Q.1. Sometimes we read two different fatwas on the same question by two different scholars. In such a situation how is a layman to know which to take as correct? Is each of the two fatwas binding on all Muslims? How can this be applied in practice, particularly on such hot issues as terrorism and armed resistance against Israeli occupation of Muslim land?
Q.2. When a child is born we call the athan close to its ears. Is this a tradition, a Sunnah or obligatory?
M. Kayani
A.1. A fatwa is a ruling given by a scholar on a question put to him to find out the Islamic view concerning its different aspects. Sometimes the same question is put to two scholars with slight differences. Each of the two scholars looks at the question and they may come up with two different rulings. This could be the result of the way the question is phrased each time, or the information given to the scholar, or the environment the scholar and the questioner live in, or to one or more of the many different reasons that influence a verdict. The difference in the two rulings could also be due to the approach each of the two scholars adopts, and whether it is broad or restricted, or to their different background and whether it is liberal or rigid, or to their schools of thought, etc.
Since scholars are liable to make mistakes, God promises the one who gives a scholarly view, or fatwa, and makes an error a single reward, while one who gives the right verdict will have a double reward. This is to encourage scholars so that they look into new questions and give their scholarly views on them.
In the light of all this, it is established that a fatwa is binding on the person giving it only. Others may or may not take it. They may ask a different scholar, or adopt some earlier ruling. The question arises here concerning those who act on the basis of a certain fatwa, which is mistaken. The matter is simpler than people think. If you act on the basis of a fatwa given by a scholar you trust, and you have no means of establishing that it is wrong, God forgives you the mistake that you do as a result. The scholar will be accountable for his fatwa. If the mistake is genuine and the person concerned has exerted the necessary effort to arrive at the correct view, he gets his single reward, because God is much forgiving and merciful.
When you come to questions like resistance to Israeli occupation, destruction of people’s homes, killing of innocent civilians, scholars have to look at the situation in totality. They cannot look at isolated incidents and give fatwas on their basis. All Muslims throughout the world, scholars and laymen, support the just cause of Palestine and condemn the Israeli aggression that has been going on for more than 70 years. Yet Muslims are under extreme pressure from outside powers to curb the resistance to such aggression. Even the Palestinian Authority is required to disown the armed struggle. Scholars who hold certain positions are under enormous pressure and asked for fatwas leaning in one direction or another. They may find themselves in a very difficult position, or may be given a lop-sided picture. All this is due to the weak position Muslims generally find themselves in now. Therefore, it is important to look for the right ruling by consulting competent scholars who are not subject to any such pressure.
As for terrorism, we should remember that one man’s terrorism is another’s armed resistance, or even jihad for God’s cause. For example, Israel considers any action taken to resist its injustice as terrorism, while the US government describes Sharon as a “man of peace”. From the Islamic point of view, action that aims at liberating the Muslim land of Palestine and restoring the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Muslim community is jihad for God’s cause. Hence, a fatwa on such a matter should look at the question in hand and consider all aspects in order to arrive at the right verdict.
A.2. Calling the athan close to a newborn child’s ears shortly after its birth is a Sunnah.
