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Glite Dictionary
fatwa

fatwa

13 9.0
An official ruling by a Muslim religious leader about Islamic law
  • noun
  • /ˈfɑːt.wɑː/
  • Specialized
: fatwa
  • The Grand Mufti, himself, put out a fatwa against you personally, Your Majesty.
  • issued a fatwa
  • fatwa as a religious edict
  • Islamic fatwa

He also AQAP out in Yemen, issued the fatwa that made it legal to even do the Benghazi attack.

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Examples

  • Abdul, there is a fatwa against me.

    Victoria & Abdul (2017)

  • I hear this ridiculous story about some fatwa against you.

    eXistenZ (1999)

  • That means that the American government has put a fatwa on you.

    Traitor (2008)

  • Also, the Iranian ayatollah has issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The fatwa read: "In the name of God, the Merciful and the Forgiving."

    Academic text (1993)

  • The fatwa was condemned by Egyptian intellectuals and even by the Muslim Brotherhood.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The next year, he issued a fatwa, an Islamic decree of questionable authenticity, calling for all-out war against all Americans.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Khomeini's fatwa against Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie also poisoned relations.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Remember Salman Rushdie and the fatwa (Muslim death order) on him for writing The Satanic Verses.

    Blog text (32)

  • The scholar published a fatwa that clarified the requirements for zakat during Ramadan.

Surface Forms

fatwa singular
fatwas plural

Etymology

Fatwa comes from the Arabic fatwā, from the root f-t-y that means 'to give a legal opinion' or 'answer'. So a fatwa is a formal religious ruling or legal opinion given by an Islamic scholar.