Can someone help me out with this - having watched a ton of lectures/videos on youtube & The Deen Show, I'm a bit confused...
1. Are scholars the only "people of knowledge" who can issue fatwa's?
2. I am guessing any Muslim can give lectures? (Evidenced by people like Yusef Estes and Khalid Yasin).
3. Re: Zakir Naik, I read somewhere that he is not a scholar but a "comparative religion" speaker. So basically he gives lectures but is not a scholar?
4. Is Sheikh an honorary title given to Muslims? (IE Estes & Yasin).
Thanks for any help.
There are no real qualifications for a sheikh, but that he must be more knowledgable than the common folk. Some people have different standards, and some who are called sheikhs won't be recognized as such by others. A degree from Madinah U or some other prominent school like Al-Azhar helps in legitimizing the claim, and recognition by other scholars as one of them solidifies it. So a community can have a 'sheikh', but he may not be recognised as such among other 'sheikhs'. 'Sheikh' literally means 'old man'. Salafis do not recognize that there are any sheikhs in 'The West', only in the lands of Islam. Characters like Estes and Yasin would be called 'Da'ees', or 'Duaat', callers, missionizers, but many will call them as sheikhs.
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