Shaikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh or Sheikh
(Arabic: شيخ), is a word in the Arabic language meaning elder of a
tribe, lord, revered old man, or Islamic scholar. A daughter or
wife of a Sheikh (lord) is sometimes called Sheikhah (Arabic: شيخة).
The term literally means a man of old age, and is used in that
sense in Quranic Arabic. Later it came to be a title meaning
leader, elder or noble, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, where
shaikh became a traditional title of a Bedouin tribal leader in
recent centuries.
The title is not only used by Muslims; it is also used by Arab
Christians for elder men of stature, showing that it is
independent of religion. It is also used to refer to scholars of
various Islamic sciences such as faqihs, muftis, and muhaddiths.
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