Fatwa fiasco

[Digitonomy]

A Compass That Can Clash With Modern Life

This is an interesting article. It starts out with a couple fatwas that have become widely ridiculed and are scandalous to most in the region: The first stated that a woman from the time of Muhammad who supposedly drank the prophet’s urine was blessed by her action. The second stated that the ban on unmarried men and women working together need not hold if the woman breast-fed her coworkers, thereby establishing a familial relationship.

Besides the rather entertaining examples that drew so much attention, it describes the everyday role of fatwas that are given for fairly routine matters, at least as the tradition is practiced in Egypt:

At 11:30 one recent morning, a young woman entered and sat in the chair opposite him. She held her son, about 4, on her knee as she explained that her husband had married another woman (four wives are allowed in Islam) and that the new wife was only 18. “He said he would spend five nights with her and one with me,” the woman complained. “Can I ask for a divorce?”

Under Islam, the sheik advised, all wives must be treated equally. So if she could not work the matter out “peacefully, then yes, she could ask for a divorce.”

That was her fatwa.

A couple approached. The man’s clothes were tattered, and his wife looked distressed. Their 9-year-old son’s clothing was clean, his hair gelled, his smile bright. The man explained that they had adopted the child when he was 9 months old, and that they had just heard that under Islam their son had to be put out of the house, because the mother had not given birth to him or breast-fed him.

He would reach puberty as an outsider, and could not, technically, be around the woman he knew as his mother. The imam at their local mosque said it was haram — forbidden under Islam — to live with the boy.

The sheik said yes, that was right, that the boy could not live with them. The father leaned in, disturbed, and said, “And that’s it.”

The sheik seemed stuck and referred them to another sheik for another opinion.

That was their fatwa.

[Note: although the number of paragraphs exceeds the 3 that is the general CAF rule of thumb, I’ve trimmed them back to the usual legal standard of about 10% of the total article]

 

[paarsurrey]

The first stated that a woman from the time of Muhammad who supposedly drank the prophet’s urine was blessed by her action.

Hi
Please quote a reference from Quran.
Thanks
I am an Ahmadi – a peaceful faith in Islam bridging gaps between faiths/denominations/religions/agnostics
The West, as I understand, due to certain disinformation has seen only MullahIslam or MullahShariah; the true face of Muhammad’sIslam and PromisedMessiahImamMahdi’sIslam is yet hidden from their eyes, which is truly speaking only peaceful.
GodAllahYHWH is All-Knowing; one should invariably give Claim and Reason on all important issues from one’s Revealed Book; one shouldn’t try putting one’s own words into God’s mouth.

 

[Digitonomy]

Hi
Please quote a reference from Quran.Sorry, the article didn’t provide one. However, the first two fatwas noted by the article were so scandalous that I’m sure a search of Islamic boards on the net will turn up some discussion about the source. As for the second two, they seem routine enough that such rules and their sources in Quran or Hadith are probably familiar to most learned Muslims.

If you read the article, you’ll notice there is apparently some debate among Muslim scholars as to whether fatwas can be based on Hadith or must be based on the Quran alone.

I couldn’t tell if you had another question or comment in the rest of your post, or if it’s the same thing I’ve seen in most of your posts - in that case, it might be helpful to put it in your sig line, rather than cluttering your comments with it.

 

[paarsurrey]

If you read the article, you’ll notice there is apparently some debate among Muslim scholars as to whether fatwas can be based on Hadith or must be based on the Quran alone.

Hi
There is no institution of any vested “scholars” in Islam, therefore, you won’t find what these “scholars” say mentioned in the true basic sources of Islam. These are the mislead people. Quran/Islam says that in case of any differences Muslims must refer to GodAllahYHWH and the ProphetMessenger to judge among Muslims, nobody else.
Thanks
GodAllahYHWH is All-Knowing and All-Wise; one should invariably give Claim and Reason on all important issues from one’s Revealed Book; one shouldn’t try putting one’s own words into God’s mouth.

 

[Digitonomy]

Quran/Islam says that in case of any differences Muslims must refer to GodAllahYHWH and the ProphetMessenger to judge among Muslims, nobody else.Can you provide the Quranic verse which states that?

 

[paarsurrey]

Can you provide the Quranic verse which states that?

Hi
The verse is : 4:60
“O ye who blelieve! obey Allah, and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority among you. And if you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if your are blelievers in Allah and the Last Day. That is best and most commendable in the end.”
The procedure has been clearly mentioned in the Quran which leaves no doubt whatsoever.
Thanks
The West, as I understand, due to certain disinformation has seen only MullahIslam or MullahShariah; the true face of Muhammad’sIslam and PromisedMessiahImamMahdi’sIslam is yet hidden from their eyes, which is truly speaking only peaceful.
GodAllahYHWH is All-Knowing and All-Wise; one should invariably give Claim and Reason on all important issues from one’s Revealed Book; one shouldn’t try putting one’s own words into God’s mouth.

 

[Digitonomy]

Hi The verse is : 4:60
"obey Allah, and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority among you. And if you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if your are blelievers in Allah and the Last Day.
The procedure has been clearly mentioned in the Quran which leaves no doubt whatsoever.ThanksIs 4:60 from a particular chapter or book? Or does that number refer only to one spot within the Quran?

Taking a crack at Muslim apologetics, it seems to me that the verse provides for those who are in authority to give legitimate interpretation to specifics of teachings. Since Allah and his Messenger haven’t provided a specific answer for every situation in life, it seems that using the second part of the verse to minimize the first half simply dodges the question, and is not a very practical approach.

As I noted earlier, since the last two paragraphs don’t seem to be part of your actual post, it would be far less confusing if you put them in your sig line instead.