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Religious Leadership In Islam
Islamic religious leaders have traditionally been people who, as part of the clergy, mosque, or government, performed a prominent role within their community or nation. However, in the modern contexts of Muslims minorities in non-Muslim countries as well as secularised Muslim states like Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes.
Compared to religious leaders/clerics of the two Abrahamic faiths, Islamic clergy are said to resemble rabbis and not priests. Unlike Catholic priests they do not “serve as intermediaries between mankind and God,” have “process of ordination,” or “sacramental functions,” but instead serve as “exemplars, teachers, judges, and community leaders,” providing religious rules to the pious on “even the most minor and private” matters.
Alim
In its narrow sense Alim refers to scholars of Islamic Jurisprudence. In the broader sense, it refers to those who have studied a broad range of essentially Islamic disciplines for several years, for example the hadith and the muhaddith. They represent the Ijmah, or Islamic consensus of the Ummah on religious issues; this does not mean that there can be no disputes – far from it – but they should be aware of what counts as the main consensual opinion, of other dissenting views and their objections.
Allamah
Allamah is an honorary and prestigious title carried by only the very highest scholars of Islamic thought, jurisprudence, and philosophy. It is used as an honorific in Sunni Islam as well as in Shi’a Islam. Allamah is a leader for the Islamic faith.
Almami
“Almami” is a title of West African Muslim rulers, used especially in the conquest states of the 19thcentury.
Caliph
Caliph was first used for Abu Bakr, who was elected head of the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad’s death.
Imam
Imam is an Arabic word meaning “Leader.” The ruler of a country might be called the Imam. The term, however, has important connotations in the Islamic tradition especially in Shi’a belief. In Sunni belief, the term is used for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of religious jurisprudence (fiqh).
It is commonly used to refer to the official that leads the prayers at the mosques. Meanwhile, in Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia, those who lead any prayers in any places such as at home, are also called imam.
Imam is can also be an Islamic leadership position. It is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque and Muslim community among Sunni Muslims. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. In Yemen, the title was formerly given to the king of the country.
For Shi’a Muslims, the Imams are leaders of the Islamic community or ummah, after the Prophet. The term is only applicable to the members of Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, designated as infallibles.
The Sunni branch of Islam does not have imams in the same sense as the Shi’a, an important distinction often overlooked by those outside of the Islamic religion. In everyday terms, the imam for Sunni Muslims is the one who leads Islamic formal (Fard) prayers, even in locations besides the mosque, whenever prayers are done in a group of two or more with one person leading (imam) and the others following by copying his ritual actions of worship. Friday sermon is most often given by an appointed imam. All mosques have an imam to lead the (congregational) prayers, even though it may sometimes just be a member from the gathered congregation rather than an officially appointed salaried person. The position of women as imams is controversial. The person that should be chosen, according to Hadith, is the one who has the most knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah (prophetic tradition) and is of good character.
The term is also used for a recognized religious scholar or authority in Islam, often for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of jurisprudence (fiqh). It may also refer to the Muslim scholars who created the analytical sciences related to Hadith or it may refer to the heads of Muhammad’s family in their generational times.
Grand Imam
The “Grand Imam” or “Imam of imams” of the Al-Azhar Mosque and Al-Azhar University is a prestigious Sunni Islam title and a prominent official title in Egypt. It is considered by some Muslims to indicate the highest authority in Sunni Islam for Islamic jurisprudence. The grand Imam holds a great influence on followers of the theological Ash’ari and Maturidi traditions worldwide, while the defenders of the Athari and Salafi ideologies find their leaders in the Arabian Peninsula. The concept of IMAM has its origins in the Qur’an. Hazrat Ibrahim was promoted as Imam after his successful sacrifice. Every person at the day of judgement will also be called by his Imam. And there is an Imam who encompasses the whole universe as per the teachings of the Holy Book. Noble Imperial Sheik is the title for the Grand Imam of Al Hakika Mizaan Mizaani Sufi Order.
Mufti
Mufti is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a non-binding opinion (fatwa) on a point of Islamic law (shari’a). The act of issuing fatwas is called iftāʾ. Muftis and their fatwas played an important role throughout Islamic history, taking on new roles in the modern era.
Tracing its origins to the Qur’an and early Islamic communities, the practice of iftāʾ crystallized with the emergence of the traditional legal theory and schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhhabs). In the classical legal system, fatwas issued by muftis in response to private queries served to inform Muslim populations about Islam, advise courts on difficult points of Islamic law, and elaborate substantive law. In later times, muftis also issued public and political fatwas that took a stand on doctrinal controversies, legitimized government policies or articulated grievances of the population.
Traditionally, a mufti was seen as a scholar of upright character who possessed a thorough knowledge of the Qur’an, hadith and legal literature. Muftis acted as independent scholars in the classical legal system. Over the centuries, Sunni muftis were gradually incorporated into state bureaucracies, while Shi’a jurists in Iran progressively asserted an autonomous authority starting from the early modern era.
With the spread of codified state laws and Western-style legal education in the modern Muslim world, muftis generally no longer play their traditional role of clarifying and elaborating the laws applied in courts. However, muftis have continued to advise the general public on other aspects of shari’a, particularly questions regarding religious rituals and everyday life. Some modern muftis are appointed by the state to issue fatwas, while others serve on advisory religious councils.
Still others issue fatwas in response to private queries on television or over the internet. Modern public fatwas have addressed and sometimes sparked controversies in the Muslim world and beyond.
The legal methodology of modern iftāʾ often diverges from pre-modern practice. While the proliferation of contemporary fatwas attests to the importance of Islamic authenticity to many Muslims, little research has been done to determine to what extent the Muslim public continues to acknowledge the religious authority of muftis or heeds their advice
Grand Mufti
The title of “Grand Mufti” refers to the highest official of religious law in Sunni Muslim community.
The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman Empire and has been later adopted in a number of modern countries.
Muftis are Islamic jurists qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (fatwa) on a point of Islamic Law (sharia). In the 15th century, muftis of the Ottoman Empire, who had acted as independent scholars in earlier times, began to be integrated into a hierarchical bureaucracy of religious institutions and scholars. By the end of the 16th century, the government-appointed mufti of Istanbul came to be recognized under the title Shaykn al-Islam (Turkish: şeyhülislam) as the Grand Mufti in charge of this hierarchy. The Ottoman Grand Mufti performed a number of functions, including advising the sultan on religious matters, legitimizing government policies, and appointing judges. After the dissolution the Ottoman Empire the office of the Grand Mufti has been adopted in a number of countries across the Muslim world, often serving the role of providing religious support for government policies.[2] The Grand Mufti is generally an individual appointed by the state, although the office has collective or elective character in some modern countries.
Muezzin / Muathi
Muezzin in Turkish and Urdu, or muathi [mu-a-thin] in Arabic, is any person at the mosque who makes the adhan, or athan (call to prayer) for the Friday prayer service and the five daily prayers, or salat. Some mosques have specific places for the adhan to be made from, such as the minaret or a designated area in the mosque. Major mosques usually have a person who is called the “servant of the mosque.” He usually is the person who performs the athan. In the case of small mosques, the imam of the mosque would perform the athan.
Mujtahid
Mujtahid is an interpreter of the Qur’an and Hadith, the Islamic scriptures. These were traditionally Muftis who used interpretation (ijtihad) to clarify Islamic law, but in many modern secular contexts, Islamic law is no longer the law of the land. In that case, the traditional Mufti may well be replaced by a university or madrasa professor who informally functions as adviser to the local Muslim community in religious matters such as inheritance, divorce, etc.
Female Mujtahids
There are a few women who are equal in ranking to the ayatollahs but are not ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahidehm. A Mujtahid cannot have a congregation. The most outstanding in recent history was Amin, also known as Banu Isfahani. Current examples of the Lady Mujtahidehs are Zohreh Sefati and Lady Ayatollah Aatieh Hassani, also known as Imam’ah Al-Hassani, daughter of Grand Ayatollah Gholamreza Hassani.
Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi’ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli, as well as the Baraghani family of 19th-century Qazvin.
Kyai
Kyai or Kiai is a title originally used in Javanese culture. Only a male person is called with this appellation. His wife is called ‘nyai.’ In early modern times it is mainly used for the headmaster of an Islamic Boarding School (in Indonesia known as pondok pesantren). However, it is also common in Indonesia to call any elderly preacher from any cultural background with this title.
Due to animistic belief of ancient Javanese people, the title ‘Kyai’ is also used to call almost all persons and things venerated. Therefore, it is also common too for kris, weapons, gamelan, trees and certain venerated cattle.
Titles Used Only By Shi’a Muslims
Grand Ayatollah
Only a few of the most important ayatollahs are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah. When an ayatollah gains a significant following and they are recognized for religiously correct views, they are considered a Marja’-e-Taqlid, which in common parlance is “grand ayatollah.” Usually as a prelude to such status, a mujtahid is asked to publish a juristic treatise in which he answers questions about the application of Islam to present-time daily affairs. Risalah is the word for treatise, and such a juristic work is called a risalah-yi’amaliyyah or “practical law treatise” and it is usually a reinvention.
There are 86 Maraji (plural of Marja’) living worldwide as of 2017, mainly based in Najaf, Iraq and Qom, Iran. The most prominent of these include Ali al-Sistani, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Muhammad al-Fayadh, Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim, and Bashir al-Najafi in Najaf; and Hossein Vahid Khorasaniweee, Mousa Shubairi Zanjani, Sayyid Sadeq Rohani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Abdul-Karim Ard Mousavi ebili, Naser Makarem Shirazi and Yousef Saanei, all in Qom.
Ayatollah
An ayatollah or ayatullah is a high-ranking Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah cleric. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, Qur’an reading, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hujjat al-Islam.
Hujjat al-Islam
Hujjat al-Islam is an honorific title meaning “authority on Islam” or “proof of Islam.”
In Sunni tradition, the title was used exclusively for the scholar al-Ghazali, due to his influential integration of Sufism and shari’a. However, there is some evidence of application of the term to later Sunni scholars, in imitation of the Shi’a usage. Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi had this title for establishing Darul Uloom Deoband, an Islamic university in India where the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located at Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The school was founded in 1866.
In Twelver Shi’a the title is awarded to scholars. It was originally applied as an honorific to leading scholars, but now the use indicates a status in the hierarchy of the learned below Ayatollah. It is divided into two sub ranks, Hujjatu l-Islām wa l-Muslimīn (“Authority on Islam and Muslims”) and Hujjatu l-Islām (“Authority on Islam”), given to middle-ranking clerics.
The Position Of Imams In Turkey
Imams are appointed by the state to work at mosques and they are required to be graduates of an İmam Hatip high school or have a university degree in Theology. This is an official position regulated by the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Turkey and only males are appointed to this position while female officials under the same state organisation work as preachers and Qur’an course tutors, religious services experts. These officials are supposed to belong to the Hanafi school of the Sunni sect.
A central figure in an Islamic movement is also called as an Imam like the Imam Nabhawi in Syria and Ahmad Raza Khan in India and Pakistan is also called as the Imam for Sunni Muslims.
Shi’a Imams
In the Shi’a context, an imam is not only presented as the man of Allah par excellence, but as participating fully in the names, attributes, and acts that theology usually reserves for Allah alone. Imams have a meaning more central to belief, referring to leaders of the community. Twelver and Ismaili Shi’a believe that these imams are chosen by Allah to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life. They also believe that all the imams chosen are free from committing any sin, impeccability which is called ismah. These leaders must be followed since they are appointed by Allah.
Imams As Secular Rulers
At times, imams have held both secular and religious authority. This was the case in Oman among the Kharijite or Ibadi sects. At times, the imams were elected. At other times the position was inherited, as with the Yaruba dynasty from 1624 and 1742.
List Of Omani Rulers, The Rustamid Dynasty:
- 776–909, Nabhani dynasty;
- 1154–1624, the Yaruba dynasty;
- 1624–1742, the Al Said;
- 1744–present;
The Imamate (means “leadership” and refers to the office of a Shi’a imam or a state ruled by an imam) of Futa Jallon (1727-1896) was a Fulani in the West African state of Guinea where secular power alternated between two lines of hereditary Imams, or almami. In the Zaidi Shi’ite sect, imams were secular as well as spiritual leaders who held power in Yemen for more than a thousand years. In 897, a Zaidi ruler, al-Hadi ila’l-Haqq Yahya, founded a line of such imams, a theocratic form of government which survived until the second half of the 20th century.
Ruhollah Khomeini was officially referred to as Imam in Iran. Several Iranian places and institutions have been named “Imam Khomeini,” including a city, an international airport, a hospital, and a university.
Sultan
Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning “strength,” “authority,” “rulership,” derived from the verbal noun sulṭah, meaning “authority” or “power” (cognate with the Hebrew word “Shilton” which retained that meaning to the present). Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e., the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), albeit without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The adjective form of the word is “sultanic,” and the dynasty and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate.
The term is distinct from king, despite both referring to a sovereign ruler. The use of “sultan” is restricted to Muslim countries, where the title carries religious significance, contrasting the more secular king, which is used in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
In recent years, “sultan” has been gradually replaced by “king” by contemporary hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law. A notable example is Morocco, whose monarch changed his title from sultan to king in 1957.
Feminine Forms
As a feminine form of sultan, used by Westerners, is Sultana or Sultanah and this title has been used legally for some (not all) Muslim women monarchs and sultan’s mothers and chief consorts. However, Turkish and Ottoman Turkish also uses sultan for imperial lady, as Turkish grammar — which is influenced by Persian grammar — uses the same words for both women and men. However, this styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans. In a similar usage, the wife of a German field marshal might be styled Frau Feldmarschall (similarly, in French, constructions of the type madame la maréchale are quite common). The female leaders in Muslim history are correctly known as “sultanas.” However, the wife of the sultan in the Sultanate of Sulu is styled as the “panguian” while the sultan’s chief wife in many sultanates of Indonesia and Malaysia are known as “permaisuri,” “Tunku Ampuan,” “Raja Perempuanl,” or “Tengku Ampuan.” The queen consort in Brunei especially is known as Raja Isteri with the title of Pengiran Anak suffixed, should the queen consort also be a royal princess.
Compound Ruler Titles
These are generally secondary titles, either lofty ‘poetry’ or with a message, e.g.:
- Mani Sultan = Manney Sultan (meaning the “Pearl of Rulers” or “Honored Monarch”) – a subsidiary title, part of the full style of the Maharaja of Travancore;
- Sultan of Sultans – the sultanic equivalent of the style King of Kings;
- Certain secondary titles have a devout Islamic connotation; e.g., Sultan ul-Mujahidin as champion of jihad (to strive and to struggle in the name of Allah);
- Sultanic Highness – a rare, hybrid western-Islamic honorific style exclusively used by the son, daughter-in-law and daughters of Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt (a British protectorate since 1914), who bore it with their primary titles of Prince (Amir; Turkish: Prens) or Princess, after 11 October 1917. They enjoyed these titles for life, even after the Royal Rescript regulating the styles and titles of the Royal House following Egypt’s independence in 1922, when the sons and daughters of the newly styled king (malik Misr, considered a promotion) were granted the title Sahib(at) us-Sumuw al-Malaki, or Royal Highness.
Sultan Of Sultans
Sultan of Sultans is the literal English translation of the Ottoman Turkish royal title Sulṭānü’s-Selāṭīn. But this title was firstly used by Sultan of Delhi Sultanate in Persian context.
As with various other laudatory titles of Semitic origin, such as “King of Kings,” Sultan of Sultans can express a claim of imperial rank up to and including universal legitimate sovereignty. Although the notion and title of an emperor is largely alien to Islamic tradition, the Ottoman dynasty, which employed the title of “Sultan of Sultans” in its official full style, had perhaps the best claim to usage due to its territorial extent and great length. The Ottomans also adopted the traditional Byzantine imperial title Caesar for their own ruler (the Padishah).
The Sultans of Delhi Sultanate used this title to signify their rule over entire Indian subcontinent as hundred of Indian Rajas (Prince) ruled under their suzerainty. But they also considered themselves beneath the Caliph however they were independent.
The title has also been appropriated for local use by various regional Muslim rulers, especially in Bengal Sultanate.
The Shahanshah (Persian for “King of Kings”) of Iran also claimed, with slightly less legitimacy, to be the “Sultan of Sultans.” These assertions were tied to the conflict between the Sunni and Shi’ite branches of Islam.
Islamic Clerics Committee
The Islamic Clerics Committee (ICC) is one of several grassroots leadership groups that emerged in post-war Iraq. Representing the Sunni minority in the country, the group used their leverage to secure the release of more than 20 hostages in the early months of 2004. The group became popular because of the aid convoys that they arranged to be sent into the besieged city of Fallujah.
The ICC was heavily critical of the United States’ siege of Fallujah, particularly in light of the death toll among the city’s residents.
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Last Update: 02/2021
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