No Mufti In Perak / Tiada Mufti Di Perak. Do We Need Muftis?

 

HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah the Sultan of Perak

It has been almost 10 months since the last Mufti of Perak died. He had been the Mufti of Perak for 36 years. The reason he lasted that long (according to legend) is that the previous Sultan of Perak HRH Sultan Azlan Shah had "appointed" that previous Mufti for life. 

The word 'mufti' is rooted in the arabic word 'f-t-y' which means an opinion, a thought, a view (It also refers to youth, newness). 

• An opinion is called a fatwa. 
• The person giving an opinion is a mufti.
• The person who asks for an opinion is a mustafti. 
• The act of giving opinions is called iftā. 

Hence a mufti is a person with an opinion or a view. Anyone can have an opinion on anything.   For example the following from the Quran :

Sura 37:149 "Now ask them their opinion (fa'istafti-him) 'Does thy Lord have daughters, while they have sons'?

Back to Perak, since the death of the last mufti 10 months ago no new mufti has been appointed. 

And here is the story - it does not seem that HRH the Sultan of Perak is in any hurry to appoint another Mufti.  Talk is the Sultan does have capable people who are advising him on religious matters in the State. Plus the entire Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Perak is also at the Sultan's disposal.

May I congratulate His Royal Highness the Sultan on his wisdom in ruling over Perak - tanahair ku, where I was born and raised. Daulat Tuanku.

So do we need Muftis? The official person and role of a Mufti is simply an exercise in 'men-jabatankan agama'  or 'bureaucratising religion'.

The opinion of a Mufti does not constitute religious law. In Pakistan you can attend a two year course of study at numerous religious schools (some without water or electricity) after which they will award you a 'Mufti' certificate. You can then call yourself a certified "mufti". But that does not give you the right to make new religious laws.

But that is not the case in Malaysia. In Malaysia religion is under the jurisdiction of the States - under the Sultans and Rulers. Religion is defined by the political boundaries of the State.  Technically the Sultan has the final say on any religious matter within his State - including making religious rulings which become part of religious laws within his State. 

Once gazetted, any breach of a fatwa is a criminal offence punishable by fines, whipping and jail terms. But not always. In Selangor, Kedah and Perlis a fatwa was gazetted  that made smoking haram and a religious offence (since 1995). But so many people smoke in those States and no one has been punished yet.

The administrative mechanism by which such religious rulings are transformed into State laws is the Pejabat Mufti or Mufti's Office. It is the Pejabat Mufti which usually floats some new religious ruling, which are  then presented to the State Legislature for its approval. Once approved and gazetted it becomes part of State Law.

The Mufti may also come up with his own opinions or fatwas on certain issues which still have to go through the same process - consent of the Ruler, approval by the State Legislature and publishing in the official State gazette.

Since the Mufti is appointed at the sole discretion of the Sultan, the pejabat Mufti therefore carries the force of a Royal appointment.

So do we need Muftis? No we do not. Let me explain.  Perak has functioned quite well for 10 months now without a mufti.

The reason being religious matters in a State are under the jurisdiction of the Sultan and the Rulers. 

The Pejabat Mufti is merely a Penjawat Awam or Civil Service appointment. The Mufti is  a Penjawat Awam - a Civil Servant with a salary, and usually appointed on a contract basis - for three years at a time.  There is no such thing as a Mufti must be appointed for life.

What is needed for administrative purposes is a Jabatan or a Pejabat Agama. The person of the Mufti himself is changeable at the end of his contract period. 

In the past and present some Muftis have become embroiled in controversial issues as well. Some Muftis have assumed an unofficial 'status' that sometimes becomes larger than their official status. Often the public perception is that religious matters in a State are indeed under the purview of the Mufti. The long tenures at the Mufti's office seems to encourage this line of thinking. Religion is under the sole jurisdiction of the Sultans.

Akhirul kalam, to digress, here is something from Perak in the 1950s. The following is a picture of the Perak Council of State in 1951 which was appointed by HRH Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah, the Sultan of Perak. Among the State Councillors was my maternal grandfather Mr ST Seenikatty who is in the picture.

Below : A close up of my grandfather receiving his Appointment as State Councillor from HRH Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah (1951).