fetwa فتوى
Moroccan Darija · noun
“fetwa” (فتوى) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning religious legal opinion.
Meanings
- religious legal opinion
- unqualified opinion (ironic)
Usage
Fetwa first means the opinion given by a religious scholar on a question of Islamic law. In darija it is used as in Modern Standard Arabic, for example in discussions about what is permitted or forbidden. In colloquial speech it is also used ironically for someone who pronounces on a subject without being qualified: ma tʿṭinich fetwa, "don't lecture me". The plural is fatawi or fatawa. The related verb, fta, means "to give an opinion". In a formal register, the pronunciation moves closer to fatwa.
Example
سول شي فقيه يعطيك فتوى.
swel chi fqih y3tik fetwa.
“Ask some religious scholar to give you a ruling.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fetwa” but also “fatwa”, “ftwa” and “fatoua”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.