Editing Fatwa (section)

===Process of ''iftāʾ''===

[[File:Ein_Mufti,_oder_Türkischer_Pfaff.tif|thumbnail|upright=0.8|Turkish mufti (1687 engraving)]]

The legal theory of the fatwa was formulated in the classical texts of ''[[usul al-fiqh]]'' (principles of jurisprudence), while more practical guidelines for muftis were found in manuals called ''adab al-mufti'' or ''adab al-fatwa'' (etiquette of the mufti/fatwa).{{sfn|Messick|2017}}

Fatwas are issued in response to a query.{{sfn|Berger|2014}} They can range from a simple yes/no answer to a book-length treatise.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} A short fatwa may state a well-known point of law in response to a question from a lay person, while a "major" fatwa may give a judgment on an unprecedented case, detailing the legal reasoning behind the decision.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} Queries to muftis were supposed to address real and not hypothetical situations and  be formulated in general terms, leaving out names of places and people. Since a mufti was not supposed to inquire into the situation beyond the information included in the query, queries regarding contentious matters were often carefully constructed to elicit the desired response.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} A mufti's understanding of the query commonly depended on their familiarity with local customs and colloquialisms. In theory, if the query was unclear or not sufficiently detailed for a ruling, the mufti was supposed to state these caveats in their response.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}

Fatwas were solicited by men and women from all social classes. A mufti could be an obscure scholar, who occasionally replied to queries from people in his neighborhood, or, at the other extreme, a famous jurist or a powerful state official. The level of technical detail supplied in a fatwa, such as citations of sources or specification of legal methodologies employed, depended on the technical level of the petitioner.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} In theory, a petitioner was supposed to verify the mufti's scholarly reputation, but mufti manuals (''adab al-mufti'') recognized that it would be difficult for a lay person to do so, and advised the petitioner to trust their sense of the mufti's piety and ideally follow the advice of a single scholar known for exemplary morals.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} The mufti was often a well-known figure in his neighborhood. Some petitioners could choose among several local muftis, while others had to or chose to travel to receive a fatwa.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} Judges commonly sent letters to solicit fatwas from prominent jurists in another town or even country.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|p=9}} Sunni legal theory generally permits the petioner to obtain a fatwa from multiple jurists on the same query, provided that it addresses a real and not hypothetical situation.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}} Some petitioners sought out a second fatwa because they were unsatisfied with the first, and the two sides in a legal dispute generally each sought to obtain a fatwa that would support their position.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} Muftis often consulted another mufti on difficult cases, though this practice was not foreseen by legal theory, which saw ''futya'' as a transaction between one qualified jurist and one "unqualified" petitioner.{{sfn|Vikør|2005|p=147}}

In theory, a mufti was expected to issue fatwas free of charge. In practice, muftis commonly received support from the public treasury, public endowments or private donations. Taking of bribes was forbidden.{{sfn|Powers|2017}}{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} Until the 11th or 12th century, the vast majority of jurists held other jobs to support themselves. These were generally lower- and middle-class professions such as tanning, manuscript copying or small trade.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|p=13}}

In theory, fatwas could be delivered orally or in writing, but it is not clear how common oral fatwas were, aside from those issued by an Ottoman office established specifically for the purpose of issuing oral fatwas. Many routine, written fatwas were delivered directly to the petitioner on the piece of paper containing the query, leaving no documentary trace. However, large collections of ordinary fatwas are preserved in Ottoman and Indian archives.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} Mufti manuals contained a number of regulations about the standard format of a fatwa, such as avoiding blank space that could be used for a spurious addition and concluding the fatwa with an expression like ''allahu a'lam'' (God knows best). Nonetheless, fatwas took on a variety of forms depending on the local legal culture.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}

The 14th century jurist [[Ibn Taymiyyah|Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya]] was known for his methodology of issuing ''fatwas'' through direct research of the ''[[Quran|Qur'an]]'' and ''[[Hadith]]'', rather than being restrained by the mechanism of the ''[[madhhab]]s'' (legal schools). Explaining Ibn Taymiyya's approach to issue ''fatwas'', his student [[Al-Dhahabi]] writes: <blockquote>"He was well informed of the legal views of the [Prophet's] [[Companions of the Prophet|companions]] and their [[Tabi'un|followers]], and he rarely talked about a subject without quoting the four schools of the imams. Yet, he contradicted the four schools in well-known matters about which he wrote and for which provided arguments from the Koran and the Sunna. He has compiled a work entitled ''Politics According to Divine Law for Establishing Order for Sovereign and Subjects'' and a book [called] ''Removing the Reproach from the Learned Imams''.... For some years now he has not issued ''fatwas'' (legal opinions) according to a specific school, rather he bases these on the proof he has ascertained himself. He supported the pure [[Sunnah|Sunna]] and the way of [[Salafiya]]h".<ref>{{Cite book |last=G. Rabil |first=Robert |title=Salafism in Lebanon: From Apoliticism to Transnational Jihadism |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-62616-116-0 |location=Washington, DC, USA |pages=27 |chapter=1: The Creed, Ideology, and Manhaj (Methodology) of Salafism: A Historical and Contemporaneous Framework}}</ref></blockquote>