The service was one of the first online fatwa services, if not the first. The launching of IslamQA.info in 1997 by Muhammad Al-Munajjid marked the beginning of an attempt to answer questions according to the Salafi school's interpretation of the Quran and Hadith. The website states that "All questions and answers on this site have been prepared, approved, revised, edited, amended or annotated by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, the supervisor of this site."
The fatwas on the website have been noted in news sources.
Homosexuality
Al-Munajjid published a fatwa on homosexuality, which he called "one of the greatest crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds".
Houri
IslamQA has responded to a question, "Will men in Paradise have intercourse with al-hoor aliyn?" The IslamQA answer given, quoting Islamic hadiths and scholars, is "yes". This answer has been criticized by Agoravox which has said this could encourage those who, "think that if they die and go to heaven they will have superb apparently virgin women .. who will wait for them to live an eternity of happiness".
Slavery
One of IslamQA's fatwas on slavery — specifically of men having sex with female slaves — has been noted in the media as one of many similar fatwas published by Islamic scholars on the role of women in Islam. The fatwa was quoted stating that a Muslim wife "has no right to object to her husband owning female slaves or to his having intercourse with them The scholars are unanimous in this assessment, and no one is permitted to view this act as forbidden, or to forbid it. Whoever does so is a sinner, and is acting against the consensus of the scholars."
Women
The fact-checking website Punditfact mentioned Al-Munajjid's justification for why women should not drive, as published on IslamQA.info, when deciding the factual accuracy of the claim that Saudi Arabia was the only Muslim-majority nation that did not allow women to drive. The fatwa was quoted saying: "It is well known that leads to evil consequences which are well known to those who promote it, such as being alone with a non-mahram woman, unveiling, reckless mixing with men, and committing haraam actions because of which these things were forbidden." The article has been removed from the website. The ban on driving in Saudi Arabia has been lifted.
Controversy in Saudi Arabia
The website was banned in Saudi Arabia because it was issuing independent fatwas. In Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's Council of Senior Scholars has sole responsibility for issuing fatwas. The Council was granted this exclusive authority to issue fatwas by a royal edict issued in August 2010 ; this move was described by Christopher Boucek as "the latest example of how the state is working to assert its primacy over the country’s religious establishment."
