A GLOBAL BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF FATWA STUDIES (1990–2024): THEMES, TRENDS AND RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Muhamad Husni Hasbulah; Muhammad Fathullah Al Haq Muhamad Asni; Afiffudin  Mohammed Noor; Mohd Akram  Dahaman@Dahlan

doi:10.33102/jfatwa.vol31no3.760

Authors

Muhamad Husni Hasbulah Faculty Muamalat and Islamic Finance, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (UniSIRAJ), Malaysia
Muhammad Fathullah Al Haq Muhamad Asni Section of Islamic Studies, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Afiffudin Mohammed Noor Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia
Mohd Akram Dahaman@Dahlan School of Languages, Civilisation and Philosophy, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33102/jfatwa.vol31no3.760

Keywords:

Fatwa Studies, Bibliometric Analysis, Islamic Law Scholarship, Research Trends

Abstract

Fatwa scholarship has expanded considerably in response to increasingly diverse religious, social, economic, ethical, and technological issues. Despite this development, the intellectual structure and long-term evolution of fatwa research remain insufficiently mapped, as previous studies have largely focused on normative, thematic, or systematic reviews rather than comprehensive bibliometric assessment. This study therefore examines the global development of fatwa scholarship from 1990 to 2024 by analysing publication growth, major publication outlets, disciplinary distribution, citation influence, institutional and geographical productivity, and dominant thematic patterns. Bibliographic data were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), yielding 884 initial records. Following document screening, duplicate removal, and data cleaning, 596 publications were retained for analysis. ScientoPy, OpenRefine, and VOSviewer were employed to process bibliographic data and analyse publication trends and thematic structures. The findings demonstrate a marked increase in fatwa-related publications after 2010, with Indonesia accounting for 31.21% of the publications and Malaysia for 15.60%. Religion remains the dominant subject area, although contributions from law, social sciences, business and economics, and other disciplines demonstrate the broader interdisciplinary character of the field. Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah and the Journal of Fatwa Management and Research emerged as major publication outlets. Citation and keyword analyses further reveal scholarly engagement with legal and institutional foundations alongside Islamic finance, minority issues, contemporary crises, social media, and online fatwas. The study provides a global mapping of the development of fatwa scholarship and identifies areas in which Islamic legal studies increasingly intersect with contemporary social and interdisciplinary concerns. These findings offer a reference for researchers, educational institutions, and fatwa-related institutions in identifying established research concentrations and potential directions for future inquiry.

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