fatwa

See also: Fatwa and fatwą

English

WOTD – 17 June 2024

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”) (whence مُفْتٍ (muftin, “mufti”), the active participle of the same verb: see mufti).

The forms fetwa, fetwah are derived from Italian fetfà (obsolete), and directly from its etymon Ottoman Turkish فتوی (fetva) (modern Turkish fetva), from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā): see above.

Modern uses of noun sense 1.2 (“decree that a person should be put to death”) and the corresponding verb sense are probably influenced by the issuance of a fatwa on 14 February 1989 by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902 – 1989), the Supreme Leader of Iran, calling for the British-American author Salman Rushdie (born 1947) and his publishers to be put to death for alleged blasphemy in his novel The Satanic Verses (1988).

The plural form fatawa is borrowed from Arabic فَتَاوَى (fatāwā).

The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

• Singular:
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfætwɑː/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfætwɑ/, /ˈfɑt-/, /ˈfət-/
  • Hyphenation: fat‧wa
• Plural (fatawa):
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfætɑːwɑː/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfætɑwɑ/, /ˈfɑt-/, /ˈfət-/
  • Hyphenation: fat‧a‧wa

Noun

fatwa (plural fatwas or (rare) fatawa)

2. (Islam)
   1. A formal legal decree, opinion, or ruling issued by a mufti or other Islamic judicial authority.

      The website contains fatwas on points of Islamic law that arise in court cases.

   3. (by extension, loosely, erroneous) A decree issued by a mufti or other Islamic judicial authority that a person should be put to death, usually as punishment for committing apostasy or blasphemy.
3. (religion, by extension) A formal decree or ruling, or statement, issued by an authority of a religion other than Islam.
4. (figurative, informal) An emphatic decree or opinion, especially one which condemns or criticizes.

Alternative forms

• fetwa, fetwah (archaic)
• fatwah, futwa, futwah (archaic)

Translations

formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority

• Afrikaans: fatwa
• Albanian: fetva f
• Arabic: فَتْوَى f (fatwā)
• Azerbaijani: fitva
• Bashkir: фәтүә (fətwə)
• Bengali: ফতোয়া (bn) (photōẇa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法特瓦 (fǎtéwǎ)

• Czech: fatva (cs) f
• Danish: fatwa c
• Dutch: fatwa (nl) m
• Estonian: fatvaa
• Finnish: fatwa (fi)
• French: fatwa (fr) f
• German: Fatwa (de) f or n
• Greek: φετφάς (el) m (fetfás), φετβάς (el) m (fetvás), φάτουα (el) f (fátoua)
• Hebrew: פַתְוָה / פתווה f (fatvá)
• Hindi: फ़तवा m (fatvā), फतवा (hi) m (phatvā)
• Hungarian: fetva
• Indonesian: fatwa (id)
• Italian: fatwa (it) f
• Japanese: ファトワー (ja) (fatowā)
• Kazakh: пәтуа (pätua)
• Korean: 파트와 (pateuwa)
• Kumyk: патва (patwa)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: فەتوا (fetwa)

• Kyrgyz: фатва (fatva)
• Macedonian: фа́тва f (fátva)
• Malay: fatwa, petua (ms)
• Marathi: फतवा m (phatvā)
• Ottoman Turkish: فتوی (fetva)
• Pashto: فتوى f (fetwã)
• Persian: فتوا (fa) (fatvâ)
• Polish: fatwa (pl) f
• Portuguese: fátua f
• Russian: фе́тва (ru) f (fétva), фетва́ (ru) f (fetvá), фа́тва f (fátva), фатва́ f (fatvá)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фе̏тва f, фа̏тва f

  Roman: fȅtva (sh) f, fȁtva (sh) f

• Spanish: fetua f, fatua (es) f, fatwa f
• Swedish: fatwa (sv) c
• Tajik: фатво (fatvo)
• Tatar: фәтва (tt) (fätwa)
• Turkish: fetva (tr)
• Urdu: فتوی (fatvā)
• Uyghur: پەتىۋا (petiwa)
• Uzbek: fatvo (uz)

loosely: similar ruling issued by an authority of a religion other than Islam

• Finnish: fatwa (fi)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

emphatic decree or opinion, especially one which condemns or criticizes — see condemnation,‎ criticism

Verb

fatwa (third-person singular simple present fatwas, present participle fatwaing, simple past and past participle fatwaed)

1. (transitive, rare) To issue a fatwa (noun sense 1) against (someone); specifically (loosely, erroneous), a fatwa imposing a ban or a death sentence.
   • 1999, Mary Anne Weaver, “Life in the Alleys”, in A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey through the World of Militant Islam, New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 141:

     Unlike many writers and artists, Chahine had not been fatwaed by the militants, but he felt threatened nevertheless.

   • 2002, South Asia Politics, volume 1, New Delhi: Rashtriya Jagriti Sansthan, →OCLC, page 30, column 2:

     One wonders why these terrorists are not fatwaed.

   • 2013 April 15, Katie Van Syckle, “Q&A: Salman Rushdie Talks ‘Midnight’s Children,’ Other Projects”, in Rolling Stone‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: Penske Media Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-06-12:

     'I'm just beginning one,' says famously-fatwaed author of new novel [subtitle]

     An adjective use.

   • 2015, Mohamed Gibril Sesay, “The Youth of Paradise”, in This Side of Nothingness […] (Sierra Leonean Writers Series), Freetown, Sierra Leone: Karantha Publishers, →ISBN, page 186:

     Ask Salman Rushdie. He was fatwaed for linking facts and fiction in ways that the mullahs say they should not be linked.

Translations

to issue a fatwa against (someone)

• Finnish: julistaa fatwa, antaa fatwa
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• fatwa on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “fatwa”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “fatwa” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.
• “fatwa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “fatwa”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• tawaf

Danish

Etymology

From Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfæd̥ʋa]

Noun

fatwa c

1. (Islam) fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

Declension

Declension of fatwa

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fatwa	fatwaen	fatwaer	fatwaerne
genitive	fatwas	fatwaens	fatwaers	fatwaernes

Related terms

• mufti

Finnish

Etymology

Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɑtwɑ/, [ˈfɑ̝t̪wɑ̝]
• IPA^(key): /ˈfɑtʋɑ/, [ˈfɑ̝t̪ʋɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑtwɑ
• Syllabification^(key): fat‧wa

Noun

fatwa

1. (Islam) fatwa

Declension

Inflection of fatwa (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		fatwa	fatwat
genitive		fatwan	fatwojen
partitive		fatwaa	fatwoja
illative		fatwaan	fatwoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		fatwa	fatwat
accusative	nom.	fatwa	fatwat
	gen.	fatwan
genitive		fatwan	fatwojen fatwain rare
partitive		fatwaa	fatwoja
inessive		fatwassa	fatwoissa
elative		fatwasta	fatwoista
illative		fatwaan	fatwoihin
adessive		fatwalla	fatwoilla
ablative		fatwalta	fatwoilta
allative		fatwalle	fatwoille
essive		fatwana	fatwoina
translative		fatwaksi	fatwoiksi
abessive		fatwatta	fatwoitta
instructive		—	fatwoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of fatwa (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative fatwani fatwani accusative nom. fatwani fatwani gen. fatwani genitive fatwani fatwojeni fatwaini rare partitive fatwaani fatwojani inessive fatwassani fatwoissani elative fatwastani fatwoistani illative fatwaani fatwoihini adessive fatwallani fatwoillani ablative fatwaltani fatwoiltani allative fatwalleni fatwoilleni essive fatwanani fatwoinani translative fatwakseni fatwoikseni abessive fatwattani fatwoittani instructive — — comitative — fatwoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative fatwasi fatwasi accusative nom. fatwasi fatwasi gen. fatwasi genitive fatwasi fatwojesi fatwaisi rare partitive fatwaasi fatwojasi inessive fatwassasi fatwoissasi elative fatwastasi fatwoistasi illative fatwaasi fatwoihisi adessive fatwallasi fatwoillasi ablative fatwaltasi fatwoiltasi allative fatwallesi fatwoillesi essive fatwanasi fatwoinasi translative fatwaksesi fatwoiksesi abessive fatwattasi fatwoittasi instructive — — comitative — fatwoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative fatwamme fatwamme accusative nom. fatwamme fatwamme gen. fatwamme genitive fatwamme fatwojemme fatwaimme rare partitive fatwaamme fatwojamme inessive fatwassamme fatwoissamme elative fatwastamme fatwoistamme illative fatwaamme fatwoihimme adessive fatwallamme fatwoillamme ablative fatwaltamme fatwoiltamme allative fatwallemme fatwoillemme essive fatwanamme fatwoinamme translative fatwaksemme fatwoiksemme abessive fatwattamme fatwoittamme instructive — — comitative — fatwoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative fatwanne fatwanne accusative nom. fatwanne fatwanne gen. fatwanne genitive fatwanne fatwojenne fatwainne rare partitive fatwaanne fatwojanne inessive fatwassanne fatwoissanne elative fatwastanne fatwoistanne illative fatwaanne fatwoihinne adessive fatwallanne fatwoillanne ablative fatwaltanne fatwoiltanne allative fatwallenne fatwoillenne essive fatwananne fatwoinanne translative fatwaksenne fatwoiksenne abessive fatwattanne fatwoittanne instructive — — comitative — fatwoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative fatwansa fatwansa accusative nom. fatwansa fatwansa gen. fatwansa genitive fatwansa fatwojensa fatwainsa rare partitive fatwaansa fatwojaan fatwojansa inessive fatwassaan fatwassansa fatwoissaan fatwoissansa elative fatwastaan fatwastansa fatwoistaan fatwoistansa illative fatwaansa fatwoihinsa adessive fatwallaan fatwallansa fatwoillaan fatwoillansa ablative fatwaltaan fatwaltansa fatwoiltaan fatwoiltansa allative fatwalleen fatwallensa fatwoilleen fatwoillensa essive fatwanaan fatwanansa fatwoinaan fatwoinansa translative fatwakseen fatwaksensa fatwoikseen fatwoiksensa abessive fatwattaan fatwattansa fatwoittaan fatwoittansa instructive — — comitative — fatwoineen fatwoinensa

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa.twa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a

Noun

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

1. (Islam) fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

Related terms

• mufti

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• petuah

Etymology

From Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”). Doublet of petuah.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat.wa/

Noun

fatwa (first-person possessive fatwaku, second-person possessive fatwamu, third-person possessive fatwanya)

1. fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

   Synonym: petuah

2. (figurative) advice from elder or pious people

Related terms

• berfatwa
• memfatwakan
• mufti

Further reading

• “fatwa” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfa.twa/
• Rhymes: -atwa

Noun

fatwa f (invariable)

1. (Islam) fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

Related terms

• muftì

Malay

Etymology

From Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”). Doublet of petua.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat.wa/

Noun

fatwa (Jawi spelling فتوى, plural fatwa-fatwa, informal 1st possessive fatwaku, 2nd possessive fatwamu, 3rd possessive fatwanya)

1. (Islam) fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

Related terms

• memfatwakan
• mufti

Further reading

• “fatwa” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat.fa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -atfa
• Syllabification: fat‧wa

Noun

fatwa f

1. (Islam) fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

Declension

Declension of fatwa

	singular	plural
nominative	fatwa	fatwy
genitive	fatwy	fatw
dative	fatwie	fatwom
accusative	fatwę	fatwy
instrumental	fatwą	fatwami
locative	fatwie	fatwach
vocative	fatwo	fatwy

Related terms

noun

• mufti

 

Further reading

• fatwa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• fatwa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.tu.ɐ/ [ˈfa.tʊ.ɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈfa.twɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.tu.ɐ/ [ˈfa.tʊ.ɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈfa.twɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.tu.a/ [ˈfa.tʊ.a], (faster pronunciation) /ˈfa.twa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfa.twɐ/

Noun

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

1. Alternative form of fátua

Spanish

Noun

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

1. Alternative spelling of fatua