Mufti Muhammad Taha Karaan (RA) on Using Non-Fiqh Works in Fatwa

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Question

As salamu ‘alaykum,

Can non-fiqhi works be used for fatwa? (Like, Fath al-Bari of Ibn Hajar, Suyuti’s commentary on Nasa’i, the tafasir literature, etc.) If they cannot be used as a source of fatwa in the madhhab, then can they be used to establish an ikhtiyar of a particular scholar?

Mufti Taha’s Answer

Wa `alaykum as-salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuh

To establish an ikhtiyar, most certainly.

As for their use in fatwa purposes, I can think of 3 different scenarios:

1. Where there is convergence between fiqhi and non-fiqhi works. In this case citing non-fiqh works would be acceptable in the sense that they merely reflect what is established in the regular fiqh sources.
2. Where there is conflict between fiqhi and non-fiqhi works. In this case fatwa may only be given from the proper fiqhi works.
3. Where the non-fiqhi works contain a point on which the regular fiqh works are silent. In this case the non-fiqhi source may be used for fatwa purposes without compunction.