Do Muslims have an authority like the Catholic pope to whom they refer?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

Muslims do not have a human authority who permits something today and prohibits it tomorrow and to whom all of the laws of the Sharee‘ah are referred. Instead, the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet are our authority as Muslims. The scholars extract the rules from these sources, not of their own accord. They are solid unalterable references.

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, obey Allaah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allaah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allaah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.} [Quran 4:59]

Allaah The Almighty granted Himself and His Prophet unconditional obedience, and made obedience to those in authority from among the scholars and rulers part of obedience to Him and His Messenger . In case of disagreement, He commanded us to refer the matter to the Quran and the Sunnah of His Prophet . Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.} [Quran 4:83]