Mufti
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- This article is about an Islamic scholar. Mufti can also refer to civilian dress.
A mufti (Arabic: مفتى) is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law (Sharia), capable of issuing fataawa (plural of "fatwa").
[edit] Role of a Mufti in governments
In theocracies like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and in some countries where the constitution is based on sharia law, such as Egypt, the Grand Mufti rules if capital punishment is in accord with Islamic jurisprudence and the sharia and sometimes overrules criminal courts.
[edit] The Authority of the Mufti
An example of the influence of the mufti can be taken from this incident in Tunisia: Habib Bourguiba, the late President of Tunisia once argued in 1961 CE (1381 Muslim Calendar) that "fasting" during Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان ), a Holy month in the Islamic calendar, a lunar calendar and one of the Five Pillars of Islam, should not be observed for it reduces productivity. He then appeared on television with his cabinet, eating and drinking during Ramadan. Bourguiba then asked the Grand Mufti of Tunisia, Sheikh Altaher Ibn Ashoor
(Arabic: الشيخ الطاهر بن عاشور ) to issue a fatwa accommodating the desires of the state. The Grand Mufti of Tunisia went on television and addressed the audience and read sura Al-Baqara:183 (2:183) :
- O you who believe! Observing the fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become the pious.
- Allah (God) said the truth" (Arabic: صدق الله العظيم ), and President Habib Bourguiba lied." Then issued a fatwa that not observing Ramadan is a sin and whoever doesn't observe the fasting has knowingly rejected his well-known religious duty forcibly and added that fasting does not reduce productivity.
