The word “fatwa” has become well known around the world. People often hear that a Muslim cleric or scholar has issued a “fatwa”. In some cases, this word has been associated with very negative things, such as a death sentence on a person or a severe punishment. The word “fatwa” has been made popular by media outlets looking for more sensational stories in order to capture the largest possible audience. In their pursuit of ratings, the media need to find an enemy that they can portray as evil and vicious, because such stories trigger fear in viewers and make them interested in following such stories in the media. Media outlets love to find words such as “fatwa” that they can use in their reports. This gives the report a more serious tone, and makes it appear as if the reporter is an expert on the subject, because no one knows what this word means and no one has heard it before. However, the media turns such a word into a keyword that catches the eye and the ear or the average person, all in the pursuit of more viewers and higher ratings.
So what does the word “fatwa” actually mean? It is an Arabic word, and it literally means “opinion”. Related words in Arabic are “afta”, which means to give an opinion, and “yastafti”, which means to ask for an opinion. In fact, in Arabic countries, an opinion poll is called an “istifta”, which is simply a different form of the same word. As you can see, there is nothing sinister or scary about the word itself. So why do media outlets not just say “opinion” so that everyone can understand what they are talking about? Would you care about the opinion of some cleric in Iran or Afghanistan? Probably not. But the use of a foreign sounding word such as “fatwa”, along with all of the negative and evil connotations that it carries, will catch the attention of a good number of people. This translates into more viewers, higher ratings and more advertising dollars.
This was the linguistic meaning of the word “fatwa”. In a religious context, the word “fatwa” carries more meaning. This is because when a Muslim has a question that they need to be answered from an Islamic point of view, they ask an Islamic scholar this question, and the answer is known as a “fatwa”. This “fatwa” carries more weight than just the random opinion of any person on the street. Muslim scholars are expected to give their “fatwa” based on religious evidence, NOT BASED ON THEIR PERSONAL OPINIONS. Therefore, their “fatwa” is sometimes regarded as a religious ruling.
Hence, media should stop misusing the term fatwa, personal statement/opinion of any Tom dick harry is not fatwa and muslim are not bound to follow the so called fatwa.
Any person wearing skull cap n sporting beard is not scholar of islam or representative of whole muslim community.
When a muslim needs to know the ruling of Islam in a particular case or matter, he/she consults a qualified Islamic scholar to ask for the same since not every Muslim is knows all such intricate matters. The answer given by the scholar or cleric in the light of Islamic rulings is called “fatwa”.
Good info..
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Thank you !
Brother Ravindra
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My pleasure…brother 😀👦
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Well Said !
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Thank you
Sabah!
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It is *Sana* 🙂
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Ohh I am sorry
I know it’s Sana
I hate auto correct feature in android.
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hahaha. Don’t worry, Sometimes I type my name as Saba, (typo errors ) !
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funny thing is that Fatwas have become such a business, you can get one off the internet and shake it around like its law!!! A fatwa is a non binding opinion that a local mufti is suppose to give that does not affect another person. So if a wife wants to a buy a house on riba and gets a fatwa the husband does not have to accept it. These day fatwas have become more trouble than good, muftis in the west should shut up!!!
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Jazak allahu khairun for the information.
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[…] via What is Fatawa….? — Shake Your Conscience ! […]
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Well done! As an historian, it is very traceable how divisive and emotionally manipulative the “legacy media” ( papers, TV news, magazines) has been. The cliches like, if it burns, it earns”, or “if it bleeds, it leads” demonstrate their use of artificially created sensationalism.
May we find a more even-handed way to convey news that respects dialogue!
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Thank you very much indeed !
For your insight and input.
Tactical manuevering of the Media – http://wp.me/p5sKku-p
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Thanks Mr. Ali!
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This article is very interesting and informative. Very well written, Imran! Thank you!
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Thank you very much indeed !
Gratitude
Love &
Regards! ! !
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It’s a whole new insight..ludos for this info
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Thank you very much indeed !
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Thank you Imran Ali for clearing the doubts and misconception about FATWA.You described it very vividly. Thank you once again. I will put it on my face book page so layman like me can also benefit. salamut raho and keep us informed more and more please
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Thank you very much indeed !
Tanveer Aunty
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salamut raho ameen
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assalamoalaikum Imran beta. please send me your email id. there’s a problem i want to ask you solution for it. its regarding muslims. my email id is, tanveer808@yahoo.com
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A post finally, alhamdullilah! Thank you for your insight brother. Wassalam.
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Wasslam pap
Shuqran !
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Very well said! 😊
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Very interesting, Imran, and thank you for the excellent explanation regarding the word. I confess to not understanding the meaning of fatwa fully, so I appreciate your post.
Just to let you know, I found a comment from you in my ‘Spam’ a couple of weeks ago. I’ve retrieved it and will respond asap. Apologies for the delay, and I’ve no idea why WordPress sent it to Spam! I’ve found a few in there from fellow bloggers lately, so I’ll have to check a little more often.
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i want your email address Imran beta
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aliimran81077@gmail.com
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thank you. I’ll fwd email i got and expect you to reply please. thank you
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Avenging the Crusade: west hatred against the muslim world – http://wp.me/p5sKku-17
This is my reply
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Nice work, Keep it brother. May Allah bless you for the wonderful job
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Thank you bro !
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Reblogged this on Let me give YOU the Moe-down.
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Really great lesson here:) It is the first time I hear the word, “fatwa”, but now I know a good background if I hear it come up.
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Thank you!
Nena
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Imran, it is a well written post. I agree with you, when people use foreign words they confuse their audience now add the propaganda of fear and you have a dangerous mix.
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Thank you very much indeed !
Jubilant
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there’s a saying “opinions are like arseholes everyone has one .” 😊a very enlightening article 😊☺😊
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As salam o alaikum brother.. I’ve nominated you for The Blog-aholic Award: https://zarawritesz.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/the-blog-aholic-award/
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Thank you very much indeed for the Honor and Support
Gratitude
Love &
Regards! ! !
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Congratulations, I am so happy to have tracked you down as a nominee by papatia of my Blog-aholic Award.
Congratulations and well done.
Now I am able to also follow you and see what you have to share.
Happy Blogging Blog-aholic
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Thank you very much
Hunter!
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Hope you will hop over and follow us and enjoy all the yummyness here b
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This article is very interesting, I like ! Congratulations and well done! hug 🙂
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Islam is one religion that is highly misunderstood and framed
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Thank you very much indeed!
Nikita
Gratitude
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Regards! ! !
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[…] https://shakeyourconscience.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/what-is-fatawa/ […]
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Interesting. Didn’t know the word could have a positive connotation. Thanks for the education.
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Thank you very much indeed !
Don’t Believe Everything you hear. There are always three sides to a story, Yours, Theirs and the Truth
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This is so informative especially for people like me from non-muslim background who gets to hear this word so many times on news and which always leaves me confused if it is a negative word.However now my doubt is clear!
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Thank you thank you ….
People hardly distinguish the diffrence between information and knowledge defacto these two r chalk and cheese,polls apart
Thank you for your visit and comment.
May God bless !
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You’re absolutely correct on the part where media use foreign sounding words to grab the attention of the people. While many are ignorant to its actual meaning, they readily trust the media on the fatwa issued.
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Thanks Alisha for your love and support !
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Even I didn’t know the source of this word… ty. Btw in Turkey we also say “istishare”
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Şükran
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Well writen
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Thank you very much indeed!
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Quite interesting.
Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂
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Thanks !
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Thanks for sharing. Thanks for the clarification. We can only be hurt by what we don’t understand. People are the same across the globe. We search for acceptance and understanding.
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Yes true Indeed !
Thank you so much
Bowman
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Good thoughts about Fatawa.u r right bt now a days it has become an order for opposition of religion by ulemas.it is dangerous for international peace.
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Yes that’s y I’m trying to educate n inform people about it.
This era is a era of deception, &
Perception management through psychological operations.
Thanks for kind words and ur support.
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Good efforts.welcome dear.
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Wonderfully written.
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Thank you
Thank you
Gratitude
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Regards! ! !
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Most welcome.dear.
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Very well explained…and yes not everyone wearing a beard, or who have read few books on Islam can come up with fatwas of their own. It requires years of research, understanding, and wisdom. Great article, keep up the good work
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So we aren’t born emotionally intelligent, it’s something we need to work on? or can we even inherit it?
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Intelligent question
Researchers have transmitted fear of a specific smell down two generations of mice, using a mechanism of inheritance that responds directly to environmental factors. They say a similar effect may be significant in some human psychiatric disorders.
The study at Emory University in Atlanta is one of the most striking demonstrations so far of “epigenetics”, a phenomenon causing increasing excitement among evolutionary biologists. It involves biochemical marking of DNA in response to experience, in a way that may affect the activity of genes for several generations.
The scientists made laboratory mice fear the odour of acetophenone, which is rather like cherry blossom, by giving them a mild electric shock whenever they were exposed to it. They then found that the offspring of these sensitised mice recoiled when they first smelled it, although they were conceived by in-vitro fertilisation and had no contact with their parents. The sensitivity even appeared in the second generation.
Publishing their results in Nature Neuroscience, the authors suggest that epigenetic inheritance may also be important in humans. “Knowing how the experiences of parents influence their descendants helps us to understand psychiatric disorders that may have a transgenerational basis, and possibly to design therapeutic strategies,” says Kerry Ressler, professor of psychiatry at Emory.
Both mother and father mice passed on acetophenone sensitivity to their biological offspring. But it was not transmitted to fostered pups, showing that social interaction was not involved. Nor were the smell-sensitised offspring more nervous in general.
The scientists do not understand the biochemical mechanism that induces the epigenetic changes in the sperm and eggs of the sensitised mice. But they did find a modification to the DNA of the odour receptor gene that responds to acetophenone.
“There is some evidence that some of the generalised effects of diet and hormone changes, as well as trauma, can be transmitted epigenetically,” Ressler says. “The difference here is that the odour-sensitivity learning process is affecting the nervous system – and apparently, reproductive cells too – in such a specific way.”
Questions remain but scientists who are enthusiastic about epigenetics welcome the results so far. “It is high time public health researchers took human transgenerational responses seriously,” says Marcus Pembrey of University College London.
“I suspect we will not understand the rise in neuropsychiatric disorders or obesity, diabetes and metabolic disruptions generally without taking a multi‑ generational approach.”
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words of wisdom sir
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Thank you very much indeed
Vaibhav bro ! ! !
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Agreed, JazakAllah
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Shuqran wa iyyakum !!!
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Much needed article.
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Thank you once again
Neelum !!!
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Thank you for giving a clear meaning of Fatwa. Good job!
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You are most welcome
Gratitude
Love &
Regards! ! !
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Thank you for the explanation.. I did not know this.. Likely because I do not watch television 🙂
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You are blessed that u don’t watch television
Addiction of the television is greater than cocain
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Good information bhai,m also defend my religion n today science is ambiguous to prove every islamic miracles but some percent had proved….
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Bhai m also research in compatible religion the bible,the Quran and science but yet m beginner …..
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Informative. 💛
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Thank you very much indeed
Gratitude
Love &
Regards ! ! !
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😊
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Thanks for the information. Fatwa, sense of islam.
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You are most welcome
Gratitude
Love &
Regards ! ! !
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Media breeds on sensationalism. So glad you set the record straight.💞
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Thank you very much indeed !
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Good to know! I feel that all societies get wind-milled by the sensationalism of their media. Too many in this world believe their own press releases instead of actually perusing relationship with their neighbor with whom they disagree.
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Nice info
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Gratitude
Love &
Regards !!!
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Your reply Means a lot !
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Share with me if feel free and safe.
But yes WordPress is a public forum it’s not a appropriate platform.
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Great information! Thanks for sharing
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You are welcome! Ma’am
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