: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
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The most famous fatwa was issued by Ibn Taymiyyah, a fierce Sunni jurist of the fourteenth century, who preached a rigid interpretation of the Quran and strict adherence to the cultural habits of the great deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.
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Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Iranian diplomats long have pointed to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran won’t build an atomic bomb.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.
—CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa—a religious decree—calling for Rushdie's death in 1989.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
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Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Iranian diplomats long have pointed to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran won’t build an atomic bomb.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.
—CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa—a religious decree—calling for Rushdie's death in 1989.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fatwa
Cite this Entry
“Fatwa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatwa. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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