fatwa

[faht-wah]

noun

an Islamic religious decree issued by the ʿulama.

Origin of fatwa

First recorded in 1985–90, fatwa is from the Arabic word fatwā

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fatwa

Contemporary Examples of fatwa

Such communications are allowed only in cases of necessity, the fatwa says.
Egypt’s Fatwa Against Tinder: Clerics Ban Online Chatting
Nina Strochlic
September 3, 2014
Unfortunately, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh and his colleagues who issued the fatwa against The 99 fit that description.
Saudi Arabia’s Comic Book Fatwa
Christopher Dickey
March 28, 2014
His corpse, which was subsequently dumped in the Bosphorus, had a fatwa pinned to it.
Poet and Rake, Lord Byron Was Also an Interventionist With Brains and Savvy
Michael Weiss
February 16, 2014
Some have even suggested a fatwa should be placed on him while others have threatened they would be “glad to cut your neck off”.
British Candidate Receives Death Threats for Tweeting Prophet Mohammed Cartoon
The Telegraph
January 23, 2014
According to the Iranian government, the failure of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie.
Salman Rushdie’s New Nightmare: Bounty Upped Amid Mideast Protests
Omid Memarian
September 18, 2012

Historical Examples of fatwa

The fatwa of a Muhammadan law officer should be dispensed with in such cases.
Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official
William Sleeman

British Dictionary definitions for fatwa

fatwa

fatwah

noun

a non-binding judgment on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized religious authority

Word Origin for fatwa

Arabic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fatwa

1620s, from Arabic fetwa "a decision given by a mufti," related to fata "to instruct by a legal decision." Popularized 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a ruling sentencing author Salman Rushdie to death for publishing "The Satanic Verses" (1988). It was lifted 1998.