Legal Provisions Regarding the Mufti and Fatwa under the Islamic Religious Administration Enactment (State of Melaka) 2002

1. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on the advice of the State Authority, after consulting the Council, may appoint any person who is qualified and suitable to be the Mufti and Deputy Mufti for the State of Melaka.
2. The appointment of the Mufti and Deputy Mufti shall be published in the Gazette.
3. When this section comes into force, the persons who were Mufti and Deputy Mufti for the State of Melaka immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been appointed under this section as the Mufti and Deputy Mufti for the State of Melaka and shall continue to hold those offices.

The Melaka State Fatwa Committee is established under Section 34 of the Islamic Religious Administration Enactment (State of Melaka) 2002. The Committee shall be composed of not fewer than 7 and not more than 12 persons, consisting of:-

1. The Mufti as Chairman;
2. The Deputy Mufti;
3. Two members of the Council nominated by the Council;
4. Not less than two and not more than seven qualified and suitable persons appointed by the Council;
5. An officer from the Mufti Department appointed by the Council, as Secretary.

The Fatwa Committee shall, at the command of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and may on its own initiative or at the request of any person made by letter addressed to the Mufti, prepare fatwas on any question that is not settled or that raises controversy relating to Islamic law.

1. Before the Fatwa Committee makes any fatwa, the Mufti may cause a study or research to be conducted as he directs and require a paper to be prepared.
2. When the Committee proposes to make a fatwa, the Mufti shall convene a meeting of the Fatwa Committee for the purpose of discussing the proposed fatwa.
3. After a fatwa has been prepared by the Fatwa Committee, the Mufti shall, on behalf of and in the name of the Fatwa Committee, submit the prepared fatwa to the Council.
4. The Council may, after careful consideration of the fatwa, make a recommendation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to obtain his consent for the publication of that notice in the Gazette.
5. A recommendation made shall be accompanied by a memorandum of explanation and comments from the Council if the Council considers such explanation and comments necessary.
6. When the fatwa is approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Council shall inform the State Government of the fatwa and thereafter shall cause the fatwa to be published in the Gazette.
7. Any fatwa published in the Gazette shall be accompanied by a statement that the fatwa was made under this section.
8. A fatwa shall be published in the national language in Roman script, but the text of the fatwa in Jawi script may also be published.
9. Any statement made by the Fatwa Committee shall not be taken as a fatwa unless such statement is published in the Gazette.

1. When published in the Gazette, a fatwa shall bind every Muslim in the State of Melaka as a religious teaching and it shall become a religious duty to obey and adhere to that fatwa, unless he is permitted by Islamic law not to follow the fatwa in any personal matter.
2. A fatwa shall be recognized by all courts in the State of Melaka in respect of all matters stated in it.

1. The Committee may amend, modify or revoke any fatwa that has been published in the Gazette under this Enactment or under a previous Enactment.
2. Any amendment, modification or revocation of a fatwa shall be regarded as a fatwa.

If any court other than a Syariah Court needs to decide any question of Islamic law, that court may request the opinion of the Fatwa Committee on that question, and the Mufti may certify the opinion of the Fatwa Committee to the court which made the request.

1. In issuing any fatwa, or certifying any opinion of the Fatwa Committee, it shall generally follow the qaul muktamad (accepted opinions) of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence.
2. If the Fatwa Committee is of the view that following the qaul muktamad of the Shafi'i school would result in a situation contrary to the public interest, the Fatwa Committee may follow the qaul muktamad of the Hanafi, Maliki or Hanbali schools.
3. If the Fatwa Committee is of the opinion that none of the qaul muktamad of those four schools can be followed without resulting in a situation contrary to the public interest, the Fatwa Committee may make the fatwa based on ijtihad without being bound by the qaul muktamad of any of those four schools.