Constructing Legal Reasoning: A Historical Assessment of Fatwa Literature from the 4th to 19th Century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/fiqh.vol22no2.3Keywords:
Fatwā Literature, Legal Reasoning, Muftī and IftāʾAbstract
Fatwa literature represents a vital tradition in Islamic jurisprudence, functioning as a dynamic mechanism of legal reasoning. This paper offers a historical study of fatwa literature, examining how legal reasoning developed from the 4th to the 19th century, with particular emphasis on the Ḥanafī school. Drawing on a range of key classical sources, including Kitāb al-Nawāzil, al-Fatāwā al-Sirājiyya, and Fatāwā Qādīkhān, this study examines how fatwa methodology evolved, emphasizing principles of legal preference (tarjīḥ), hierarchical reasoning, and the ethical and scholarly qualifications expected of a muftī. The study highlights how early jurists formulated structured principles for issuing fatwas, navigated intra-madhhab differences, and balanced doctrinal consistency with responsiveness to social realities. Developments in other Sunni schools are also assessed to provide a broader comparative context. The findings suggest that fatwa literature played a central role in shaping Islamic legal reasoning, offering tools that remain valuable for contemporary jurisprudential challenges. The findings demonstrate that the methodologies, ethical frameworks, and textual hierarchies developed in the classical fatwa tradition continue to offer relevant tools for addressing contemporary issues in Islamic law. As such, the historical assessment presented in this paper contributes not only to our understanding of the legal in the past, but also to the ongoing conversation on how to responsibly engage Islamic legal heritage in the modern world.
Downloads
References
Ahmad, Muzzammil and Ian Greer. “Shāh Walī Allāh in Defence of Ibn Taymiyyah.” Islamic Studies 61, no. 1 (2022): 25–44, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27236414
Al-Alwani, Taha Jabir, “The Sahabah Who Gave Fatawa during the Prophet’s Lifetime” In Source Methodology in Islamic Jurisprudence: Usul Al-Fiqh Al-Islami, edited by Yusuf Talal Delorenzo & Anas S. Al Shaikh Ali. The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2003.
al-Fārūqī, Abū ʿAbd al- ʿAzīz Quṭb al-Dīn Shāh Walī Allāh Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Wajīh al-Dīn al-Dihlawī. ʿIqd Al-Jayd Fī Aḥkām Al-Ijtihād Wa Al-Taqlīd. Kuwait: Dār al- Ḍiyā, 2014.
Al-Jawzīyyah, Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr b. Qayyim. Iʿlām al- Muwaqqiʿīn. Cairo: Dār ibn al-Jawzīyyah, 2012.
Atar, Fahrettin. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: TDV Yayınları, 1995.
Awass, Omer. “Fatwa: The Evolution of an Islamic Legal Practice and Its Influence on Muslim Society.” Phd diss., The Temple University Graduate Board, 2014.
Bayder, Osman. “Bedreddin eş-Şuhâvî’nin et-Tırâzu’l-müzheb Adlı Eserinin Tahkik ve Tercümesi TT - A Critical Edition and Translation of al-Shuhāwī’s al-Tirāz al-mudhhab.” Tahkik İslami İlimler Araştırma ve Neşir Dergisi 2, no. 1 (2019): 211 – 257, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3475103.
Bembeyaz, Esra. “Müftülük.” In İslam Düşünce Atlası, edited by Halil Üçer. İlmî Etüdler Derneği, 2025.
Berber, Emre and Abdullah Vefa Karataş. “Padişahin Denetlenmesinde Şeyhülislamin Rolü.” Kırıkkale Hukuk Mecmuası 2, no. 1 (2022): 235–262, https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/khm/article/1110704.
Bsoul, Labeeb Ahmed. “The Emergence of the Major Schools of Islamic Law/Madhhabs.” In Routledge Handbook of Islamic Law, edited by Khaled Abou El Fadl, Ahmad Atif Ahmad, Said Fares Hassan. Routledge, 2019.
Büyükmutu, Mehmet. “Hanefî Fetvâ Usûlünün Oluşumu ve Ebül- Leys es-Semerkandî’nin Tedvine Sağladığı Katkı Üzerine Bir İnceleme TT - A Study on the Formation of the Hanafī Fatwa Methodology and the Contribution of Abū’l-Layth al- Samarqandī to Its Compilation.” UMDE Dini Tetkikler Dergisi 7, no. 2 (2024): 137–172, https://doi.org/10.54122/umde.155978.
Dalvi, Mohammed Subhan. “Fatawa and Their Development since the Early Islamic Era.” Master’s Thesis., University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2018.
Demir, Oğuzkağan. “Hanefi Mezhebi Fetva Usûlü Konularının Tarihsel Gelişimi TT - Hıstorical Development of the Issues of Usūl al-Fatwa of Hanafi Maddhab.” Balıkesir İlahiyat Dergisi 10, no. 19 (2024): 9–27, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/baid/article/1421749.
Demirci, Abdullah. “Ebū’l-Leys es-Semerkandī’nin “en-Nevāzil” İsimli Eseri: Tenkidli Neşir ve İnceleme (İcârât Bölümünden Eserin Sonuna Kadar).” PhD diss., İstanbul Üniversitesi, 2021.
Düzenli, Pehlul. “Osmanlı Fetvasında ‘Muteber Kaynak’ ve ‘Müfta Bih Mesele’ Problemi.” Türkiye Araştırmaları Literatür Dergisi 11, no. 22 (2013): 9–78, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/talid/article/589979.
Ençakar, Orhan. “Kınalızâde Ali Efendi’nin (ö. 979/1572) Tabakātü’l-Mesâil Adlı Risalesinin Tahkik ve Tahlili.” İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi 26, no. 47 (2022): 97–153, https://doi.org/10.26570/isad.1056217.
Farahiyah, Siti, Ab Rahim, Muhamad Firdaus, Ab Rahman, Hussein Azeemi Abdullah, Nik Nur, Muhammad Alif, et al. “Artificial Intelligence for Fatwa Issuance: Guidelines and Ethical Considerations.” Journal of Fatwa Management and Research 30, no. 1 (2025): 77,
https://doi.org.10.33102/jfatwa.vol30no1.654.
Hakim, Yahya. “The Hashemite-Umayyad Divide and Its Impact on the Future of Islam.” Muslim World 106, no. 1 (2016): 95-96, https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.12125.
Halim, Fachrizal Azmi. Legal Authority in Premodern Islam: Yahya B Sharaf Al-Nawawi in the Shafi’i School of Law. Routledge, 2014.
Hallaq, Wael B. “From Fatwās to Furü: Growth and Change in Islamic Substantive Law.” Islamic Law and Society 1, no. 1 (1994): 29-31, https://doi.org/10.1163/156851994X00147.
Hashmi, Javad T. “Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: Towards a More Inclusive Approach to Islamic Bioethics.” Journal of Islamic Ethics 5, no. 1-2 (2021): 290, https://doi.org/10.1163/24685542-12340063.
Hasîrî, Abû Bakr Muhammad b. İbrâhim b. Ânûş al-Hasîrî al- Bukhârî al-Hanafî. al-Hâvî fi’l-Fatâwâ. Manuscript, Suleymaniye Kütüphanesi, n.d.
Hassan, Dr. Hafiz Muhammad, Mamoona Islam, and Dr. Muhammad Shahbaz Manj. “Fatᾱwᾱ Ḥiṣᾱrīa and Mūlᾱna Abdul Qᾱdir Ḥiṣᾱrī: an introductory study.” Al-Aijaz Research Journal of Islamic Studies & Humanities 6, no. 2 (2022): 106-119, https://doi.org/10.53575/u10.v6.02(22).106-119.
Iskandar, Iskandar and Hadi Sofuoğlu. “Islamic Environmentalism in Indonesia: An Analytical Study of
MUI Fatwas on Environmental Protection.” Bulletin of Islamic Research 3, no. 2 (2025): 177–202, https://doi.org/10.69526/bir.v3i2.168.
Jabari, Shaker. “Hasîrı̇’nı̇ n El-Havî Fı̇ ’l-Fetava İsı̇mlı̇ Eserı̇nı̇n Sı̇stemı̇ğı̇nı̇n Tahlı̇lı̇ .” The Journal of Academic Social Sciences 9, no. 115 (2021): 244–58, https://doi.org/10.29228/ASOS.49663.
Junoh, Noraini, Abdul Manam Mohamad, Nor Asmira Mat Jusoh, and Zanirah Mustafa Busu. “The Mid-Century Model of Critical Thinking: Shah Wali Allah Al-Dihlawi.” International Journal of Islamic Thought 24, no. 1 (2023): 145–56, https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.24.2023.277.
Kaya, Hüsamettin. “Zâhirî Âlimlerin Ashâbu’l-Hadis/Ehl-i Hadis Algısı TT - Perception of Ashâb al- Ḥadīth /Ahl al- Ḥadīth of Ẓāhirī Scholars.” Tasavvur / Tekirdağ İlahiyat Dergisi 9, no. 2 (2023): 1465–1494, https://doi.org/10.47424/tasavvur.1363532.
Lowry, Joseph Edmund. Early Islamic Legal Theory: The Risāla of Muḥammad Ibn Idrīs Al-Shāfiʻī. Brill, 2007.
Matrook, Raed, Lubna Matrook, and Sharehan Al Khattab. “Rules and Regulations Regarding the Punishment for Adultery Extracted from The Book ‘Fatawa Al-Nawazil’ by Imam Abu Al-Laith Al-Samarqandi: Examples of Applications.”Jordan Journal of Islamic Studies 20, no. 1 (2024): 45–73, https://doi.org/10.59759/jjis.v20i1.371.
Mehmood, Muhammad Ifzal, Siddiq Ali Chishti, and Muhammad Junaid Mughal. “Fatwa in Islamic Law, Institutional Comparison of Fatwa in Malaysia and Pakistan: The Relevance of Malaysian Fatwa Model for Legal System of Pakistan.” International Research Journal of Social Sciences 4, no. 9 (2015): 1–6,http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2151-6200.1000118.
Mohd Ridzuan, Muhammad Asyraf, Muhd Imran Abd Raza, and Paiz Hassan. “The Methodology of Delivering Fatwas andRuling Answers: A Contemporary Perspective in Malaysia.” Insight Journal (IJ) 11, no. 2 (2024): 405, https://doi.org/10.24191/ij.v11i2.2409.
Othman, Fadlan Mohd, Lutpi Mustafa, Mohd Arif Nazri, et al. “Hujjat Allah Al-Balighah: The Uniqueness of Shah Wali
Allah Al-Dihlawi’s Work.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 6, no. 5 (2015): 403, https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s1p403.
Parrey, Ishfaq Amin. “The Interplay of Ijtihād and Maqāṣid Al- Sharī ‘ah in Pre-Modern Legal Thought: Examining the Contributions of Al-Ghazali and Al-Shatibi.” Hamdard Islamicus 47, no. 2 (2024): 37–59,https://doi.org/10.57144/hi.v47i2.894.
Sadeghi, Behnam. “The Authenticity of Two 2nd/8th Century Hanafi Legal Texts: The Kitāb Al-Āthār and Al-Muwatta’of Muhammad b. Al-Hasan Al-Shaybāni.” Islamic Law and Society 17, no. 3-4 (2010): 291–319, https://doi.org/10.1163/156851910X522212.
Shabeer, Muhammad and Rasheed Ahmad. “A Scientific andComparative Study of Fatwas in Christianity and Islam: Acta-Islamica”.مسیحیت اور اسلام میں فتوی ٰ کا علمی و تقابلی مطالعہ8, no. 2 (2020): 49–66, https://aisbbu.com/index.php/ai/article/view/8.
Shagaviev, D. A. “The Works of Shihab Ad-Din Al-Marjani on Islamic Scholastic Theology.” Minbar Islamic Studies 13, no. 1 (2020): 103 116, https://doi.org/10.31162/2618-9569-.2020-13-1-103-116
Subli, Mohamad, Kasjim Salenda, Rahmatiah HL, and Sainul Rahman. “The Absorptive Capacity of Fatwa Institutions in Indonesia on Contemporary Issues.” Al-Adalah: Jurnal Hukum Dan Politik Islam 9, no. 1 (2024): 110–26, https://doi.org/10.30863/ajmpi.v9i1.6047.
Tillier, Mathieu. “Judicial Authority and Qāḍī s’ Autonomy under the ʿAbbāsids.” Al-Masãq 26, no. 2 (2014): 119–131, https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2014.915102.
Wan Khairuldin, Wan Mohd Khairul Firdaus, Wan Nur Izzati Wan Nor Anas, and Abdul Hanis Embong. “Fatwa as aDisseminator of Islamic Laws among Community of Malaysia.” International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 8, no. 11 (2018): 516–521,http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i11/4925.
Zia, Belal, Taimur Kouser, Hosam Helal, and Rania Awaad. “A Brief Overview of the Islamic Ethics of Suicide and Suicide-Related Contemporary Issues from a Sunnī Perspective: A Primer for Clinicians and Researchers.” Journal of Religion and Health 63, no. 2 (2024): 970–971,https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02007-6.
