Kota Kinabalu: The State Legislative Assembly here passed a Bill to amend the Fatwa Enactment 2004 so that issuance of fatwas (religious decrees) can be administered more neatly and orderly.
The majority of the members supported and agreed to the amended enactment which is cited as the Fatwa (Amendment) Enactment 2023. The Enactment comes into effect on Dec 31, 2023 and will involve the State Government in extra financial expenditure, the amount of which cannot at present be ascertained.
State Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Dr Mohd Arifin bin Mohd Arif, who is also the State Exco of Islamic Affairs, tabled the Bill, and said the Fatwa Enactment (Amendment) Bill 2023 was drafted with the aim of including the definition of “Ahli Sunnah Waljama’ah” as a control of mufti practices in the State.
He said Section 2 of the principal Enactment is amended to insert the “Ahli Sunnah Waljama’ah” means the majority of the Muslim who adhere to the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah (Sunnah is the Arabic term for the Prophet Muhammad’s way of life) and who holds to:-
(a) Aqidah (Islamic theology) and Tauhid (Islamic faith on Allah SWT as the only one) of Imam Abu Hassan al-Ash’ari and Imam Mansur al-Maturidi;
(b) Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence/deep understanding of Islamic Law) and Syariah of Mazhab Shafie and also of Mazhab Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali and other qualified scholar views, (Mazhab means a school of thought within fiqh), and
(c) Tasawwuf of manhaj of qualified sufi such as Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi and Imam al-Ghazali. (Sufi – Muslims who practice focuses on the renunciation of worldly things, purification of the soul and the mystical contemplation of God’s nature), Tasawwuf – becoming a sufi, manhaj means method, path or systematic method of upholding Aqidah and performing deed).
He said the Bill also aims to replace the definition of “National Fatwa Committee” with “Muzakarah Committee” in accordance with regulation 7 of Regulations of the National Council for Malaysian Islamic Religious Affairs 2022.
Apart from that, Dr Mohd Arifin said it aims to streamline some provisions by amending matters related to the appointment of the Mufti and Deputy Mufti, amending to increase the number of members of the State Fatwa Council from 12 people to 13 who have expertise to both help issue legal views and improve fatwa making procedure.
It is also intended to include new provisions on matters that cause vacancies for the posts of Mufti and Deputy Mufti, including the Mufti’s authority to issue fatwas for the purpose of maslahah (common good/public interest).
“This Bill involves amendments to eight Clauses only. As usual, Clause 1 of this Bill provides for the short title and commencement of the Bill.
“Clause 2 seeks to amend the Fatwa Enactment 2004 [No.7 of 2004] (hereinafter referred to as the “Enactment”) by replacing any of the words ‘National Fatwa Committee’ in the Enactment with ‘Muzakarah Committee’.
“Clause 3 seeks to amend Section 2 of the Enactment to insert new definitions and amend the definitions of certain terms used in the Enactment.
“Clause 4 aims to amend section 4 of the Enactment to improve the provisions on the appointment of the Mufti and Deputy Mufti,” Dr Mohd Arifin said.
While Clause 5, he said, aims to include new section 4A to provide for the vacancy of Mufti and Deputy Mufti.
“The office of Mufti and Deputy Mufti shall be vacated if he dies, becomes a bankrupt, unsound mind or incapable to perform his duties, failed to attend the meeting of State Fatwa Council for three consecutive times without approval from the Sabah’s Governor, has acted against the interest of the State, not in Malaysia for more than three consecutive months without written approval from the Sabah’s Governor, his resignation is accepted by the Sabah’s Governor and revoked by the Sabah’s Governor, among others.
“Clause 6 aims to amend Section 6 of the Enactment to amend the membership of the State Fatwa Council and to provide for the Deputy Mufti to preside over Council meetings during the Mufti’s absence.
“Clause 7 aims to amend Section 8 of the Enactment to improve the procedure in making fatwas and Clause 8 aims to include a new section 8A to provide for the authority of the Mufti to issue fatwas for the purposes of Maslahah,” he said.
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