Unofficial fatwas 'should be avoided'



ABU DHABI // Imams will call on Muslims to shun unauthorised fatwas in today's sermon in an effort to curb fundamentalism and rigidity in religion. The sermon advocates moderate interpretations of Islamic law, stressing that issuing fatwas, or religious edicts, is a "big responsibility". The General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, the government body that distributes the Friday sermon to the vast majority of the country's mosques, issues the edicts through its fatwa centre.

Dubai's Department of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, which answers to the federal authority, also has a fatwa service, as does the Ministry of Justice. "Issuing fatwas is a great trusteeship and big responsibility," the sermon says. "It is forbidden for someone to take on fatwas without complete knowledge of it." It is essential for Muslims to seek a path of "mercy, facilitation, centralism and moderation" in religious edicts, the sermon says.

It cites a number of hadiths, or sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, and Quranic verses urging restraint in issuing fatwas and declaring things halal (lawful) or haram (unlawful) without complete knowledge. In one hadith, the Prophet Mohammed says: "Those among you who are most daring on passing fatwas are the most daring on Hell." It warns that even the Prophet's companions shied away from making religious judgements if they felt that their knowledge was limited.

"We wonder at those who dare to issue fatwas without knowledge in these times, so it is required of every Muslim eager to know his religion to ask the ulama [religious scholars] and specialists, and not seek others who pretend to have knowledge," the sermon says. Preachers will direct worshippers to seek out the authority's fatwa centre, which aims to "tune the fatwa to the correct legal approach" and "spread correct understanding" of religious law through its network of specialised ulama.

In April, the authority said it received about 1,500 calls a day asking for religious opinions. Dubai's Islamic Affairs Department said it issued more than 27,000 fatwas in the first half of the year. newsdesk@thenational.ae

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

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Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
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MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs

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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

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  • Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
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