Editing Mufti (section)

==Origins==

The origins of muftis and the fatwa can be traced back to the [[Quran]]. On a number of occasions, the Quranic text instructs the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] how to respond to questions from his followers regarding religious and social practices. Several of these verses begin with the phrase "When they ask you concerning ..., say ..." In two cases (4:127, 4:176) this is expressed with verbal forms of the root ''f-t-y'', which signify asking for or giving an authoritative answer. In the [[hadith]] literature, this three-way relationship between God, Muhammad, and believers, is typically replaced by a two-way consultation, in which Muhammad replies directly to queries from his [[Sahaba|Companions]] (''sahaba'').{{sfn|Powers|2017}}

According to Islamic doctrine, with Muhammad's death in 632, God ceased to communicate with mankind through revelation and prophets. At that point, the rapidly expanding Muslim community turned to Muhammad's Companions, as the most authoritative voices among them, for religious guidance, and some of them are reported to have issued pronouncements on a wide range of subjects. The generation of Companions was in turn replaced in that role by the generation of [[Tabi‘un|Successors]] (''tabi'un'').{{sfn|Powers|2017}} The institution of ''ifta'' thus developed in Islamic communities under a question-and-answer format for communicating religious knowledge, and took on its definitive form with development of the classical [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|theory of Islamic law]].{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}} By the 8th century CE, muftis became recognized as legal experts who elaborated Islamic law and clarified its application to practical issues arising in the Islamic community.{{sfn|Swartz|2009}}