Research Design Based on Fatwa Making Process: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The Fatwa making process is a process used by an Islamic mufti (A Muslim legal expert) to issue a non-binding opinion or fatwa (judicial pronouncement in Islam) on the point of Islamic sharia law when a question is raised by a mustafti (The person who asks a mufti for a fatwa), the person who has asked for a fatwa. The mufti will issue the fatwa through four fatwa-making stages, which are al-taswir (problem description), al-takyif (adaptation), al-hukm (legal explanation) and al-ifta' (fatwa determination). This process is intended to ensure the fatwa issued is accurate and appropriate. The research design is defined as a logical action plan, and it functions as a planning framework that involves all processes holistically to achieve the objectives of the study. This study explored the appropriateness of the fatwa making process in research design, the purposes, steps, and resources of the research design based on the fatwa-making process and why it is not used to conduct Islamic-related researches. The two main objectives of the study was to identify the fatwa-making process, and to analyse the research design based on the fatwa-making process. In order to achieve these objectives, the qualitative study adopted document analysis and content analysis methods. The research found that the fatwa-making process possessed detailed steps that resembled research design and was more appropriate in conducting Islamic-related research based on the purposes, actions, and resources of research designs based on the fatwa-making process.