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The Oran fatwa was a ''
responsum ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
''
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
, or an Islamic legal opinion, issued in 1502 to address the crisis that occurred when
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
in the
Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
(in Spain) were forced to convert to Christianity in 15001502. The fatwa sets out detailed relaxations of the
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
(Islamic law) requirements, allowing the Muslims to conform outwardly to Christianity and perform acts that are ordinarily forbidden in Islamic law, when necessary to survive. It includes relaxed instructions for fulfilling the ritual prayers, the ritual charity, and the ritual ablution, and recommendations when obliged to violate Islamic law, such as worshipping as Christians, committing
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
, and consuming pork and wine. The fatwa enjoyed wide currency among Muslims and
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
s (Muslims nominally converted to Christianity and their descendants) in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, and one of the surviving
aljamiado ''Aljamiado'' (; ; ar, عَجَمِيَة trans. ''ʿajamiyah'' ) or ''Aljamía'' texts are manuscripts that use the Arabic script for transcribing European languages, especially Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Aragonese, Portuguese, Sp ...
translations was dated at 1564, 60years after the original fatwa. The fatwa has been described as the "key
theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
document" to understand the practice of Spanish Muslims following the
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
up to the
expulsion of the Moriscos The Expulsion of the Moriscos ( es, Expulsión de los moriscos) was decreed by King Philip III of Spain on April 9, 1609. The Moriscos were descendants of Spain's Muslim population who had been forced to convert to Christianity. Since the Spani ...
. The author of the fatwa (''mufti'') was
Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah al-Maghrawi al-Wahrani () (died 3 June 1511) was a Maliki scholar of Islamic law, active in the Maghreb (modern day Algeria and Morocco) from the end of the fifteenth century until his death. He was identified as ...
, a North African scholar of Islamic law of the
Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
school. The fatwa was termed the "
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
fatwa" by modern scholars, due to the word "Al-Wahrani" ("of Oran") that appears in the text as part of the author's name. The influence of the fatwa was limited to Spain. Outside the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, the predominant opinion upheld the requirements of Islamic law and required Muslims to emigrate, or even choose
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
, when the orthodox observance of the religion became impossible.


Background

Islam has been present in Spain since the
Umayyad conquest of Hispania The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...
in the eighth century. At the beginning of the twelfth century, the Muslim population in the Iberian Peninsula — called "
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
" by the Muslims — was estimated to number up to 5.5 million, among whom were
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
,
Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...
and indigenous converts. In the next few centuries, as the Christians pushed from the north in a process called ''
reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
'', the Muslim population declined. At the end of the fifteenth century, the ''reconquista'' culminated in the
fall of Granada The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It e ...
, and the total number of Muslims in Spain was estimated to be between 500,000 and 600,000 out of the total Spanish population of 7 to 8 million. Approximately half of the Muslims lived in the former
Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada ( ar, إمارة غرﻧﺎﻃﺔ, Imārat Ġarnāṭah), also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada ( es, Reino Nazarí de Granada), was an Emirate, Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the ...
, the last independent Muslim state in Spain, which had been annexed to the
Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
. About 20,000 Muslims lived in other territories of Castile, and most of the remainder lived in the territories of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
. Prior to the completion of the ''reconquista'', the defeated Muslims were generally given
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
as terms of their surrender. For example, the
Treaty of Granada The Treaty of Granada, also known as the Capitulation of Granada or simply the Capitulations, was signed and ratified on November 25, 1491, between Boabdil, the sultan of Granada, and Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Castile, Leó ...
, which governed the surrender of the emirate, guaranteed a set of rights to the conquered Muslims, including religious tolerance and fair treatment, in return for their capitulation. The increasing occurrences of forced conversion triggered a series of Muslim rebellions in Granada (1499–1501). The rebellions were suppressed, and afterwards the Muslims in Granada were no longer given the rights that had been provided to them by the Treaty of Granada. They were given the choice to remain and accept
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
, to reject baptism and be enslaved or killed, or to be exiled. The option of exile was often not feasible in practice because of the difficulty in uprooting one's family and making the journey to Muslim lands in North Africa, the inability to pay the fee required by the authorities for safe passage, and the general tendency by the authorities to discourage and hinder such an exodus. Some Muslims, especially those living near the southern coast, took the option of exile, but for most, publicly converting to Christianity while secretly continuing to believe and practise Islam was the only available option for surviving as Muslims. The population converted ''en masse'', and by 1501 the entire Muslim population of Granada was nominally converted to Christianity. The apparent success of Granada's forced conversions triggered a series of edicts and proclamations in 1501 and 1502 which effectively put the Muslims elsewhere in Castile to the same fate. These new converts, along with their descendants, were known by Spanish sources as the
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
s. As well as having to accept Christianity and abandon the Islamic faith and rituals, they were also pressured to conform to Christian ways, including by attending church, sending their children to be instructed in the Christian doctrine, and partaking of food and beverages forbidden by Islamic law.


Previous Islamic legal opinions

Prior to the Oran fatwa, the predominant position of Islamic scholars had been that a Muslim could not stay in a country where rulers made proper religious observance impossible. Therefore, a Muslim's obligation was to leave, when they were able to do so. Even before the systematic forcible conversion, religious leaders had argued that Muslims in Christian territory would be subject to direct and indirect pressure, and preached emigration as a way to protect the religion from erosion. Notably, the contemporary North African scholar
Ahmad al-Wansharisi Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Wansharisi ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى الونشريسي, full name: Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī al-Wans̲h̲arīsī or simply known as al-Wansharisi, b. 1430 or 1431 ...
, who was considered the leading authority on the subject of Muslims in Spain, wrote in 1491 that emigrating from Christian to Muslim lands was compulsory in almost all circumstances. Further, Al-Wansharisi urged severe punishment for the Muslims who remained and predicted that they would temporarily dwell in hell in the afterlife.


Authorship

The surviving translations of the fatwa give the name of the author in various slightly different forms. All of them are thought to be derived from the
Arabic name Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/ middle/family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...
Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah al-Maghrawi al-Wahrani, with some adding the name 'Ubaydallah, which might be a pious formula meaning "the little servant of God". The author's
nisba The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **c ...
 — the part of his name that indicates place of origin — ''al-Wahrani'' ("of Oran") refers to the city of
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
( ar, وهران,''Wahran'') in modern-day
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, then part of the Zayyanid
kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijil ...
. Thus, the author is often referred to as "the ''Mufti'' of Oran" and the document is called "the Oran fatwa", even though there appeared to be no indication that the fatwa was issued in Oran or that the author resided or had an official authority in Oran. Devin Stewart, an academic specialist in
Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
, identified the author as Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah al-Maghrawi al-Wahrani (b.unknownd.1511 in
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
), a
Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
jurist who had studied in Oran and
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
and probably issued the fatwa in
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
while a professor of Islamic law there. Al-Wahrani drafted the fatwa in response to a request of legal opinion, in other words, as a ''
responsum ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
'', to Muslim petitioners who wished to learn if they could continue to live in Christian Spain. The recipient of the fatwa is not named. The commonly accepted date of the composition of the fatwa is 1
Rajab Rajab ( ar, رَجَب) is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect" which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is re ...
910AH, as this was the date that appears in most of the surviving manuscripts. This day in the
Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...
corresponds to around 8December 1504. One manuscript added "3May 1563" in addition to 1Rajab 910, which would have been a date conversion error, but both Stewart and the historian L. P. Harvey have suggested that the 1563 date might have been the time of the translation. One other manuscript gives "Rajab909", which was probably a copying error.


Content

The opening of the fatwa displayed sympathy to the Muslims of Spain, who kept their religious faith despite the suffering and risk that this posed them. The ''mufti'' (author of the fatwa) exhorted that they continue to adhere to the religion of Islam and instruct it to their children when the latter reached maturity. The fatwa reaffirmed the obligation of Spanish Muslims to perform the ritual prayers (''salat''), the ritual charity (''zakat''), and the ritual ablution (''
ghusl ( ar, غسل ', ) is an Arabic term to the full-body ritual purification mandatory before the performance of various rituals and prayers, for any adult Muslim after sexual intercourse/ejaculation or completion of the menstrual cycle. The washin ...
''), even if they could not be performed in the correct form. It described the obligation of the ritual prayersnormally performed by standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting in a prescribed sequenceeven if done only by making slight movements. The fatwa also allowed the omission of the prayersnormally performed an obligatory five times a day at prescribed timeswhen they were prevented from doing so, and instructed them to make up the missed prayers at night instead. It also provided instructions for performing the ritual dry ablution (''tayammum'') when ritually pure water was not available, to replace the ritual ablution (''wudu'') that is ordinarily required before performing the ''salat''. When ''tayammum'' was not possible, even making slight pointing motions with hands or face toward clean earth, stone, or tree was acceptable. The fatwa also maintained the Islamic obligation to give the ritual charity (''zakat'')normally calculated and distributed in a specific manner prescribed by the
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
(Islamic law)even if this could only be done by showing generosity to a beggar. It affirmed the obligation of the ritual ablution (''ghusl''), "even though by plunging into the sea". The fatwa permitted Muslims outwardly to participate in Christian rituals and worship, so long as they inwardly considered them to be forbidden. When the Muslims had to prostrate to Christian "idols", they were to internally desire to perform the Islamic prayer, even if not actually facing Mecca, and when they bowed down to the "idols", they were to focus their attention toward
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
. When obliged to commit
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
, such as cursing
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, or accepting
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
as the son of God or
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
as
God's wife God's Wife ( Egyptian ''ḥmt nṯr'') is a title which was often allocated to royal women during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The term indicates an inherited sacral duty, in which the role of "God's Wife" passed from mother to daughter. The r ...
'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''_the_fatwa_instructed_them_to_do_so,_and_to_employ_"whatever_stratagems"_they_could_to_negate_their_meaning_whenever_possible._For_example,_the_fatwa_suggested_mispronouncing_the_name_of_Muhammad,_or_intending_to_curse_someone_else_with_a_similar_name,_when_being_required_to_curse_the_prophet. The_fatwa_also_allowed_Spain's_Muslims_to_consume_
'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''_the_fatwa_instructed_them_to_do_so,_and_to_employ_"whatever_stratagems"_they_could_to_negate_their_meaning_whenever_possible._For_example,_the_fatwa_suggested_mispronouncing_the_name_of_Muhammad,_or_intending_to_curse_someone_else_with_a_similar_name,_when_being_required_to_curse_the_prophet. The_fatwa_also_allowed_Spain's_Muslims_to_consume_alcohol_in_Islam">wine_ Wine_is_an_alcoholic_drink_typically_made_from_fermented_grapes._Yeast_consumes_the__sugar_in_the_grapes_and_converts_it_to_ethanol_and_carbon_dioxide,_releasing_heat_in_the_process._Different_varieties_of_grapes_and__strains_of_yeasts_are_m_...
,_ 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''_the_fatwa_instructed_them_to_do_so,_and_to_employ_"whatever_stratagems"_they_could_to_negate_their_meaning_whenever_possible._For_example,_the_fatwa_suggested_mispronouncing_the_name_of_Muhammad,_or_intending_to_curse_someone_else_with_a_similar_name,_when_being_required_to_curse_the_prophet. The_fatwa_also_allowed_Spain's_Muslims_to_consume_alcohol_in_Islam">wine_ Wine_is_an_alcoholic_drink_typically_made_from_fermented_grapes._Yeast_consumes_the__sugar_in_the_grapes_and_converts_it_to_ethanol_and_carbon_dioxide,_releasing_heat_in_the_process._Different_varieties_of_grapes_and__strains_of_yeasts_are_m_...
,_Religious_restrictions_on_the_consumption_of_pork">pork_ Pork_is_the_culinary_name_for_the__meat_of_the_domestic_pig_(''Sus_domesticus'')._It_is_the_most_commonly_consumed_meat_worldwide,_with_evidence_of_pig_husbandry_dating_back_to_5000 BCE. Pork_is_eaten_both_freshly_cooked_and_preserved;__...
,_and_other_things_normally_forbidden_by_the_sharia,_as_long_as_the_Muslims_did_not_intend_to_take_advantage_of_them_and_rejected_them_in_their_hearts._The_fatwa_reaffirmed_the_permissibility_of_a_Muslim_man_Interfaith_marriage_in_Islam.html" ;"title="Religious_restrictions_on_the_consumption_of_pork.html" "title="alcohol_in_Islam.html" "title="sic">'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'' the fatwa instructed them to do so, and to employ "whatever stratagems" they could to negate their meaning whenever possible. For example, the fatwa suggested mispronouncing the name of Muhammad, or intending to curse someone else with a similar name, when being required to curse the prophet. The fatwa also allowed Spain's Muslims to consume alcohol in Islam">wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
, Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork">pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
, and other things normally forbidden by the sharia, as long as the Muslims did not intend to take advantage of them and rejected them in their hearts. The fatwa reaffirmed the permissibility of a Muslim man Interfaith marriage in Islam">marrying a Christian woman, under the reasoning that both Muslims and Christians were People of the Book. Marriage between a Muslim woman and a Christian man was to be avoided unless under duress, and while doing so the Muslims should "cleave firmly to the belief that that is forbidden". At the end of the fatwa, the author encouraged the Muslims to write to the ''mufti'' about anything else that presented difficulty to them, so that he could give further legal opinions. The fatwa discreetly did not name any specific recipient, and instead designated the persons it was addressed to by "''al-guraba''" (those living abroad) yet near to Allah.


Reactions


Impact in Spain

The fatwa appeared to enjoy wide currency within the Muslim and Morisco community in various kingdoms of Spain, for it was translated and copied as late as 1563 and 1609. The full geographical reach of the text is unknown, but it appeared to be originally addressed to the Muslims (or Moriscos) of Castile as a response to their forced conversions in 1500–1502. After the forced conversion was extended to the Crown of Aragon in the 1520s, the fatwa likely circulated there, too. The opinion formed the basis of the Moriscos' Islamic status and practices for more than a century, until their expulsion in 1609–1614. This led to a non-traditional form of Islam, in which one's internal intention (''
niyya Niyyah (Arabic: نِيَّةٌ, variously transliterated niyyah, niyya , "intention") is an Islamic concept: the intention in one's heart to do an act for the sake of God (Allah). According to Ibn Rajab's ''Commentary on Imam Nawawi's Forty Hadit ...
''), rather than external observation of rituals and laws, was the defining characteristic of one's Islam. Generations of Moriscos were born and died within this religious climate. Hybrid or undefined religious practice featured in many Morisco texts. For example, the works of the Morisco writer known as "the
Young Man of Arévalo The Young Man of Arévalo ( es, el Mancebo de Arévalo) was a Morisco crypto-Muslim author from Arévalo, Castile who was the most productive known Islamic author in Spain during the period after the forced conversion of Muslims there. He travele ...
", written c.1530s described
crypto-Muslim Crypto-Islam is the secret adherence to Islam while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Islam are referred to as "crypto-Muslims." The word has mainly been used in reference to Spanish Muslims and Sicilian Mus ...
s using Christian worship as replacement for regular Islamic rituals, as recommended in the fatwa. The influence of the fatwa was limited to Spain. Outside the Iberian Peninsula, the predominant opinion continued to uphold the unbending requirements of Islamic law and required Muslims to leave any country, or even choose
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
, where approved observance of the religion became impossible.


Scholarly analysis

Modern scholars of Spanish Islamic history stressed the historical importance of the fatwa. Harvey called it "the key theological document" for the study of Spanish Islam following the forced conversions, a description which Stewart repeated. Mercedes García-Arenal and Fernando Rodríguez Mediano, historians of Spain and Western Muslims, described the fatwa as "famous" and called it "one of the most important theological texts of later Spanish Islam". Spanish literature scholar María del Mar Rosa-Rodríguez considered the fatwa important because it officially documented "the existence of religiosities that do not depend on traditional ritual practice". Harvey and Stewart said that the fatwa was a departure from the previous legal opinions among Islamic scholars, which typically emphasised the obligation to emigrate from any country where proper religious observance was not possible. Notably, the Maliki scholar al-Wansharisi, the leading living authority on the issue, was among the proponents of this view. Stewart contended that, while the fatwa's text did not mention any opponent, it was intended as a rebuke against the views of al-Wansharisi. Recipients of this fatwa would be able to stay put, outwardly conforming to Christianity and not see themselves as abandoning their faith. The fatwa addressed the recipient as "''al-guraba''", a word that means "outsiders" or "those living abroad", but this word also appears in several
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
s (sayings of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
) and evokes a spiritual meaning of heroic Muslims loyal to their faith in spite of great suffering. The sympathy shown by the author, as well as his acknowledgement of the Muslims' loyalty and suffering, is in contrast with the predominant opinion such as al-Wansharisi's which saw them unfavourably. Harvey did not consider the fatwa as a permanent and universal relaxation of the sharia; instead, the sender and the recipients of the fatwa must have seen its provisions as temporary expedients under extraordinary circumstances intended to help the Muslims of Spain through the crisis. The fatwa began by affirming in orthodox terms the obligations of all Muslims, and ended by expressing hopes that Islam may again be practised openly without ordeals, tribulations and fear. The ''mufti'' and many Moriscos expected or hoped that the crisis to end at some not-too-distant time. Rosa-Rodriguez noted that the fatwa stated a hope that the "Noble Turks" would soon intervene and end the religious persecution in Spain, a reference to the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
's growing power in the Mediterranean at the time. This hope did not materialise, and the religious persecution in Spain continued, causing the fatwa's recommendations to become the normal way of practicing Islam for generations. Harvey also noted that the fatwa covered a wide range of Islamic religious duties, while usually a ''responsum'' fatwa only addresses a specific enquiry on a difficult point of detail. The fatwa also went into specific practical challenges faced by Muslims in Spain, such as the pressure to curse Muhammad, eat pork, drink wine, and intermarry with the Christians. This suggests that the author had some knowledge of what life under Christian rule was like.


In popular culture

Amin Maalouf Amin Maalouf (; ar, أمين معلوف; born 25 February 1949) is a Lebanese-born French"Amin ...
's 1986 novel ''
Leo Africanus Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...
'' features a fictionalised version of the fatwa. In the novel, Muslim exiles from Granada and the local
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
(Islamic scholars) held meetings in Fez to provide counsel to the Muslims in Granada, who sent letters describing their persecution and their dilemma. Amid the meetings, the protagonist of the novel witnessed the "man from Oran" delivering a speech similar in content to the Oran fatwa.


Surviving manuscripts

As of 2006, there are four known surviving manuscripts containing the fatwa. One of them is an Arabic copy, discovered by Muhammad Abdullah 'Inan in the Vatican in 1951 and kept in the Borgiano collection of the
Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
. The other three were translations to Spanish written in the Arabic script (''aljamiado''). One of them was kept in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and one in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Spain. The third ''aljamiado'' translation used to be in Madrid, but its location is currently unknown. Since the discovery, the texts have been transcribed or translated into modern
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. Historian L. P. Harvey provides a near-complete English translation in his book ''Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1615''.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

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External links


A near-complete English translation of the fatwa
in {{authority control Fatwas 1504 works Islam in Spain 16th-century Islam 16th century in Spain Moriscos Crypto-Islam Sicily