قراءة نقدية للفتاوى الفضائية

Abstract

It was common practice among Muslims to ask their scholars
about the Islamic rulings regarding the legitimacy of their actions
and to consult with them regarding new issues at hand. Legal
Experts and Jurists who were qualified to authorize legal rulings
would then answer these questions and issue Fatwas (Islamic legal
opinions) accordingly.
In the past, the questioner himself would approach the Mufti and
present his question in order to receive a direct answer. Today,
however, as a result of the technological revolution, a person
sitting in his home or office can send his question to the Mufti and
receive an answer directly. This type of fatwa has been named live
televised Fatwa.
This study examines a number of fatwas issued through
numerous satellite channels, and identifies methodological and
technical problems with these fatwas. The study follows the
descriptive and critical methodologies to answer these two
questions: What are the most important problems experienced by
the industry of televised Fatwa? How to deal with these problems?
The study concludes that the Mufti's errors may occur in
different ways, such as wrong deduction of the text, relying on old
information in understanding the nature of the question at hand,
not directing the questioner to that which is best for him,
becoming confused, and others.