Is the turban-tying ceremony necessary?

Question

Within a Shar‘i institution, is it necessary for the religious scholar and the mawlana, and, for the office of qadi and the seat of ifta, the mufti, to come in due form from an institution of Islamic education, or can one become such on one’s own? Is the customary turban-tying at graduation necessary in these Shar‘i matters or not?

Answer

Competence and capability are necessary; the customary turban-tying ceremony is not necessary. Entrusting an office to someone unqualified is to degrade and ruin that office, which according to the noble hadith is a sign of the Hour. Whoever himself seeks an office and strives for it is not deserving of the office.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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