in twelver shia the title is awarded to scholars. it was originally applied as an honorific to leading scholars, but now the use indicates a status in the hierarchy of the learned below ayatollah. it is divided into two sub ranks, "hujjatu l-islām wa l-muslimīn" ("authority on islam and muslims") and "hujjatu l-islām" ("authority on islam"), given to middle-ranking clerics.