JEDDAH, 7 October 2007 — The Presidency for Scientific Research and Religious Edicts (Dar Al-Ifta), the Riyadh-based organization comprising prominent Islamic scholars that issues fatwas, has set up a website for its religious rulings. The site (www.alifta.com) provides quick access to the fatwas issued by Dar Al-Ifta, which is affiliated to the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh.
The site features fatwas issued by prominent Islamic scholars and has devoted a section for the fatwas of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, the former mufti who died in 1999.
Visitors to the new website will be able to ask questions on various topics and get replies from well-known scholars.
The launch of the website comes in response to calls for the authentication of religious edicts in Saudi Arabia. Certain radical groups sometimes issue sketchy fatwas urging Muslim youths to take part in jihad. The website is aimed at giving Muslims a place to review authentic and widely accepted fatwas issued by the Islamic authority in the Kingdom.
On the main page of the site, one can find the fatwas of the permanent committee for ifta, fatwas of Sheikh Bin Baz, and of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars as well as the Islamic Research Magazine.
The site also contains some of the Hadiths reported by prominent women followers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) including Khadeeja, Safiya, Zainab, Hafsa, Aisha, Fatma, Asma bint Abibakr, Um Salama and Um Dardaa.
Saudis and expatriates in the Kingdom welcomed the new fatwa website and said it would help the public to receive authentic religious rulings and opinions on various issues.
Mohammed Habeeb, director general of the Dawa Center in Al-Salama district in Jeddah, said Dar Al-Ifta’s site is very informative and would benefit a large number of people worldwide. However, he stressed the need for further developing the site with interactive facilities.
“People have been waiting for this site for quite a long time,” Habeeb told Arab News. “It is a nice website containing religious edicts made by prominent scholars like Bin Baz and Bin-Othaimeen.”
He called upon Dar Al-Ifta to translate the religious rulings into English and other major languages. “There is a multi-language website set up by Egypt’s Al-Azhar. Many foreigners make use of it.”
Saudi Arabia has emphasized the need for the compilation of religious edicts in order to unite Muslims. In a previous statement, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal underscored the important roles that Islamic institutions, such as the Islamic Fiqh Academy, play in protecting Islamic beliefs and ideology.
