The term ulama is mentioned in the Holy Quran twice and traditionally, the Muslim community regarded them as a group of Islamic scholars. A hadith recorded the Prophet Muhammad as saying the ulama were “heirs of the Prophet” (waratsatul anbiya). The ulama quote this hadith to identify themselves as authorities in religious matters, gatekeepers of religious learning, and guardians of the faith. As such, the ulama often present themselves as “custodians of an authoritative dogma, reproducers of an authoritative legacy, and interpreters of authoritative law” (Ghozzi, 2002, p. 317). Unlike Christianity, many Muslims do not regard the ulama as an ordained priesthood. In Catholicism, the religious structures are neatly separated from society, where ordained priests are considered mediators between God and human beings. While priests perform sacramental functions and intercession between God and man, this is generally not the case for the ulama. The ulama act as religious scholars who provide guidance on theological matters, and ideally, are autonomous from the state and ruling elites.

Muslims distinguish ulama from other elites by virtue of their education. They identify ulama based on their training in Islamic disciplines or revealed knowledge. Religious science training can be received either earlier or later in their educational life. The ulama's fields of study include law, exegesis, theology, and traditions of the Prophet. By nature of their training, the ulama function as jurists, theologians, grammarians, teachers, mufassirin or writers of Quranic commentary, and muaddithin or interpreters of hadith (Hussain, 2006). The ulama must have the ability to read and converse in Arabic in order to interpret the Quran, hadith, and classical Islamic sources. They have the competency to deal with matters pertaining to religious beliefs, rituals, and ethical codes. Moreover, the Muslims regard ulama as the spiritual, moral, and intellectual custodians of Islam. Hence, ulama define problems falling within the sphere of religion and provide solutions based on what they deem divine law. In some Muslim societies, the ulama must not only receive training in a madrasah (traditional Islamic school), they must also take up appointments in offices deemed “religious.” This has its precedence during the Ottoman caliphate, where those who studied in a madrasah and received an ijazah (diploma or degree) secured appointments as mosque functionaries, teachers or judges, could be regarded as ulama (Chambers, 1972, p. 33).