Editing Mufti (section)

===Role of muftis===

The classical institution of ''ifta'' is similar to ''jus respondendi'' in [[Roman law]] and the ''[[responsa]]'' in [[Jewish law]].{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}{{sfn|Tyan|Walsh|2012}}

Muftis have played three important roles in the classical legal system:
* managing information about Islam by providing legal advice to Muslim populations as well as counseling them in matters of ritual and ethics;{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}}{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}
* advising courts of law on finer points of Islamic law, in response to queries from judges;{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}}{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}
* elaborating substantive Islamic law, particularly though a genre of legal literature developed by author-jurists who collected fatwas of prominent muftis and integrated them into books.{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}}{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}

[[File:Atai (Walters MS 666) - A Juriconsult Giving Sexual Advice (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A mufti gives sexual advice in response to a woman's complaint about her son-in-law's inability to consummate his marriage to her daughter. Ottoman manuscript, 1721.]]

Islamic doctrine regards the practice of ''ifta'' as a collective obligation (''[[Fard al-kifaya|farḍ al-kifāya]]''), which must be discharged by some members of the community.{{sfn|Swartz|2009}} Before the rise of modern schools, the study of law was a centerpiece of advanced education in the Islamic world. A relatively small class of legal scholars controlled the interpretation of sharia on a wide range of questions essential to the society, ranging from ritual to finance. It was considered a requirement for qualified jurists to communicate their knowledge through teaching or issuing fatwas. The ideal mufti was conceived as an individual of scholarly accomplishments and exemplary morals, and muftis were generally approached with the respect and deference corresponding to these expectations.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}

Judges generally sought an opinion from a mufti with higher scholarly authority than themselves for difficult cases or potentially controversial verdicts.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Vikør|2005|p=143}} Fatwas were routinely upheld in courts, and if a fatwa was disregarded, it was usually because another fatwa supporting a different position was judged to be more convincing. If a party in a dispute was not able to obtain a fatwa supporting their position, they would be unlikely to pursue their case in court, opting for informal mediation instead, or abandoning their claim altogether.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|pp=9–11}} Sometimes muftis could be petitioned for a fatwa relating to a court judgement that has already been passed, acting as an informal appeals process, but the extent of this practice and its mechanism varied across history.{{sfn|Vikør|2005|p=144}} While in most of the Islamic world judges were not required to consult muftis by any political authority, in [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]] this practice was mandatory, so that a judicial decision was considered invalid without prior approval by a legal specialist.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=159}}

Author-jurists collected fatwas by muftis of high scholarly reputation and abstracted them into concise formulations of legal norms for the benefit of judges, giving a summary of jurisprudence for a particular ''[[madhhab]]'' (legal school).{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|pp=9–11}} Author-jurists sought out fatwas that reflected the social conditions of their time and place, often opting for later legal opinions which were at variance with the doctrine of early authorities.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|pp=9–11}} Research by [[Wael Hallaq]] and Baber Johansen has shown that the rulings of muftis collected in these volumes could, and sometimes did, have a significant impact on the development of Islamic law.{{sfn|Swartz|2009}}

During the early centuries of Islam, the roles of mufti, author-jurist and judge were not mutually exclusive. A jurist could lead a teaching circle, conduct a fatwa session, and adjudicate court cases in a single day, devoting his night hours to writing a legal treatise. Those who were able to act in all four capacities were regarded as the most accomplished jurists.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009|p=13}}