Noticeable In The Fataawaa

There is a pattern noticeable in the edicts given on various issues of importance. All these opinions expressed in the form of fataawaa sound retrospective to me. These fataawaa almost invariably deal only with an existing situation – many a times quite belatedly. There is a marked difference here from the Fiqh literature that we have available to us from the prominent jurists.

The earlier jurists used to visualize a possible situation in future and give a solution to problems which did not even exist. They were hypothesizing. This aspect is so striking that it will not escape the notice of anyone who has seen any of those works. It shows a highly progressive outlook towards life and considerable dynamism in Fiqh literature.

This is in stark contrast with the current situation. You name a fatwaa and it will be obvious that it is issued after the situation has already existed and for quite some time.

Again, I will argue that we should not only see what is happening. What is not happening is of much more importance and we need to notice that, too. As otherwise, the process of development will be stalled and we will not be realizing what we are missing out upon.

Hence, next time when we come across a fatwaa we should ask ourselves if this fatwaa is futuristic in nature or it is only retrospective.