Arabic for a formal legal opinion or decision, given by one so qualified, a mufti
This is a legal opinion issued by a qualified Muslim scholar (alim, pl ulama) on matters of religious belief and practice In order to issue a legitimate fatwa one must attain certain rigorous levels of religious and legal prowess Unless someone has the authority to do so, a fatwa is not valid or legitimate (Throughout history, people have posed questions of a religious matter to local scholars for their opinion The fatwa of a scholar is not legally binding and consequently, people often obtained different fatwas from different scholars (like getting a second opinion)