Rules governing a change in Fatwa were discussed at the international conference here on Sunday. In third and fourth sessions of the conference, organized by the Muslim World League, participants highlighted the importance of issuing a Fatwa and urged set conditions for altering a Fatwa. The sessions were attended by Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti and head of the MWL founding council, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Turki, MWL Secretary General and Dr. Saleh Bin Zaben Al-Marzouki Al-Bgumi, Secretary General of the Islamic Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Academy. The third session was chaired by Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, Chairman of the Shoura Council where prominent Ulema and scholars presented their papers. The speakers said it becomes incumbent upon a scholar to issue a Fatwa if he is the only one capable of doing it. Issuing of the Fatwa becomes a collective duty if there are two or more Muftis in a country, they said. A Mufti, when ignorant of a matter, should refrain from issuing a Fatwa, they added. The participants said a Mufti should neither become lenient in permission without evidence nor lean heavily on people with the strictest Fatwa which they cannot endure. They added that moderation is the right path. The researchers urged the Muftis to exercise caution in issuing a Fatwa. They noted that some Muftis irrationally throw out some Muslims outside the purview of Islam even when they commit an unintentional sin. By doing so, the mufti in question will be sowing the seeds of discord among Muslims that would even lead to bloodshed. A Fatwa leads people to the right path and is issued according to the situation obtaining at a given time. With the change in situations, Fatwas also change accordingly, they asserted. In the fourth session chaired by Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abadi, Secretary General of the International Islamic Jurisprudence Academy, researchers focused on the responsibility of the Ulema to tackle new and modern issues. This entails the necessity of Ijtihad to manage such issues. Meanwhile, well-known cleric Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardhawi criticized “semi-literate” scholars who issue Fatwas through satellite channels and other means of mass media. He also criticized some students of Islamic studies for entering the field of issuing edicts. “Whoever reads a book cannot become a Mufti to issue Fatwas on serious issues,” he said in the conference's opening session on Saturday. Al-Qardhawi said differences on issuing edicts will never cease as there are both moderate and hard
