Unlike in many other countries, this position possesses the exclusive power to issue fatwas, or Islamic legal rulings, which carry enforceable authority within the nation.

[1] The State Mufti is the most senior religious authority in the country.

His main role is to give opinions (fatwas) on legal matters and on social affairs base on Islamic Koran, Hadeeth, Qiyas and Ijma' of Ulema.

[2] The first State Mufti of Brunei was Ismail Omar Abdul Aziz from 1962 to 1965.

In 1967, Ismail again became Brunei's State Mufti until his death.