The emergence of fuqaha authority in the formation process of fiqh

The religion that Muslims believe in has determined their understanding of religious authority. Over time, by combining the fundamental principles of the religion they believed in with their historical experiences, they intertwined the religious, political, and juridical. What we call fiqh or Islamic law is the combination of Muslims' understanding of religion and their political and legal activities. The combination of religious, political, and legal authorities impacted the emergence of the fuqaha, who undertook the activity of fiqh on the stage of history as an authority. The authority of the fuqaha is the most influential authority to which Muslims appealed in the classical period and today. The emergence of this authority, its historical roots, its transformation into a doctrine, and discussion today have caused problems because they have been evaluated independently. By analyzing these processes together, this thesis aims to understand the emergence of the authority of the fuqaha, how it resulted, and what the issue of appealing to the authority means nowadays. Key words: Authority, fiqh, jurisprudence, jurists, religion, politics, law