A mufti is a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, fiqh, qualified through advanced study to issue fatwas, authoritative legal opinions, in response to specific questions brought by individuals, communities or institutions, a role that exists at every level from a locally respected scholar answering an individual's everyday religious question to senior state-appointed muftis whose rulings carry weight across an entire country or region, the Grand Mufti representing the most senior tier of this same basic function rather than a categorically different office. Qualification as a mufti traditionally required extensive study of the Quran, hadith, and the accumulated legal reasoning of one of the recognized schools of Islamic jurisprudence, sufficient to apply established legal principles to new and specific circumstances rather than merely repeating previously settled rulings.
The practice of ifta, issuing fatwas, has adapted considerably to modern circumstances, including the emergence of online fatwa services and international fatwa councils that bring together muftis from multiple countries to address questions, particularly in Islamic finance and bioethics, that cross national boundaries in ways traditional local fatwa-giving was not originally structured to address, reflecting both the increased mobility of Muslim populations worldwide and the genuinely new categories of question modern technology and global commerce continually generate.