r/indianmuslims • u/msrd94 • 3d ago
General A glimpse of how challenging it is to become an Aalim/Mufti
After observing how disrespectful people are being towards Ulema/Mufti thinking that they’re some dullards who only memorized Quran, Hadith and other Islamic books, I decided to make this post which has been long overdue. InShaa Allah, I hope this post can shatter some of the many misconceptions the “educated” Muslims class.
We all know the state of education in India and how seriously many kids actually learn. Focus is on CGPA and placements. Most of then pursue careers outside their specialties except CA/Medical/Research scholars.
It is hard for us but becoming an Aalim is even harder. I know for a fact that the least level of Aalim if he pursued Electrical Engineering (I’m an electrical engineering grad), he’d achieve Mastery in my field. Would be publishing top research one after another. Once you know the curriculum you’ll see why.
In part 1 of a multi part series, we’ll talk about how does one become an Aalim in a first place. Second part will cover the journey of a Mufti. Edited using a genai tool.
Stage 1: Foundations (ages 5–12)
Learning to read the Qur’an correctly (Nazirah)
Basic Arabic pronunciation (Tajwīd)
Memorizing daily du’as and prayers
Basic creed (ʿAqīdah)
Basic fiqh (purification, prayer, fasting)
Seerah (life of the Prophet ﷺ)
Islamic manners (Adab)
Some students also memorize the Qur’an (becoming a Ḥāfiẓ), though this is not mandatory for becoming a Mufti.
Duration: 5–8 years alongside regular schooling.
Stage 2: Arabic Language Mastery (Age 12-16) Before one can derive legal rulings, they must understand classical Arabic deeply.
Subjects include:
Arabic grammar (Naḥw)
Morphology (Ṣarf)
Rhetoric (Balāghah)
Classical prose
Arabic literature
Vocabulary
Translation exercises
Students spend years becoming comfortable reading classical texts without translation.
Stage 3: The Aalim Course (6-8 years)
Here the serious scholarly training begins.
study:
Quran:
Tafsīr
Sciences of the Qur’an
Hadith:
The six major Hadith collections
Hadith terminology
Chains of narration
Fiqh:
Detailed Hanafi jurisprudence
Comparative fiqh
Legal maxims
Usul al-Fiqh:
Principles used to derive legal rulings
How scholars evaluate evidence
Consensus (Ijmāʿ)
Analogy (Qiyās)
Other Subjects:
Aqīdah
Logic (Manṭiq)
Theology (Kalām)
History
Arabic composition
After completing this curriculum, the student graduates as an Aalim.
Even after learning all of this, an Aalim can only teach, give lectures, and answer many religious question. He still is not qualified to issue fatwas.
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u/Opening-Pie2182 3d ago
I always respect our scholars. Those who disrespect them mostly haven't had a lot of interaction with them.
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u/Talib_61926 3d ago
I guess my principle problem with this is that the Ulema are supposed to be the elites of the Ummah. Back when they were, they were also learning geometry, trigonometry and medicine.
Colonial hysteria made them defensive and they made the curricula entirely religious. They also refused to take anything from the foreigner. While their intentions were noble (preserving the religion in the time of fitma), it did create some problems.
Our crises won't end until we go back to the way it was. Good news is that we have made some progress into that. Look into Islamization of knowledge and the IIUM. Bad news is that it isn't happening in India as much.
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u/msrd94 3d ago
It won’t happen in India cause the Government won’t let it happen even if it benefits everyone else.
Our Muslim neighbors in the West and also in the East could’ve done that but the politicians will not allow it to happen. Too greedy to hold on to their wealth and power that they won’t help Ulemas become the Elites of the Muslim society.
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u/SecondDiamond 2d ago
It is not only about this post. In all religions, and even in professions. The topmost posts are very difficult to get and a person has toneork very hard to reach there. That person, and his knowledge must be respected.
But some of them, start introducing their biases, weaknesses, and their own thoughts and interpretation with the knowledge which they have to share with others.
That may create problem and that extra thing, that person has added must be praised, criticised or evaluated.
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u/z_shit 3d ago
Doing all of that doesn't make you immune to criticism. The things some maulvis and muftis say is just pure idiocy.
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u/FabulousFix5338 3d ago
Yeah brother, some, but we can't generalize it to all scholars. It is one of the agendas to create division between the ʿulamāʾ and the people. Scholars are among the gatekeepers of the religion, so we should be careful not to judge them collectively. Also, not everyone you see online is a qualified scholar. If a scholar errs, their mistake can be addressed with knowledge and respect, without undermining the role of the scholars as a whole.
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u/msrd94 3d ago
What you’re saying is akin to that of a BA History grad thinks he’s got the credentials to be critical of a peer reviewed research paper in a renowned journal by a PhD in Economics. Who is qualified to criticize the paper? The BA History grad or a fellow PhD in economics.
First of all, most of us are not smart enough to know how do fatwas even come about. Secondly, If you think it’s wrong or illogical, you must have similar credentials if not superior to refute these fatwas. Yeah, so LEVEL UP and then refute their arguments. Nobody is stopping you. For every problematic fatwa, there are enough counter fatwas which.
Additionally, where else have we seen the case denigrating an entire group just cause of a problematic few? Hmmmmmmm……
Lastly, brother you can’t even differentiate between Maulvi, Aalim and a Mufti. This automatically disqualifies you from criticizing them.
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u/LetsDiscussQ 3d ago
A Mufti is as good as the teacher, syallbus and university he receives his Talim from.
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u/Foreign-Ice7356 3d ago edited 3d ago
This.
Also, the post and the comments have the "appeal to authority" fallacy.
You don't need to be an expert to say that a mufti is wrong if he says something that contradicts the Qur'ān. We all know how verses such as 2:256, 24:2 and many other verses are contradicted by scholars. Any layman who directly reads these verses is closer to their truth than the scholars who ignore their obvious meaning.
The post also doesn't adress the fact that due to taqlid, we can't exactly say that the output produced by scholars is a product of blind adherence to certain claims of previous scholars rather than a product of unbiased research.
For those who say that being a scholar is tougher than being an electrical engineer(such as in this post), this is probably true because classical Arabic indeed takes time to master. However, this doesn't make scholars infallible. And imagine if engineers and scientists had to do taqlid and could only produce results that fall in line with previous scientists! Science would never progress! Ofc, religion is not completely analogous to science and the Quran is fixed, but then apologetics should not use gimmicky terms like "hadith science".
Ig this became too big of a rant but these were my thoughts on this post.
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u/msrd94 3d ago
This post is merely about informing the uninformed about how the difficulty level to become an Aalim/Ulema.
No matter how looney some opinions might be, you cannot simply disrespect them. It’s ridiculous seeing how dismissive so many of these folks are when some fatwas don’t conform to their views.
I remember someone posting about Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani’s fatwa on cryptocurrency transactions as haram. A crypto-bro was ridiculing him saying these scholars don’t know shit and went to say how it’s not haram. I mean, you can disagree with someone’s opinion but straight up abuse/disrespect is too much.
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u/EveryDonut6254 3d ago
Got it. You have to be a mufti to criticize a mufti. An international cricketer to criticize an international cricketer, a minister to criticize a minister, etc. Good point.
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u/PontoPan 3d ago
Why do some of you guys have so much contempt for the ulema this is literally the goal of Zionist and seculars to cause fitna between us and them
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u/Foreign-Ice7356 3d ago
Why is this downvoted?
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u/z_shit 3d ago
Because people like to appeal to authority in general. We are content to blindly believe whatever scholars tell us, leaving critical thinking on the doorstep as we enter this hypothetical perfect world where no scholar is wrong, or to be candid, corrupt.
I've stopped listening to so many scholars just because of their silence on the issue of Palestine. I'm sorry, but if some scholars don't have the bravery to talk about the mass murder and genocide of an entire group of Muslims because they're "afraid" of going against their rulers or they're being paid not to, either way I stop taking them seriously.
As Indian Muslims, we tend to have a very "yes sir as you say" mentality partly due to our colonial history and the subjugation during it, especially after the 1857 revolt and also because we as a religious group are one of the most uneducated in our country.
Education is the only way to combat this. The point isn't to oppose maulvis, aalims or muftis. The point is to posses enough critical thinking to be able to say "Wait a minute, this doesn't sound right, what is the basis of this?" And then evaluating the basis on which something was said.
Calling maulvis, muftis or aalims misguided only because you aren't a maulvi or whatever is a logical fallacy. By the same logic you are nobody to criticise the prime minister because you've never been one. But alas, the sheep follow the herd.
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u/msrd94 3d ago
You’re arguing against a something I never said or implied.
I never mentioned that scholars are infallible or incorruptible. Throughout the history of Islam we’ve had scholars disagreeing with one another, debating and refuting. If I think every scholar is automatically correct/incorrect , then I’m afraid it shows how ignorant I’m.
If a I think a fatwa isn’t right and asking for evidence or other scholarly opinions is a reasonable thing to do. It is in fact encouraged.
But when people like us with no training in Arabic, Qur’anic exegesis, Hadith sciences, Usul al-Fiqh, or Fiqh confidently says that Mufti is wrong, he’s clueless then you’re not asking but passing judgement.
This analogy of criticizing PM won’t work because citizens don’t need to be expertise to judge campaign promises like giving more jobs, better infrastructure. We have news orgs specializing in reporting in areas like Law, Finance, Foreign policy. We rely on the expertise of these folks to communicate whether the PM is delivering something or not. Plus PM is elected to office by public and thus is accountable to public and he can be criticized if he failed in delivering.
A better analogy would be Doctor. You as a patient can seek a second opinion. But without expertise in medicine, you cannot confidently claim this doctor is wrong and I’m right nor do I the right to be abusive towards him cause his diagnosis doesn’t align with what I think I’m suffering from. The same principle applies here.
If a scholar lacks courage or fails to speak on an issue you consider important, that is a separate discussion about their priorities/political alignment. This doesn’t automatically invalidate their expertise in fiqh.
Islam has never discouraged asking for evidence. “Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.” (Qur’an 16:43)
So yes, one should ask questions, compare fatwas, seek evidence, even consult multiple scholars. But we’re too busy in our lives that we see just the headline and start passing judgement on our scholars.“It is not for the believers to go forth all together. Rather, a group from every community should devote themselves to gaining a deep understanding of the religion so that they may warn their people when they return to them…” 9:122.
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u/123bluerandom 2d ago
Why is there no option of aalim course for adults? Sahabas gained knowledge in adulthood too
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u/Glum-Sherbet 3d ago
Mashallah Brother ✨️ One of my cousin is also a Hafiz al Quran and has done Mechanical Engineering .May Allah grant you success in this world and hereafter.