What are the conditions that must be met in a person to be considered a طالب علم شرعي (student of Islamic sacred knowledge)?

The meaning of "seeker of knowledge" varies; it is used for one who has acquired a certain amount of knowledge or one who is qualified to seek it. In the terminology of hadith scholars, it refers to one who has begun to seek hadith but has not yet reached the rank of a شيخ (shaykh). It is permissible for a Muslim, if he knows the ruling on an issue, to issue a fatwa concerning it, and it may become obligatory for him to do so if the questioner finds no one else. However, issuing a fatwa without knowledge is a statement against Allah without knowledge, and it is akin to polytheism.