Mufti

A mufti is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law (Sharia and fiqh). A muftiate or diyanet is a council of muftis. William Cleveland wrote in his A History of the Modern Middle East that muftis were 'experts in Islamic law qualified to give authoritative legal opinions know as fatwas; muftis were members of the ulama establishment and ranked above qadis'. Within Islamic legal schools, a mufti is considered the pinnacle in the hierarchy of scholars because of the advanced training required out of the individual aspiring to be a mufti. Originally, muftis were private individuals who gave fatwas informally, regulated their own activities, and determined their own standards of the fatwa institution. A mufti could also be defined as an individual well-grounded in Islamic law.