---
title: "What is Mujtahid (qualified jurist)? | IslamicOpenFinance™"
description: "A jurist qualified to perform ijtihad, that is, to derive rulings from the sources by recognised methods."
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/mujtahid/
lang: en-GB
source: "IslamicOpenFinance"
---

[Glossary](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/) / [Shariah fundamentals](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/#fundamentals)

Shariah fundamentals

# Mujtahid (qualified jurist)

A jurist qualified to perform ijtihad, that is, to derive rulings from the sources by recognised methods.

A mujtahid is a jurist qualified to perform ijtihad, deriving rulings from the sources of Shariah by recognised methods. AAOIFI's standards speak of interpretations made by a person who is qualified to perform ijtihad, and its fatwa standard expects board members to be well versed in jurisprudence and able to use accepted methods of deriving rulings on new issues. For institutions, the practical question is not the title but the competence: governance rules ask boards to show that their members have the knowledge their decisions require.

## Sources

- [AAOIFI Shari'ah Standards, English edition (full text, PDF): Shari'ah Standard No. 29, conditions on fatwa issuers; Shari'ah Standard No. 6, interpretation by a person qualified for ijtihad](https://aaoifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shariaa-Standards-ENG.pdf)

This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.

## Related terms

[**Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)** The effort of a qualified jurist to derive a ruling on a question the texts do not settle directly.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/ijtihad/) [**Fatwa** A juristic opinion on a Shariah question; in finance, usually a Shariah board's ruling on a product or transaction.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fatwa/) [**Shariah supervisory board** An independent panel of Shariah scholars that approves an institution's products and oversees its Shariah compliance.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah-board/) [**Usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence)** The discipline that studies the sources of Shariah and the methods for deriving rulings from them.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/usul-al-fiqh/)

**Shariah fundamentals**

1. [Riba](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba/)
2. [Gharar](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/gharar/)
3. [Maysir](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maysir/)
4. [Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah/)
5. [Fiqh al-muamalat](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fiqh-al-muamalat/)
6. [Maqasid al-Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maqasid-al-shariah/)
7. [Riba al-nasiah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-nasiah/)
8. [Riba al-fadl](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-fadl/)

[All 221 terms](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/)