A fatwa is individually authored, so a collective pronouncement by four muftis is exceptional.

Evidence

There must remain some doubt about the importance we should attach in the present context of sixteenth-century studies to a text that cannot be shown positively to have circulated at that period in Spain itself (in the way that the Oran fatwa undoubtedly did). The very idea of the four muftis coming together in this way to pronounce on this subject is, to say the least, surprising. (As just stated, a fatwa is an individual scholar’s opinion, not, in premodern times at least, normally the product of a committee.) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 348

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that a fatwa is normally an individual legal opinion, not a collective or committee product.