Mujtahid

A mujtahid is a jurist qualified to derive Islamic legal rulings through independent reasoning from the sources of Islamic law. The term also describes a level of legal expertise within Islamic jurisprudence.

Ijtihad: The disciplined exercise of independent reasoning to derive Islamic legal rulings. A mujtahid is defined by the capacity to perform this form of legal reasoning.
Taqlid: Following an established legal authority or school rather than independently deriving a ruling. It contrasts with the independent reasoning that defines a mujtahid's work.
Abu Hanifa: An eighth-century Muslim jurist and founder of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. His legal method became a major model of juristic reasoning.
Fatwa: A nonbinding legal opinion issued by a qualified Islamic jurist in response to a question. A mujtahid may use independent reasoning to formulate a fatwa.
Usul al-fiqh: The principles and methods used to interpret Islamic legal sources and derive rulings. Its methods guide the reasoning a mujtahid must master.
Mujtahid mutlaq: A jurist recognized as capable of independent legal reasoning across the full range of jurisprudence. This is the broadest commonly described level of mujtahid qualification.
Malik ibn Anas: An eighth-century Muslim jurist and founder of the Maliki school of jurisprudence. His jurisprudence illustrates how a school developed its own standards of legal authority.
Ifta: The practice of issuing legal opinions in response to questions about Islamic law. It is a principal setting in which a mujtahid's expertise is exercised.
Fiqh: The human understanding and formulation of Islamic law. Mujtahids derive rulings within this broader body of legal understanding.
Mujtahid muqayyad: A jurist whose independent reasoning operates within the principles of an established legal school. This narrower qualification shows that ijtihad need not mean founding a school.

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