A fatwa is the opinion of a qualified jurist in response to a question asked, there are

many madrasas today where questions can be sent in and a mufti, a qualified scholar, will

give his juridical opinion on the matter relying on certain sources and employing certain

methodologies. A range of fatwas have been issued around the world regarding the closure of

mosques and prohibition of congregational prayers in light of the Coronavirus. The aim of

this paper is to describe those fatwas and provide a contrast between the sources &

methodologies used.

The Fatwa issued by the UAE Council for Fatwa employed both the sources which

are important for fiqh, Quran and Sunnah. In addition to that, the methodologies used are

reliance on Ijma (scholarly consensus), Qiyas (analogy) , and Istislah. These sources and

methodologies were used to arrive at the position that those who are ill or those who are at

risk of being ill are forbidden from going to the mosque.

The Fatwa issued in North America has evidently only used the Sunnah of the Holy

Prophet (PBUH) as a source. Moreover, the methodologies employed are Ijma (scholarly

consensus), Qiyas (analogous reasoning) and Istislah. Subsequently, the position arrived at

was that mosques should be closed due to the Coronavirus.

The Fatwa issued by Abdullah Abdullah b. Muhammad al-Muhaysini , a Saudi Sunni

scholar, has only used Quranic verses as a source. The methodologies are Ijitihad, Qiyas

(analogous reasoning), and Istihsan. Using these sources and methodologies, he claims that

mosques should not be closed.

The Fatwa issued by the European Council has used both the Quran and Sunnah as

sources. The methodologies used are analogous reasoning and istislah. The position arrived at

is unclear to me rn?????

The Fatwa issued by Grand Ayatullah Sistani, a Shi’i scholar, the sources employed

are unclear. Methadologies used are ijtihad and istihsan.