxations of the sharia requirements, allowing the Muslims to conform outwardly to Christianity and perform acts that are ordinarily forbidden in Islamic law, if necessary to survive. It includes relaxed instructions for fulfilling the ritual prayers, the ritual charity, and the ritual ablution, and recommendations when obliged to violate Islamic law, such as worshipping as Christians, committing blasphemy, and consuming pork and wine. The fatwa enjoyed wide currency among Muslims and Moriscos in Spain, but its influence was limited to that country.
;1727 fatwa on non-religious books
Ruling by the Ottoman chief mufti solicited by the Ottoman ruler to lend religious legitimacy to the printing of nonreligious books.
19th century
;1803 fatwa against Western colonialismRuling by Shah Abdul Aziz in India invoking the legal theory obliging Muslims to wage war against the rulers of lands under European domination.
;1804 fatwa against Western colonialism
Ruling by Usman dan Fodio in West Africa invoking the legal theory obliging Muslims to wage war against the rulers of lands under European domination.
;1845 on vaccinations
Ruling by the Ottoman chief mufti solicited by the Ottoman ruler to lend religious legitimacy to vaccination.
;1891 fatwa against tobacco
Ruling by the Iranian Mirza Shirazi that prohibited smoking as long as the British tobacco monopoly was in effect, and led to the tobacco protest.
20th century
;1904 fatwa against Western colonialismRuling by the Moroccan ulama on the obligation to dismiss of European experts hired by the Moroccan government.
;1907 fatwa against Western colonialism
Ruling by the Moroccan ulama on the obligation to depose the sultan on accusation that he failed to mount a defense against French aggression.
;1909 fatwa deposing Abdülhamid
When the Action Army entered Istanbul, a Fatwa was issued condemning Sultan Abdülhamid, and the parliament voted to dethrone him.
;1914 fatwa supporting Ottoman 'jihad' in World War I
Ruling by the Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam supporting the Ottoman sultan's proclamation of jihad to mark the entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I.
;1922 fatwa deposing Sultan Vahideddin
Mehmed VI was deposed as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph, on a fatwa from the commissar for religious affairs.
;1933 fatwa against Zionist products
Ruling by Iraqi ulama in 1933 calling on Muslims to boycott Zionist products.
;1947 fatwa calling for jihad on Zionism
On December 2, 1947, the University of Al-Azhar religious scholars, the most respected in the Sunni Muslim world, called for jihad against the Zionists.
;1951 fatwa on soft drinks
In September 1951, the mufti of Egypt issued a fatwa stating that both Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola were permissible for Muslims to drink. In order to arrive at that decision, the Department of Fatwas had the Ministry of Public Health analyze the composition of the two drinks. As they did not find the pepsin or any narcotic or alcoholic substances to be present, nor any "microbes harmful to health", the mufti found that it was not forbidden under Islamic law.
;1959 fatwa on Jafari jurisprudence
On July 6, 1959, Egypt's Sheikh Shaltout issued the al-Azhar Shia fatwa opining that: "The Jafari fiqh of the Shi'a is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought."
;1974 fatwa on the Ahmadiyyah community
In April 1974 the Muslim World League issued a fatwa stating that followers of the Ahmadiyyah movement are to be considered "non-Muslims".
;1980 fatwa on singing
In 1980, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq issued a fatwa that "Listening to music, attending musical gatherings, and studying music of all genres and instruments is allowed as long as it is not accompanied with immoral and sinful acts, or used as a pretext to incite people towards haram behaviour, and it does not preoccupy a person away from observing the obligatory acts of worship ".
;1990s fatwa on nuclear weapons
It refers to the fatwa against the acquisition, development and use of nuclear weapons by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While the fatwa originally dates back to the mid-1990s, the first public issue of it is reported to be that of October 2003, which was followed by an official statement at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, two years later in August 2005.
The fatwa has received criticism regarding its existence, applicability, and constancy. According to Khalaji, Khamenei may alter his fatwa under critical circumstances, in a similar manner as Khomeini did. While, according to Gareth Porter in Foreign Policy, Iran has sincerely banned the atomic bombs considering the "historical episode during its eight-year war with Iraq", when Iran never sought revenge for Iraqis chemical attacks killing 20,000 Iranians and severely injuring 100,000 more. Also, the fatwa is considered consistent with Islamic tradition.
;1989 fatwa on Salman Rushdie
One of the first well-known fatwas was proclaimed in 1989 by the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, against Salman Rushdie over his novel The Satanic Verses.
;1992 fatwa on Farag Foda
In June 1992, Egyptian writer Farag Foda was assassinated following a fatwa issued by ulamas from Al-Azhar who had adopted a previous fatwa by Sheikh al-Azhar, Jadd al-Haqq, accusing Foda and other secularist writers of being "enemies of Islam". The jihadist group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility for the murder.
;1996 anti-American fatwa
Issued by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. A 'Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places'.
;1998 anti-American fatwa
Signed by the 'World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders'. The five signatories were Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Ahmed Refai Taha, Mir Hamzah, and Fazlur Rehman. Decries America and Israel. Followed shortly after by the 1998 United States embassy bombings.
;1998 fatwa on Abdulaziz Sachedina
In 1998, Grand Ayatollah Sistani of Iraq issued a fatwā prohibiting University of Virginia professor Abdulaziz Sachedina from ever again teaching Islam due in part to Sachedina's writings encouraging acceptance of religious pluralism in the Muslim world.
21st century
2000s
;2004 fatwa against Israeli/US goodsYusuf al-Qaradawi released a fatwā on April 14, 2004, stating that the boycott of American and Israeli products was an obligation for all who are able, in support of the Palestinian cause.
;2005 fatwa against al-Qaeda
Spanish Muslims proclaimed a fatwa against Osama bin Laden in March 2005 issued by Mansur Escudero Bedate, Secretary General of the Islamic Commission of Spain. The ruling says that Bin Laden and "his" al-Qaeda had abandoned their religion and should thus be called "al-Qaeda terrorists" without using the adjective "Islamic". The fatwa urges other Muslims to make similar proclamations. They were followed in July 2005 by the Fiqh Council of North America, a ruling council that issued a fatwa against providing support to "terrorist" groups that make up their own rules by unjustifiably referring to Islam.
;2005 fatwa against religious pluralism, liberalism, and secularism
;2005 Amman Message
The Amman Message was a statement signed in 2005 in Jordan by nearly 200 prominent Islamic jurists to serve as a "counter-fatwa" against a widespread use of takfir by jihadist groups to justify jihad against rulers of Muslim-majority countries. The Amman Message recognized eight legitimate schools of Islamic law and prohibited declarations of apostasy against them. The statement also re-asserted that fatwas can be issued only by properly trained muftis.
;2007 fatwa on nuclear energy
In September 2007, the Central Java division and Jepara branch of the Indonesian organisation Nahdlatul Ulama declared the government's proposal to build a nuclear power station nearby at Balong on the Muria peninsula haram or forbidden. The fatwā was issued following a two-day meeting of more than a hundred ulama to consider the pros and cons of the proposal addressed by government ministers, scientists and critics. The decision cited both positive and negative aspects of the proposal, which it had balanced to make its judgment. Key concerns were the question of long-term safe disposal and storage of radioactive waste, the potential local and regional environmental consequences of the plant's operation, the lack of financial clarity about the project, and issues of foreign technological dependence.
;2008 fatwa on smoking
In 2008, Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badruddin Hassoun issued a fatwa prohibiting every type of smoking, including cigarettes and narghile, as well as the selling and buying of tobacco and any affiliation with tobacco distribution.
;2008 fatwa on President Asif Ali Zardari
In 2008, a Pakistani religious leader issued a fatwā on President Asif Ali Zardari for "indecent gestures" toward Sarah Palin, U.S. vice presidential candidate.
;2008 fatwa against terrorism
In 2008, Indian Ulama from the world-renowned seminary of Deoband have categorically issued a fatwā against terrorism and mentioned that any sort of killing of innocent people or civilians is haram. The fatwā also clarified that there is no jihad in Kashmir or against India as freedom of religion is guaranteed by the state as any state that guarantees freedom of religion cannot have jihad sanctioned against it. This fatwā was reiterated in 2009 where Indian Home Minister P. Chidrambram hailed the move.
;2009 Deoband fatwa against the Taliban
Deoband Ulama in India have repeatedly mentioned that the Taliban government in Afghanistan was un-Islamic. This was most recently reiterated at a convention in Karachi in 2009. These include the idea of establishing shariah rule with force in the name of Jihad and levying of jizya on Sikh citizens of Pakistan, which was termed as nothing more than extortion by armed gangs.