Importance of Grounding Fatwas in Prophetic Methodology

In the name of Allah ﷻ, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah ﷻ, Lord of the worlds.

I praise Him as the thankful and mindful do.

O Allah ﷻ, all praise and all thanks are Yours, and all matters are in Your hand.

There is no god but You.

No Lord is beside You, and none is rightly worshipped but You.

I bear witness there is no god but Allah alone, without partner.

And I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.

He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust.

He advised the Ummah and strove in Allah's cause as He should.

He left us on the clear path. Its night is like its day.

None deviates from it except the doomed.

O Allah, send prayers and peace and blessings upon Muhammad ﷺ.

As numerous as trees and stones.

As numerous as those who circle the Kaaba.

And those who perform Hajj and Umrah.

And upon all his family and Companions.

And upon his wives, the Mothers of the Believers.

And upon his pure household and his Rightly Guided Caliphs.

And upon the Followers and all who follow them in goodness until Judgment.

O Allah, ease our affairs, conceal our faults, and forgive our sins.

Guide us to what You love and approve, and make us blessed wherever we are.

As you know, we are gathered in this blessed mosque.

It is the Prophet's Mosque, where this blessed symposium is held.

And we praise Allah ﷻ for that.

After praising and thanking Allah.

I thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

I also thank his trusted Crown Prince.

They make great efforts to serve Islam and Muslims.

This includes the royal approval of this blessed symposium.

Its topic is issuing fatwas in the Two Holy Mosques.

I also thank the President of Religious

Affairs. He serves at the Two Holy Mosques.

He is Professor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais.

I also thank him for his blessed efforts to serve visitors and Hajj pilgrims.

He also serves Umrah performers through this blessed symposium.

I also thank the committee chairman, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah.

I thank the participating colleagues and you, brothers in attendance.

I contributed a paper.

Its title is, "The Prophetic Method in Issuing Fatwas."

It discusses the importance and impact.

I will be brief. Whoever wishes to read more may refer to the submitted paper.

So I say, and success is by Allah ﷻ.

There is no doubt that fatwas hold a lofty place and great rank in this religion

It is enough to know that muftis sign.

on behalf of the Lord of the Worlds.

So the Prophetic method must be followed.

It must guide the issuing of fatwas.

It embodies clarity, mercy, and ease.

In this paper, I explain one aspect of that.

Today, the Islamic world faces rapid change.

These changes are social and cultural.

So fatwas become a primary guide.

They guide Muslims in current issues.

Fatwas are the means by which Sharia rulings are derived.

They come from the main sources: the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

They guide Muslims' conduct.

They regulate life in harmony with Islamic law.

Grounding fatwas in the Prophetic method is a necessity.

This ensures consistency and harmony.

It preserves authentic Islamic values and principles.

Grounding fatwas is a great matter.

Following Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is an obligatory duty.

He ﷺ is our example, our imam, and our teacher.

Fatwa is integral to Islamic law, per Allah's ﷻ Book and Prophetic Sunnah.

There is no doubt it is a great office.

Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the first to hold this noble, lofty office.

He is master of the first and the last, and leader of the God-fearing.

This mission is the mission of the prophets and messengers (AS).

The fatwas of our Messenger ﷺ played a major role in explaining Islamic law.

The Prophet ﷺ had a method in issuing fatwas.

It included ease and flexibility, along with clarity and precision.

It also included gradual teaching and meeting people's needs.

Prophetic fatwas are clear and broad, merciful, easy, and rooted in revelation.

It also embodies moderation, balance, and gradualness in legislation.

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We are live now, Sheikh. Please go ahead.

Emulating the Prophetic method in fatwas is of great importance.

It brings legal stability and aligns fatwas with Islamic values.

It strengthens unity and cohesion in society.

It meets today's challenges.

At the chair's request, I will be brief and go to the last point: fatwas' impact.

As you all know, may Allah keep you well, fatwas are grave and have great impact.

If a fatwa follows the Book of Allah, it has great impact.

That is so when it also follows the Sunnah of His Messenger.

Fatwas without knowledge are a grave evil; Allah ﷻ forbade them to His servants.

I conclude with several points:

Fatwas grounded in the Prophet's ﷺ method benefit the questioner.

They also benefit society as a whole.

One great effect is curbing excess and extremism, showing Islam's balance.

Second, showing Islam's tolerance and its radiant image.

Third, shutting the door on doubts and answering them when raised in society.

Fourth, urging unity and rejecting division and discord.

Fifth, urging noble character and good customs.

Sixth, strengthening social ties among Muslims.

Seventh, keeping order and calming people, and preventing Muslim bloodshed.

Lastly, uniting people around senior scholars and those in authority.

These are the main effects of fatwas grounded in the Prophetic methodology.

This paper recommends compiling fatwas, issues, and novel cases.

They should be compiled based on evidence and the stronger view.

This will benefit muftis in the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque.

With this, I conclude and ask Allah ﷻ to grant success to everyone.

Thank you. May Allah ﷻ bless you, and let us all benefit from what we heard.

Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his family and companions.