A fatwa is a juristic ruling, not a death contract

Evidence

Issuing a fatwa¯ is not, as is sometimes thought, the Muslim equivalent of the American term “putting out a contract.” A fatwa¯ is a juristic ruling—the equivalent of the Roman Responsa or Rabbinical Teshuvot, providing an answer to a question on a point of law. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 580

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the common misconception that a fatwa equals a murder contract; defines it as a juristic ruling analogous to Responsa.
• XREF: Connects to the fatwa on Rushdie and Western misreadings of Islamic jurisprudence — echoes Rushdie’s own framing of the affair.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 580