fatwa

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).^[1]

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.^[1]

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).^[1]

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

The verb is derived from the noun.

• 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

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.

      • 2021 October 4, Reuters, “Lars Vilks, Swedish cartoonist who depicted Mohammed, killed in car crash”, in CNN‎^[1]:

        In 2015, one person was killed in Copenhagen at a meeting meant to mark the 25th anniversary of an Iranian fatwa against British writer Salman Rushdie, which Vilks attended.

   3. (by extension, loosely, proscribed) 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.

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

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^[2], New York, N.Y.: Penske Media Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 June 2024:

     '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.

• fatwa on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “fatwa”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “fatwa” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025.
• “fatwa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “fatwa”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• tawaf

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈfæd̥ʋa]

fatwa c

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

• mufti

Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”)

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

fatwa

1. (Islam) fatwa

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

• IPA^(key): /fa.twa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

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

• mufti

• petuah

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat.wa/

fatwa (plural fatwa-fatwa)

1. fatwa (legal opinion issued by a mufti)

   Synonym: petuah

2. (figurative) advice from elder or pious people

• mufti

• “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.

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

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

fatwa f (invariable)

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

• muftì

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈfat.wa/

fatwa (Jawi spelling فتوى, plural fatwa-fatwa)

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

• memfatwakan
• mufti

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

Borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfa.tfa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -atfa
• Syllabification: fa‧twa

fatwa f

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

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

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

1. alternative spelling of fátua

fatwa f (plural fatwas)

1. alternative spelling of fatua