noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfætwɑː/
Received-Pronunciation:/-wə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈfætwɑ/
General-American:/ˈfɑt-/
General-American:/ˈfət-/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfætɑːwɑː/
General-American:/ˈfætɑwɑ/
General-American:/-wə/
CMU ARPABET:F AA1 T W AA0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A formal legal decree, opinion, or ruling issued by a mufti or other Islamic judicial authority.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion
Examples
The website contains fatwas on points of Islamic law that arise in court cases.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A decree issued by a mufti or other Islamic judicial authority that a person should be put to death, usually as punishment for committing apostasy or blasphemy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, proscribed
Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A formal decree or ruling, or statement, issued by an authority of a religion other than Islam.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Topics: lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An emphatic decree or opinion, especially one which condemns or criticizes.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To issue a fatwa (noun sense 1) against (someone); specifically (loosely, erroneous), a fatwa imposing a ban or a death sentence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rare, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: opinion, ruling
History
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā, “formal legal opinion”), the verbal noun of أَفْتَى (ʔaftā, “to deliver a formal opinion”) (whence مُفْتٍ (muftin, “mufti”), the active participle of the same verb: see mufti). The forms fetwa, fetwah are derived from Italian fetfà (obsolete), and directly from its etymon Ottoman Turkish فتوی (fetva) (modern Turkish fetva), from Arabic فَتْوَى (fatwā): see above. Modern uses of noun sense 1.2 (“decree that a person should be put to death”) and the corresponding verb sense are probably influenced by the issuance of a fatwa on 14 February 1989 by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902 – 1989), the Supreme Leader of Iran, calling for the British-American author Salman Rushdie (born 1947) and his publishers to be put to death for alleged blasphemy in his novel The Satanic Verses (1988). The plural form fatawa is borrowed from Arabic فَتَاوَى (fatāwā). The verb is derived from the noun.
Across languages
Translations
60 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Albanian:
fetva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Arabic:
فَتْوَى
(fatwā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Azerbaijani:
fitva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Bashkir:
фәтүә
(fətwə)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Bengali:
ফতোয়া
(photōẇa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Chinese Mandarin:
法特瓦
(fǎtéwǎ)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Czech:
fatva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Danish:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Dutch:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Estonian:
fatvaa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Finnish:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
French:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
German:
Fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Greek:
φετφάς
(fetfás)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Greek:
φετβάς
(fetvás)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Greek:
φάτουα
(fátoua)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Hebrew:
פַתְוָה
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Hebrew:
פתווה
(fatvá)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Hindi:
फ़तवा
(fatvā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Hindi:
फतवा
(phatvā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Hungarian:
fetva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Indonesian:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Italian:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Japanese:
ファトワー
(fatowā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Kazakh:
пәтуа
(pätua)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Korean:
파트와
(pateuwa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Kumyk:
патва
(patwa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Central Kurdish:
فەتوا
(fetwa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Kyrgyz:
фатва
(fatva)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Macedonian:
фа́тва
(fátva)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Malay:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Malay:
petua
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Marathi:
फतवा
(phatvā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Pashto:
فتوى
(fetwā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Iranian Persian:
فَتْوا
(fatvâ)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Polish:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Portuguese:
fátua
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Russian:
фе́тва
(fétva)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Russian:
фетва́
(fetvá)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Russian:
фа́тва
(fátva)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Russian:
фатва́
(fatvá)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Serbo-Croatian:
фе̏тва
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Serbo-Croatian:
фа̏тва
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Serbo-Croatian:
fȅtva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Serbo-Croatian:
fȁtva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Spanish:
fetua
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Spanish:
fatua
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Spanish:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Swedish:
fatwa
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Tajik:
фатво
(fatvo)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Tatar:
фәтва
(fätwa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Turkish:
fetva
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Ottoman Turkish:
فتوی
(fetva)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Urdu:
فَتْویٰ
(fatvā)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Uyghur:
پەتىۋا
(petiwa)
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Uzbek:
fatvo
— formal ruling issued by an Islamic judicial authority
Finnish:
fatwa
— loosely: similar ruling issued by an authority of a religion other than Islam
Finnish:
julistaa fatwa
— to issue a fatwa against (someone)
Finnish:
antaa fatwa
— to issue a fatwa against (someone)
