What is "ijazah"

alt. (context Indonesian English Muslim English) A certificate of authority. Among Muslims an indication that the person is an authority, recognized by someone as capable of interpreting scripture. n. (context Indonesian English Muslim English) A certificate of authority. Among Muslims an indication that the person is an authority, recognized by someone as capable of interpreting scripture.

An ijazah is the grant of permission or authority usually represented by a certificate used primarily by Sunni Muslims to indicate that one has been authorized by a higher authority to transmit a certain subject or text of Islamic knowledge. This usually implies that the student has learned this knowledge through face-to-face interactions "at the feet" of the teacher. The ijazah was limited to the study of Islamic law ( sharia) and in the transmission of knowledge (gnosis) in the Islamic spiritual tradition Sufism. Philosophy, natural sciences and Islamic theology ( kalam) were excluded.