Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta


The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta is an Islamic organization in Saudi Arabia established by the King that issues rulings in Islamic jurisprudence and prepares research papers for the Council of Senior Scholars, which advises the king on religious matters. Its members are drawn from the Council of Senior Scholars, of which it is a committee, and consist of the most senior Sunni scholars of fiqh in Saudi Arabia, including the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia as its head. The issuance of fataawa in Saudi Arabia is limited to members of the Council of Senior Scholars and a few other clerics.

Establishment

The committee was established along with the Council of Senior Scholars by royal decree on August 29, 1971 by King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz of Saudi Arabia. Under section four of the decree, it stated,
“The Permanent Committee has been left the task of selecting its members from amongst the members of the Council in accordance with the Royal Decree. Its aim is to prepare research papers ready for discussion amongst the Council, and issue fataawa on individual issues. This is by responding to the fatwa-seeking public in areas of 'aqeedah, 'ibaadah and social issues. It will be called: The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fataawa ”

It is possible to write to the Permanent Committee asking for a fatwa on a specific topic. Since its inception, the Permanent Committee has replied to Muslims not only in Saudi Arabia but in many other countries, seeking rulings in Fiqh on a variety of questions, including Hadith, Ibadah, and Aqeedah issues.
In their fataawa, the Permanent Committee strive for thoroughness. All fataawa are derived from evidence from the three sources of Islamic knowledge: the Qur'an, authentic Sunnah, and understanding of the rightly guided companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The fataawa writers will usually explain all the potential Islamic viewpoints of an issue and will then explain, which in their view is the most authentic opinion based on the evidence. The fatwas issued by the committee have been arranged in a compendium of 32 volumes.

Authority

In 2010, Saudi King Abdullah decreed that only officially approved religious scholars would be allowed to issue fatwas in Saudi Arabia, namely the 21 member Council of Senior Scholars, the country's highest religious body, and the member Permanent Committee, whose members are drawn from the Council of Senior Scholars.
A new committee affiliated with the Permanent Committee and headed by one Saleh bin Mohammed al-Luhaydan was created by the Council of Senior Scholars to supervise the issuance of fatwas and prevent unauthorized scholars from issuing any. All imams and preachers were instructed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to abide by the edict and explain it their Friday sermons and violators were reprimanded.

Members

Current

As of early 2014 the members of the committee include