The person with this title is also able to provide guidance and clarify topics on issues in the Islamic community.
It offers historical significance, educational purposes and responsibilities, traditional continuation, and ethical guidance.
[4] Its first recorded use was in a Sunni context, as a title for the 11th-century theologian al-Ghazali, due to his refutations of Hellenistic-influenced philosophers and Isma'ilis.
[6] In the contemporary era, Egyptian Muhaddith Qadi Ahmad Shakir would confer the title "Hujjat al-Islam" to his teacher Muhammad Rashid Rida, upon his death.
[7] Deobandis granted this title to their leader Hanafi Maturidi theologian Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi for his debates with scholars of other religions and establishing Darul Uloom Deoband.
[3] In Shia Islam, Hujjaj al-Islam are supposed to be an authority in order to guide them until the return of Imam al-Mahdi while preserving and continuing his teachings.