What is your definition of a qualified scholar and its justification?

Allah Ta'ala says in the Noble Qur'aan, 'Verily those that fear Allah from%0D%0Aamong his slaves are the Ulama.'%0D%0A%0D%0ATrue Ulama are those who have true knowledge of the Shari'ah and by virtue%0D%0Aof their knowledge attain a colour of the fear of Allah in them. They%0D%0Aendervour to accomplish the orders of Allah in every walk of their life,%0D%0Adomestic, social and political. In order to achieve the ultimate spirit of%0D%0Aknowledge, the obedience to Allah and His Rasul (Sallallaahu Alayhi%0D%0AWasallam), one need to examine the lives of the preceding Allah-fearing%0D%0AUlama and the knowledge they acquired in order to imbibe in them such%0D%0Aoutstanding qualities.%0D%0A%0D%0AAmong the torch bearers of true knowledge and guidance after the illustrious%0D%0ASahaaba (Radhiallahu Anhum) were the four famous Imaams of Fiqh who%0D%0Apossessed deep understanding of the Shari'ah. They extracted the fundamental%0D%0Arules and principles of Shari'ah in the light of the Qur'aan and Hadith and%0D%0Athereby extracted many Shar'ee rulings. The fundamental rules and principles%0D%0Aare known as Usool-al-Fiqh and the laws extracted therefrom are known as%0D%0AFiqh.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn brief, an Aalim should be well acquainted with the Qur'aan and its%0D%0Asciences of commentary as well as its commentary (Usool-al-Tafseer and%0D%0ATafseer), he should be well acquainted with the sciences of commentary of%0D%0AHadith and Ahaadith (Usool-al-Hadith and Ahaadith). Obviously, since the Qur%0D%0A'aan and Ahaadith are in Arabic, one has to study Arabic and have profound%0D%0Aknowledge of Arabic language as well.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn traditional Islamic institutions of Academic Islamic studies, the above%0D%0Asubjects are offered over a period of approximately eight years. Thereafter,%0D%0Aone may spend another two years to study a specialist course in Qur'aan,%0D%0AHadith or Fiqh. Furthermore, in traditional institutes much emphasis on good%0D%0Acharacter, conduct and fear of Allah.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd Allah Ta%E3la Knows Best.%0D%0A%0D%0AWas salaam%0D%0A%0D%0AMufti Ebrahim Desai