Guidelines of Fatwa in the Two Holy Mosques

Praise be to Allah.

Peace and blessings on His Messenger ﷺ, his family, Sahabah (RA), and followers.

To proceed, I thank Allah ﷻ for His grace and facilitation.

I extend my sincere thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

They graciously approved holding this blessed symposium.

I also thank the trustworthy Crown Prince.

I ask Allah ﷻ to make it fruitful and achieve its goals.

Thanks also to the religious affairs chief for his efforts and follow-up.

Thanks also to the sponsors and organizers of this symposium.

I ask Allah ﷻ to grant everyone success in all good.

It is an honor to offer this modest paper before our esteemed scholars.

I ask Allah ﷻ for guidance and success.

This paper comprised an introduction, a preface, two sections, and a conclusion.

In the preface, I mentioned the status of fatwa.

I also mentioned the mufti's qualities as stated by scholars.

Then, in section one, I gave ten fatwa guidelines for the Haramain.

In section two, I mentioned the mufti's qualities in the Haramain.

I also mentioned ten guidelines related to him.

Then came the conclusion, which included six recommendations.

I then added four more to make ten.

That way, it would follow one pattern and become a ten-point paper.

I will skip the preface.

As I said, it addressed fatwas' status, the mufti's traits, and scholars' views.

The first section, on fatwa guidelines in the Two Holy Mosques, matters greatly.

Fatwas there gain importance from the sanctity of the place.

The Two Holy Mosques draw Muslims' hearts and are the goal of journeys for worship.

This shows the importance of caution and care in fatwas there.

The mufti receives many inquirers from many different places.

He does not know them or reach them later after they receive the fatwa.

If the mufti misreads the question or gives a poor answer, follow-up is hard.

He may not find the questioner again to correct the answer and the fatwa.

Among those guidelines

is this: Fatwas and answers to questioners must be grounded in proof.

That proof comes from the Qur'an and Sunnah.

This shows questioners that fatwas there rest on legal evidence.

In the Two Holy Mosques, that evidence is carefully observed.

The muftis there also strive to identify the strongest view.

They assess disputed issues through the revealed texts.

They adopt the soundest view, without bias toward any school.

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said the following.

"The mufti should mention the ruling's evidence.

He should also mention the basis for it, when possible.

And not give the questioner a bare ruling without proof."

And so on.

The second guideline is moderation, balance, and ease.

It also means lifting hardship.

It also means avoiding severity, laxity, excess, and neglect.

This is the way of Islam: "We made you a middle nation."

And Allah ﷻ says, "Allah intends ease for you and does not intend hardship for you."

Abu Hurayrah narrated this.

"Religion is ease.

Whoever makes it hard is overcome, so stay on course and do your best."

Al-Shatibi said this.

"The highest-ranking mufti guides people to the middle way.

It is suited to the general public, as commonly understood.

without leading them to severity or inclining them to laxity."

And so on.

The third guideline.

Fatwas should consider time and place, as customs, norms, and conditions vary.

Here, some rulings depend on custom, so fatwas change as it changes.

Whoever ignores this and relies on old book examples runs into problems.

That can violate the case's legal ruling and bring hardship Islam lifted.

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him, said this.

"Book-based fatwas in differing contexts send both mufti and people astray."

"Their harm to faith is worse than a doctor using one text on varied bodies."

"Indeed, an ignorant doctor and mufti harm people in faith and body."

Al-Qarafi and Ibn Abidin affirmed this. Ibn Abidin said this.

"Many rulings fit the mujtahid's own time, so they change as times change."

"This may be due to necessity or decay; otherwise it burdens and harms people."

The fourth guideline is that fatwas there should stress core beliefs and aims.

This includes tawhid and sincere devotion to Allah ﷻ.

It also means venerating His rites and serving the common good.

It also urges people to remain with the community.

It also means obeying those in authority.

It also means avoiding innovation, division, and deviance.

It also shows the wisdom of legislation, Islam's tolerance, and the Sharia's ease.

The fifth guideline: do not answer questions on state or internal affairs.

Avoid what stirs discord, fanaticism, and tribal partisanship.

Be wary of anything that causes division, enmity, and conflict among Muslims.

Abu Hurayrah (RA) said, "I kept two vessels from the Prophet ﷺ."

"One I disclosed. The other would cost me my life."

Imam Malik said, "A scholar is undone by answering anyone who approaches him."

A man asked, but Malik did not reply. He said, "Abu Abdullah, won't you reply?"

"Had you asked what helps you, or what you need for faith, I'd answer."

The sixth guideline is to consider consequences in acts and fatwas.

This is a major, delicate field. A fatwa is not mere literalism.

Nor is it simply applying a text to a case.

Rather, it must consider its consequences, and the benefits gained and harms averted.

It must weigh them when they conflict.

This includes the Sharia's objectives, and the rule of blocking and opening means.

It also means taking the Sharia's ease, removing hardship and preventing harm.

It also means tailoring the ruling to the asker's case and related issues.

The legal proofs confirm this principle.

The scholars affirmed this as well. Al-Shatibi mentioned it too.

He listed two traits.

The first trait.

The answer must fit the person's own case.

This is when the issue has a ruling specific to him.

Second: he considers outcomes before answering questions.

The seventh guideline is to unify, as far as possible, the fatwas.

This applies to ijtihadi issues often asked in the Two Holy Mosques.

The purpose is to prevent confusion for questioners. When answers differ.

To achieve that, I propose consultative scholarly meetings.

These would be held by the Presidency of Religious Affairs in the two Mosques.

They would gather those who issue fatwas and answer questioners.

The goal would be to unify fatwas.

Or at least reduce disagreement.

This concerns ijtihadi issues frequently asked about there.

There, muftis may give different answers to questioners.

These meetings should be held regularly, at least twice a year.

With senior scholars and members of the Permanent Fatwa Committee.

The issues should be identified, and research presented.

Then conclusions should be reached to bring views closer.

The eighth guideline is caution with written fatwas.

The same caution applies to recorded ones as well.

They should be avoided.

Fatwas there often depend on the asker's own circumstances.

They also depend on time and place.

If written down or recorded, they may be taken out of context.

They may also be applied to cases that do not fit.

They may even be exploited for disgraceful purposes.

That can cause problems for the mufti and his country.

Therefore, the mufti should answer the questioner directly.

He should not allow the answer to be recorded. And he should not write it down.

That could be exploited for improper purposes.

There are specialized bodies for writing fatwas.

The ninth guideline is to avoid aberrant and weak views.

No fatwas should oppose scholarly consensus.

Nor should they oppose the rulings of fiqh councils.

Nor should they oppose the rulings of the Council of Senior Scholars.

The tenth is to avoid fatwas in disputes needing judicial review.

Likewise, in divorce cases that require hearing both sides.

After that, I mentioned the mufti's qualities and guidelines.

I then mentioned some recommendations, some were already included.

Another recommendation not included in the paper is this.

I call for an interactive, multilingual digital platform.

It should guide questioners in the Two Holy Mosques.

Its links should appear on Hajj and Umrah platforms, like the Ministry of Hajj.

Attention should also be given to non-Arabic questioners.

Their questions should be answered with suitable care.

Tools for live translation should also be used.

There are more recommendations as well, and I ask Allah ﷻ to grant success to all.

May Allah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Thank you to the session chair.

[Birds chirping]