Responsa - in Islam

In Islam

A similar use of responsa (here called fatwā) is found in Islam. The mufti is a member of the Islamic scholarly class (ulamā) who form the Muslim religious establishment. In Islam, the term muftī is largely restricted to Sunnism, and has both a formal and informal use, the former for state-appointed officials who gave rulings on matters concerning the state or the public, the latter for individuals who respond to their followers or to others.

Nowadays, questions can be asked via the Internet, where sites have sprung up offering legal advice.

In Shiaism, fatwa is also used. There personal devotion to specific clergy is mandatory for believers. High-ranking members of the ulama class achieve the status of marja' al-taqlīd (pl. marāji'), that is, "the point to which imitation returns": in other words, they pronounce on religious matters, especially legal ones, and the rest of mankind are muqallid or imitators, who do nothing without the mandate of their specific marja'. There are very few marāji' at any time, though on a number of occasions since the 19th century, the title has come to rest on a single individual for the entire Shia world. There are larger numbers of Shia clergy with the rank of mujtahid, who are empowered to give independent opinions on religious matters. Traditionally, as in Judaism, the answers of marāji' and mujtahids are collected in a compilation called Risāla-yi su'āl va javāb (Farsi) or "Epistle of Questions and Answers".

There is generally greater latitude for Shia ulamā, insofar as the principle of independent reasoning (ijtihād, from the same root as mujtahid) in matters of religious law remains valid in Shi'i jurisprudence, whereas it is deemed to have ended in Sunnism as far back as the 10th century (though it is now reckoned that this perception of the desuetude or "closing of the door" of ijtihad did not always apply).