Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Jurnal Fiqh, cilt.22, ss.262-292, 2025 (Scopus)
Fatwa literature represents a vital tradition in Islamic jurisprudence, functioning as a dynamic mechanism of legal reasoning. This paper offers a historical study of fatwa literature, examining how legal reasoning developed from the 4th to the 19th century, with particular emphasis on the Ḥanafī school. Drawing on a range of key classical sources, including Kitāb al-Nawāzil, al-Fatāwā al-Sirājiyya, and Fatāwā Qādīkhān, this study examines how fatwa methodology evolved, emphasizing principles of legal preference (tarjīḥ), hierarchical reasoning, and the ethical and scholarly qualifications expected of a muftī. The study highlights how early jurists formulated structured principles for issuing fatwas, navigated intra-madhhab differences, and balanced doctrinal consistency with responsiveness to social realities. Developments in other Sunni schools are also assessed to provide a broader comparative context. The findings suggest that fatwa literature played a central role in shaping Islamic legal reasoning, offering tools that remain valuable for contemporary jurisprudential challenges. The findings demonstrate that the methodologies, ethical frameworks, and textual hierarchies developed in the classical fatwa tradition continue to offer relevant tools for addressing contemporary issues in Islamic law. As such, the historical assessment presented in this paper contributes not only to our understanding of the legal in the past, but also to the ongoing conversation on how to responsibly engage Islamic legal heritage in the modern world.