FATWA COORDINATION IN MALAYSIA: A LITERATURE REVIEW

coordination. Synthesis analysis carried out has resulted in six (6) themes consisting of factors of inconsistency, impact of inconsistency, importance of coordination, resolution of inconsistencies, minimization of inconsistency and the role of the Muzakarah Committee as the national fatwa institution. Thematic reviews give the advantages of the structured aspects of the discussion to the studies carried out by past surveyors.

Fatwa coordination in Malaysia are non-ending issues due to certain factors whereas debated by many scholars. The issues of noncoordination or inconsistency of fatwa between the State Fatwa Committee and the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs in Malaysia discussed by many reviewers as well as its impact on the community and the fatwa institution itself.Hence, this article aims to highlight past research related to the issue of fatwa coordination in Malaysia.The approach adopted is the method content analysis of past studies. The analysis of this literature uses thematic method approach in understanding selected articles based on random systems and the use of keywords in relation to fatwa coordination. Synthesis analysis carried out has resulted in six (6) themes consisting of factors of inconsistency, impact of inconsistency, importance of coordination, resolution of inconsistencies, minimization of inconsistency and the role of the Muzakarah Committee as the national fatwa institution. Thematic reviews give the advantages of the structured aspects of the discussion to the studies carried out by past surveyors.   The adoption of these different laws has resulted in differences in fatwas in Malaysia as illustrated in Figure 1.2, where there are two (2) different types of fatwas, namely the difference of fatwas that exist between the fatwa institution and the difference of fatwas that exist between the private fatwa itself. (Muhammad Ikhlas Rosele, Luqman Hj Abdullah et al. 2017). This difference is directly presenting the conflict to the community.
The existence of state fatwa committees accompanied by legal provisions specific to religious affairs and Shariah law gives states exclusive authority in any religious affairs in their respective states. This situation also limits the jurisdiction of the National Fatwa Committee or also currently known as Muzakarah Committee of The National Council For Islamic Religious Affairs In Malaysia. Previously, the existence of the National Fatwa Committee was to consider, decide and issue fatwas on any matter referred to by the Council of Rulers or the State Islamic Religious Council or a council member with the purpose of providing advice or recommendations as stipulated in article 14 of muzakarah regulations (Zaini Nasohah 2005). This is reinforced by the current practice that any fatwas decided by the National Muzakarah Committee will be brought to the State Fatwa Committee for discussion and refinement etc. This includes fatwas discussed can be amended, not gazetted, agreed with amendments, agreed without amendment and the like (Ahmad Hidayat Buang 2004, Azman Ab.Rahman 2011, Isa Ansori 2017). This proves that the authority of the National Muzakarah Committee is limited and is one of the factors of the inconsistency of fatwas in Malaysia.
The third factor that leads to the inconsistency of fatwas is the different methodological approaches between the State Fatwa Committee and the National Muzakarah Committee in deciding a fatwa issue. For example, as in the case of AmanahSaham Bumiputera, Abdul Hadi (2014) found that the Selangor State Fatwa Committee uses the alfiqh al-shakli-based 1 approach but theNational Muzakarah Committee uses the Maqasidfiqh approach 2 . Clearly, the differences in approaches used to cause results produced before 2017 are very conflicting with each other. Discussion on the application of different fatwa methodologies between states was also discussed by Luqman Hj Abdullah et al. (2017) which affects the production of different laws. Clearly, this situation causes confusion to the community and makes it difficult to coordinate fatwas in Malaysia.
Discussion by Alias Azhar (2017) in the context of istinbat law by recommending that more research be given in setting research guidelines so that a ruling issued is to meet the current needs of society today. This study summarizes the need for research into fatwa research to ensure that the rulings issued can address the issues of society today as recommended by LuqmanHj. Abdullah and Muhammad IkhlasRosele (2016) which emphasizes the coordination of methodology aspects, methods of determining and researching fatwas that lead to the standardization of legal decisions. This study indirectly demonstrates the need for an understanding among mujtahids today in making consideration of issuing fatwa rulings. Studies have shown that the aspects of the state's acceptance of fatwas decided by the National Muzakarah Committee can be divided into three (3) categories, namely fatwas with the same legal status but differing in fatwas and are the most widely available categories of fatwas in their studies. The fatwas differed from 21 fatwas or 18.26. The impact of this study can be seen from various aspects, including the state's level of adherence to fatwa decisions decided at the national level, difficulty in the efforts to coordinate fatwas, confusion to society and so on.
Al-Hakimi (1999) in LuqmanHj Abdullah et al. 2017 discussed the difference between fatwas as influenced by the change of times(taghayyur al-fatwa bi taghayyur al-zaman)in line with the changes intime, place and culture based on the local uruf practiced. The authors' observations on the reality of the fatwa situation in Malaysia found that the differences in fatwas because of the uruf concept were practiced as much as creating conflict for the community. The occurrence of this matter is due to the level of public understanding of the concept of fatwa itself. Differences 1 A method based on formatting and the form of hukum. 2 A method based on Shariah objective despite of istinbat 617 that exist if not handled in a good way, can have a huge impact on the lifestyle of society from various aspects of life such as economics, legislation, muamalat and soon.

Impact of Fatwa Inconsistency on Society and Fatwa Institutions
The impact of fatwa inconsistency can be divided into two i.e. causing confusion to the community ( Among the earliest scholars to conduct research on the acceptance of fatwas among the community was Othman Ishak in 1981. The findings, have had a profound impact on the world of fatwa in Malaysia to this day. He found that the community and the courts and even the government themselves did not respect the fatwa issued because there was confusion as a result of the conflict of law issued by the fatwa institution at that time. The society does not make muftis as the main reference because they are said to not be in the community, but rather tend or be comfortable to refer to the ustaz/iman that surrounds them in solving the question of the ruling of life. Muftis are also labeled as secular and favor politically interested parties but difficult to approach and bureaucratic in addition to giving different views on an issue and it clearly confuses the community (Raihanah 2004). The authors opinion that this findings prove the issue of inconsistency and confusion to the community is the result of conflict or diversity of fatwa decisions decided and it is a long-standing issue that extends to 40 years. The findings from Othman Ishak (1981) also indirectly illustrates that the image and authority of the fatwa institutions are somewhat tainted by the conflicts that exist.
Meanwhile, a study by Raihanah Abdullah (2004) has proven that the issue of confusion and image of the affected fatwa institution has been greatly addressed by the parties concerned. The community's acceptance of fatwas was also improved in line with the current developments supported by the attitudes and knowledge of the community itself. Similarly, the writing by Zulfaqar Mamat (2014), also proved that the issue of confusion and image of fatwa institutions in Malaysia improved with cooperation, understanding and relationships built between the State Fatwa Committee and the National Muzakarah Committee as well as improvements for improvements implemented by the Secretariat of the National Muzakarah Committee or JAKIM.
Ahmad HidayatBuang (2016) also discussed the challenges that need to be implemented in the efforts of all parties to strengthen the authority of fatwa institutions. Among them, fatwas issued should be made public and explained to the public, parties who are directly involved in issuing fatwas should possess good skills and mastery from the point of diversity of languages, to bridge differences of opinion by obtaining opinions and suggestions from various parties especially those who are always with the community. Fatwa institutions need to be free of political image and so on.
Shelia Nu (2013) and Fathullah Asni (2020) discussed the confusion among financial industry players due to the non-compliance of Shariah law. The differences in the existing laws have had a significant impact on the development of the Islamic capital market. Similarly, the absence of legal consistency or consistency in bay al-dayn has had a significant impact on all parties involved such as financiers, investors and even the public are also confused about these sukuk transactions. Ulusoy and Ela (2017) in Fathullah Asni (2020) stated that the absence of relevant legal uniformity has slowed the development of the sukuk industry and damaged the image of the Islamic finance industry directly.  (3). He also pointed out that it is important to establish a commonality between fatwas issued by the State Fatwa Committee and the National Fawa Committee on issues involving the national interest as it can confuse society and distort the image and authority of fatwa institutions. The discussions and statements presented regarding the discrepancy are among the reasons why the fatwa committee membership is composed only of those of religious background and do not do the necessary ijithad by simply referring to the old books only. Based on the author's experience 5 , in line with current developments, this has been made improvements for improvement. Whereby, the membership of the National Fatwa Committee consists mainly of those in various areas such as muamalat, economics, law and others, cooperation with the relevant parties is made to strengthen the results of the research and thus produce a correct decision.

The Importance of Fatwa Coordination for Society and Country
The efforts of the National Muzakarah Committee Secretariat managed by JAKIM to coordinate fatwas in Malaysia can be seen through the preparation of Fatwa Issuance Guidelines (2017). Item 46 of this guideline has detailed special criteria relating to national issues in order to identify fatwas that need to be discussed and refined in the categories of fatwas of a national importance. The first three (3) criteria are the issues involving the interests of the country, the two issues related to Muslims as a whole and the third religious issue that occurs in a state that may occur in another state. The State Fatwa Committee should filter every issue raised if it has a listed feature, the best step is to bring the issue to discussion at the National Muzakarah Committee to be discussed and decided on for the well-being of all parties.
Mahamad Naser Disa (2011) saw the coordination of fatwas from the legal aspect. In his view, fatwas were a legal instrument that had existed since the reign of the Malay Sultanate. He also disputed some previous research proposals that suggested that a Mufti State Institution be created to coordinate the issue of fatwa differences as an understanding of the history of malay sovereignty and the Federal principles practiced in the country as well as a suggestion that is intended to ulul amri sovereignty in Islamic affairs. This article also provides and describes the provisions of state legislation relating to fatwas, which conclude that existing provisions indeed support fatwa issuance efforts involving national interest or national interest in line with Ahmad Hidayat Buang's opinion (2012) that fatwas in Malaysia are quasi-legal because they are issued by authorities in the public interest. In the author's views, this well-written article supports any form of fatwa coordination so that the image of the fatwa institution can be preserved as best as possible.  Muhammad Miziazam (2018) in his article, presented a model of fatwa coordination for the purpose of coordinating fatwas between the National Fatwa Committee and the State Fatwa Committee using pahang's Shariah Law Consultative Committee (JPHSNP) as the subject of case study. The idea presented was that JAKIM as secretariat invited state representatives without involving the State Mufti such as JPHSNP 3 people to be briefed and explained the justification of a decision issued by JFK. With the understanding that exists because of the information provided, JPHSNP representatives will present the rationale of a legal decision issued by JFK to the members of the state meeting. The expected outcome is the understanding and agreement of state committee members on the fatwas decided by JFK. This model, if implemented properly, will achieve the goal of all parties to see the coordination of fatwas go well.
The idea of fatwa coordination theory was presented by Lokmanulhakim Hussain (2013) in a paper entitled "Fatwa Coordination in Malaysia: Reasonableness and Constraints" published as a monograph article by the World Fatwa Management and Research Institute (INFAD) of The Islamic Science University of Malaysia. He has put forward the theory of the coordination of fatwas by using the ‫الفالف‬ ‫يرفع‬ ‫الحاكم‬ ‫حكم‬ method, which is 'The decision by the judge will eliminate disputes'. The selection of this theory is based on the debate on the pros and cons of coordinating fatwas in the context of requirements in Malaysia. The author refers to al-Qarafi in the book al-Furuq which touched on this method of "Disputes are fixed in the problems of ijtihadiyyah before it is decided by judges". Where, this method indicates two things before it can be used which is the issue of ijtihadiyyah and the two judges' decisions in choosing opinions in the question of ijtihadiyyah will eliminate disagreements. In the situation in Malaysia, this method can be used as a basis towards the standardization of fatwas in accordance with the consideration of maslahah andmafsadah something that becomes khilaf among the community. According to him, until now the theory has not been practiced at the national level, but at the state level it is practiced in deciding any rulings. Hence, he recommended that this method be practiced at the national level for the benefit of the community. This theory can revert to the traditional practice of Sunnah scholars, which is the existence of cooperation between the ruler and the scholars in the context of al-fuqaha') wa al-umara' (al-sultan) in line with the statement of Allah SWT in surah al-Nisa (59) which commands obedience to the ruler or Ulu al-Amri (Ahmad HidayatBuang 2016).
While writing by Fathullah al-Haq Muhammad Asni (2017) has used al-Syatibi's approach in solving the issue of fatwa coordination at the state level. Al-Syatibi is a figure who has a lot to say about ijtihad and connects with the concept of maqasid Syariah as one of the sources in deciding the law. The theory presented by al-Syatibi is needed to coordinate the difference between fatwas among mujtahids that negatively affect the community. The results found that the al-Syatibi approach has been adopted in the practice of state-level Islamic religious administration in Malaysia.

Minimizing The Inconsistency Between Fatwas
Past scholars have discussed that with the various constraints on the coordination of fatwas in Malaysia, it is recommended to minimize the inconsistency of fatwas. Legal provisions that vary between states in Malaysia are among the main obstacles to coordinating fatwas. Therefore, it is recommended to minimize the existence of fatwa rulings that are not in harmony between state and state and between state and federal. If this can be done, it can reduce conflicts against the community and reduce the distance between fatwa decisions itself so as not to be too conflicted with each other. Based on the findings of MohdNasran Mohamad and ZulfaqarMamat (2015) as well as the experience of the author as the fatwa research officer, suggestions to minimize the inconsistency of fatwas can be successfully implemented. This is in line with the current developments and improvements made by JAKIM as JFK's secretariat with states such as updated fatwa administration management system, planning coordination meetings more frequently, the use of technology systems in warranting fatwa management work to the community, improving the knowledge and skills of research officers who provide fatwa papers and so on. These factors will slightly influence the current movement of fatwa coordination. The results of the study were successful in classifying fatwas into three categories namely the first fatwa with the same legal status and its fatwa status, the two fatwas with the same legal status but differing in legal status and sighah fatwas as well as discussing the role of MJFK, improvements that need to be made by the MJFK secretariat as well as more proactive and consistent efforts in ensuring coordination on national issues can be coordinated.

The Conclusion:-
The discussion on fatwa is a topic that continues and on from day to day. This is because the nature of the fatwa itself exists in line with the development of a society that constantly demands explanation for explanation from the religious point of view in surfing the ever-expanding life. There are stated fiqh method which means: "Thereis no denying the change of law due to the change oftime".

‫األزمان‬ ِ ‫ُّر‬ ‫بتغي‬ ِ ‫األحكام‬ ُ ‫ّر‬ ‫تغي‬ ُ ‫َر‬ ‫ك‬ ْ ‫ُن‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ال‬
It is clear that the review article on fatwa topic has always come to the attention of the scholars because of the human need for religious explanation of the actions of horns in their lives. The factors that encourage inconsistency are also a growing element that certainly has a small or large impact on society itself even to fatwa institutions. The recommendations submitted by past reviewers are the result of observations and so on the issue of fatwas that can be considered in minimizing the inconsistency of fatwas in Malaysia.