The Latent Role of Islamic Responsa (Fatwá) in Saudi Legal System During Pre-Codification Period

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 2, 261 - 291, 31.12.2025

Emine Enise Yakar , Zehra Betül Dindaroğlu

https://doi.org/10.12730/is.1773623

Öz

The General Presidency of Scholarly Research Iftāʾ (the Dār al-Iftāʾ) was established as part of the Saudi government’s policies of bureaucratization and institutionalization in 1953. In the absence of a constitutionally binding source of legislation, the Saudi government could consult the Dār al-Iftāʾ to issue a fatwá with the intention of either standardizing a legal ruling or enacting a law. For instance, the fatāwá regarding abduction/usurpation and drugs/alcohol were transformed into a legal regulation that considerably facilitated judges’ (qāḍīs) application of the prescribed penalties. Before starting the codification process, many social regulations and norms (e.g., the segregation of sexes, women’s dress codes, and the legality of forensic autopsies) could also be traced back to the fatāwá issued by the Dār al-Iftāʾ. This article intends to elucidate the complementary role of fatāwá in Saudi society as well as the judicial and legislative system by referring to the fatāwá transformed by royal decrees into legal regulations before the codification period. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the role of the practice of iftāʾ within the Saudi politico-legal area for the precodification period.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Islamic legal opinions (fatwá) , Saudi society , legal procedure , Royal Decree

Anayasallaşma Dönemi Öncesi Suudi Arabistan Yasal Sisteminde Fetvaların Örtük İşlevi

Öz

Suudi Arabistan’da hükümetin bürokratikleşme ve kurumsallaşma politikalarının bir parçası olarak 1953 yılında Dâru'l-İftâ kurulmuştur. Anayasal olarak bağlayıcı bir mevzuat kaynağının bulunmaması nedeniyle Suud hükümeti, bir hükmü standartlaştırmak veya bir yasa çıkarmak amacıyla Dâru'l-İftâ’ya danışarak ondan fetva talep edebilmekteydi. Örneğin, gasp, uyuşturucu ve alkolle ilgili fetvalar, hâkimlere cezaları uygulamada kolaylık sağlayan yasal bir düzenlemeye dönüştürülmüştür. Kanunlaştırma sürecine başlamadan önce, birçok toplumsal düzenleme ve norm (örneğin, cinsiyet ayrımı, kadınların giyim tarzı ve adli otopsinin yasallığı) da Dâru'l-İftâ tarafından verilen fetvalara dayandırılmıştır. Makale, kanunlaştırma döneminden önce Kraliyet Kararnameleri ile yasal düzenlemelere dönüştürülen fetvalara atıfta bulunarak, fetvaların Suud toplumunda, yargı ve yasama sistemindeki tamamlayıcı rolünü ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda kanunlaştırma öncesi dönemde iftâ uygulamasının siyasî-hukukî rolünün ayrıntılı bir analizi sunulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Fetva , Suud toplumu , yasal süreç , Kraliyet Fermanı

Kaynakça

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