Usuli school Among the different schools of Twelver Shi'i Islam are
Usuli and
Akhbari. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the Usuli "triumphed" over the Akhbari
Twelver. Usuli Shia argued that "since only someone who has expended the time and effort to become a
mujtahid could possibly know all the details of religious observances and law", it was obligatory for "anyone who was not himself a mujtahid to follow the rulings" of one so as to avoid committing religious errors. Consequently, the Usuli Shia community is divided into mujtahid (those who follow their own independent judgement in religious law) and
muqallid (those who must follow the rulings of a mujtahid). The practice of following a mujtahid is called
taqlid. Because of this, it can be said that clergy in the Usuli Twelver Shi'a have exerted much more authority in their religious community than the Sunni ulema (or Akhbari Shi'i ulema) in theirs. Also as a consequence of the dominance of Usuli Shi'ism, mujtahid have risen in both importance and number. Up until the mid-19th century there were "three or four" mujtahid "anywhere at any one time"; by the end of the century there were several hundred.'' As of 2014, there were over 60
recognized Marj in the Shia Muslim world. In Iran (the largest majority-Twelver Shi'i country) and "to a lesser extent" in other Shi'i communities, "the clerical class [
ulema] constitutes a fairly distinctive entity". Shia believe that the study of
Islamic literature is a continual process, and is necessary for identifying all of
God's laws. They believe that the process of finding God's laws from the available Islamic literature will facilitate dealing with any circumstance. They believe that they can interpret the
Qur'an and the Twelver Shi'a traditions with the same authority as their predecessors. This process of ijtihad has provided a means to deal with current issues from an Islamic perspective.
Education Traditionally (and as of 1985, at least in Iran) education of a member of the ulema (and many other people) began with primary school or
maktab. After completing this, those who wanted to be members of the ulama attended
madrasa (religious college, "collectively referred to as
hawza", plural
hawzat) situated in big cities. The most prestigious of them were located in the holy cities of
Qum,
Mashhad and
Najaf. The madrasa course of study has three level: Tuition, room and board is provided for students from charitable contributions, if only at a very spartan level.
Ijaza Unlike in most Western higher education programs (where failure to graduate is usually considered a failure on the part of some combination of the student, school or society), "only a small percentage" of talib who start out in a madrasa complete these courses and receive a
ijaza. Instead, the number of talib thins out at each level of promotion, with the drop-outs going on to less demanding and prestigious, but still respected religious roles. Most drop out at some point out of "financial or personal considerations", lack of intellect, and/or lack of perseverance. It is "uncommon" to obtain an ijaza before the age of 30, and "not uncommon" for 40 and 50-year-olds to still be students.
Hierarchy, types of ulama The ulama is much larger than just "recognized" mujtahids (i.e. mujtahids who have a following of Muslims who are prepared to refer to them on matters of Islamic law). Below these are those who drop out of madrasa "consider themselves members of the ulama" although they make their livelihood in some non-religious occupation (merchant, craftsman, etc.). Others are talib who "obviously" did not have the ability to complete the course and become a mujtahid, in the eyes of their mujtihad and are asked by him to take up a position as a • teacher for a
maktab •
mullah for a village •
pīshnamāz (prayer leader) •
mutawallī (custodian) of a shrine or endowment by a town that has asked the mujtihad to provide them with one. •
Ayatollah (sign of God) is a fairly recent term, originating in the 20th century as a title for marja' at-taqlid, but suffering from inflation such that following the 1979
Iranian Revolution it was used "for any established mujtahid". • ''
Hujjatu'l-Islam'' (proof of Islam) originated as a title for certain high-level mujtahids in the 19th century (Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Shafti, Mirza-yi Shirazi); following the 1979
Iranian Revolution it was used for "aspiring mujtahid".
Devaluation trend The title of Ayatollah (and other Iranian Shi'i titles) has been "cheapened" in recent decades. According to
Michael M. J. Fischer, the
Iranian revolution led to "rapid inflation of religious titles", and almost every senior cleric was called an Ayatollah. The same phenomenon happened to the title
Hujjat al-Islam before, which is today a less prestigious title than Ayatollah. As of 19th century, it was given to people who were not only
Mujtahids but also were the most distinguished clerics of that time. By the 21st century, there are "tens of thousands" called with that title, who are just aspiring to become a
Mujtahid. This trend led to the invention of a new title called
Ayatollah al-Uzma (). In the beginning, about half a dozen people were addressed with the latter title; as of 2015, the number of people who claimed that title was reportedly over 50. == Historical role in politics and society ==