Istifta (request for a Shariah opinion)
The act of seeking a Shariah opinion on a matter that has occurred or is expected to occur.
Istifta is the act of seeking a Shariah opinion on an incident that has already occurred or is expected to occur. AAOIFI's fatwa standard says an institution should seek an opinion on actual or expected matters and on every operation it intends to pursue, should seek it from its own board, and should seek it again when new developments change the facts. For a governance workflow, the request is the starting record: it frames the question, carries the facts and documents, and is what the eventual resolution answers.
Sources
This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.
Related terms
FatwaA juristic opinion on a Shariah question; in finance, usually a Shariah board's ruling on a product or transaction.Shariah resolution (board decision)A recorded decision of a Shariah board or committee on a product, transaction or issue, with its reasoning and any dissent.Shariah supervisory boardAn independent panel of Shariah scholars that approves an institution's products and oversees its Shariah compliance.Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)The effort of a qualified jurist to derive a ruling on a question the texts do not settle directly.