# Becoming a faqih and/or mufti **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 27, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712 "2004-03-27T08:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/1 "2004-03-27T08:17:26Z")
I am just curious . . . how would one go about becoming a _faqih_ (jurist in Islamic jurisprudence)? Is there a way to become a _faqih_ without following one or any of the five (usually, sometimes four) accepted _madhahib_ (schools of Islamic jurisprudence), those being the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafii, and Imami or Ja’fari _madhahib_? I know Ibn Taymima didn’t believe the gates of _ijtihad_ were closed. _Usuli Ithna Ashari Shii_ also believe in _ijtihad_. So it’s possible, I guess, to be a _faqih_ without _taqlid_ to a or any _madhhab_? I know that there are several levels of officials in _fiqh_. _Faqih_ - jurist, _qazi_ - judge, and _mufti_ - who issues _fatawa_ (plural of _fatwa_). Does one aspire to a certain position? How does one become a _mufti_? Is one appointed or acknowledged as a _faqih_ or _mufti_, or is there a certification process? Please don’t read too much into this. I’m just interested in what goes into becoming a _faqih_ or _mufti_ and what restrictions there may be, which I can’t find much about. WRS ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c37758/32.png) [@Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Owes_Bess)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/2 "2004-03-27T11:18:00Z")
An interesting question, and very easy to answer. All you have to do do is summon up the Village Explainer: **Tamerlane**. Don’t let the fact that he has named himself after a genocidal maniac deter you. He is actually very stable minded and a nice person. Just utter the magic words: “ **Tam** I’m looking in your direction here.” and he will magically appear. Alternatively, you might consider doing a Google search. It would be much quicker, and just as informative. ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/3 "2004-03-27T15:51:36Z")
**Tamerlane** , the poster not the ancient figure, is one of my SDMB heroes! I do hope he shows up! O **Tamerlane**! O Great One! Have mercy on Your supplicant and enlighten me with knowledge! WRS ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/4 "2004-03-29T02:07:57Z")
Thanks for the vote of confidence ( less thanks to the sarcastic baiting, but I suppose everyone needs a hobby ), but I can only give a very general answer. Just as there is no fixed hiearchy in Sunni Islam and only a loose one in Imami Shi’a Islam, so there appears to be no fixed credentials required to achieve a particular clerical status. The bare minimum is generally literacy in Arabic ( to read the Qur’an in its original form ), but even that gets tossed by the wayside sometimes ( especially in rural or impoverished areas ). Generally these things are vetted by peers ( especially in the more structured Shi’a system ) - i.e. theological scholarship is recognized by other theologians/jurists to have reached a certain level. At times it is in part state-appointed ( i.e. certain religious offices in the late Ottoman state or modern Saudi Arabia ). Often it is influenced by size and status of following - i.e. a Grand Ayatollah may be recognized by one group of Shi’ites as a “source of emulation”, but not recognized by others. In short it is inconsistent and sometimes a bit confusing. However I’m afraid I am not schooled on specific, _internal_ details of how, say, the clerical establishment at Qom or Najaf arrive at a consensus on who merits what status and why. I am only conversant ( if at all ) with how the establishment tends to view certain individuals after-the-fact, as it were. For example I can tell you that Grand Ayatollah Khamene’i seems to be poorly regarded in theological circles as a theologian of middlin’ status that was elevated to his rank purely through an act of nepotism by Khomeini, who was looking for an ideologically like-minded successor. But I couldn’t tell you exactly _why_ he is considered a theological lightweight. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/5 "2004-11-01T22:51:03Z")
Not to bump this from oblivion, but I wanted to thank **Tamerlane** for his wonderful answer. Your answer was very informative and enlightening. As I did further research, I found that you were absolutely correct: there is no strict hierarchy or system by which way one may ascend the ranks. It all depends on one’s popularity and acknowledgement by peers and superiors. Which also means that either demogogues or moderates tend to rise. I was about to consider joining an Islamic institution of higher education in America to study Islam and then try to promote a moderate form from within, until I read that the institution I was about to consider was connected with a US Army (I think) chaplain who was caught abetting the enemy. I also realized that there would be no way I would survive any Islamic institution of higher education - I would be kicked out or executed (depending on where the institution was) for apostasy or heresy within the first day. But thanks, **Tamerlane**. You are, as always, one of my SDMB heroes. WRS ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/6 "2004-11-02T05:10:34Z")
I think I went into slightly more detail ( not much, as I’m not qualified to offer much more ) re: Imami Shi’ism in this thread: > **[Do Shi'ite have a religious hierarchy, like Catholics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=273275)** > > That is, could the “Grand Ayatollah” Ali al-Sistani outrank the “radical cleric” Moqtada al-Sadr and punish him for getting out of line? Could he “excommunicate” him in some way, or make him ineligible to speak in his mosque? Or are all the mosques... - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-faqih-and-or-mufti/236712/7 "2004-11-02T05:12:49Z")
And oops, I see you actually posted in that thread, so no doubt you’ve read it :D. Thanks for the compliment by the way, though it probably wasn’t necessary to bump this old thread for it :). - Tamerlane