In the mainstream Imāmῑ (Twelver) Shīʿī sense, a mujtahid (Ar. jurisprudent) is a jurist who exercises ijtihād; that is, reaches legal decisions based on the Qur'ān, ḥadῑth, ijmāʿ (Ar. consensus), and his own intellect. Believed to constitute the avenue connecting the community with the hidden Twelfth Imām, mujtahidūn gained prestige and influence and belonged to the higher echelons of the ʿulamāʾ, the body of religious scholars. They rendered legal verdicts and collected religious taxes and distributed them for different purposes.  The importance of Iranian mujtahidūn increase…