noun
- an Islamic religious decree issued by the ʿulama.
noun
- a non-binding judgment on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized religious authority
1620s, from Arabic fetwa “a decision given by a mufti,” related to fata “to instruct by a legal decision.” Popularized 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a ruling sentencing author Salman Rushdie to death for publishing “The Satanic Verses” (1988). It was lifted 1998.