Editing Sheikh (section)

==Regional usage==
===Arabian Peninsula===
In the [[Arabian Peninsula]], the title is used for [[tribal chief|chiefs of tribes]]. This also includes [[royal family|royalty]] in most of [[Culture of Eastern Arabia|Eastern Arabia]], where the royal families were traditionally considered tribal chiefs. For example, it is used by the UAE [[Al Nahyan family|Al-Nahyan dynasty]] and [[Al Maktoum|Al Maktoum dynasty]], who are considered the chiefs of the [[Bani Yas]] tribe, and by [[Kuwait]]'s [[House of Al-Sabah|Al Sabah dynasty]] and [[Bahrain]]'s [[House of Khalifa|Al Khalifa dynasty]] of the [[Bani Utbah]] tribal confederation. The term is used by almost every male and female (Sheikha) member of the royal houses of the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], and [[Kuwait]]. The title is not used by members of [[House of Saud|Al Saud]] of [[Saudi Arabia]], where the title "Prince" ({{langx|ar|أمير|translit=ʾAmīr}}) is used instead.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The title is also used to refer to [[Ulama|religious leaders]] for both Sunni and Shia Muslims. For example, the Saudi Arabian family [[Al ash-Sheikh]] (literally ''House of the Sheikh'') is named after the religious leader and eponymous founder of [[Wahhabism]], [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Lebanon===
In Lebanon, the title had the same princely and royal connotation as in the Arabian peninsula until the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] invasion in 1516, since it represented an [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] autonomous "[[sui iuris]]" ruler or tribal chief.<ref>A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered, 2001, Kamal Salibi</ref> Examples of some ancient families that hold the title of "sui iuris" sheikh is the [[Al-Chemor]] family, ruling since 1211 CE in [[Koura District|Koura]] and [[Zgharta]] until 1747 CE<ref>''Al-Sheikh Al-Chemor Al-Hakum Al-Akoura Al-Hakum Al-Zawyia'' by Ignatios Tannous Al-Khoury, Beirut, 1948, pg.123</ref><ref>"Tārīkh al-ṭāʼifah al-Mārūnīyah (Microform, 1890)". [WorldCat.org].</ref> and the Boudib family (descendants of the [[Hashemite]] family) who were [[Ehden]]ian rulers of [[Hadath El Jebbeh|Jebbeh]] since 1471 CE until 1759 CE. The descendants of this sovereign family now live in [[Miziara]], Mexico and Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A glimpse into the History of Ehden The Most Legendary Ehdenian Battles (2000BC - 1976)|last=El - Doaihi}}</ref> Even the Abu Harmoush family heads, which ruled the [[Chouf]] region until the [[Battle of Ain Dara]] in 1711 CE, were "sui iuris" sheikhs. After the Ottoman rule and the implementation of the [[Iltizam]] system, the title gained a [[Nobility|noble]] instead of royal connotation, since it was bestowed by a higher authority; in this case the Ottoman appointed [[Emir]], who was nothing more than a mültezim or tax collector for the [[empire]].<ref>Lebanon's Predicament, 1987, Samir Khalaf</ref> Some very influential [[Maronite]] families, who had the title bestowed upon them, are (in chronological order): the El Hachem of Akoura (descendants of the [[Hashemite]] family, since 1523), the [[El-Khazen]] (since 1545), the Hubaysh of [[Kisrawan]] and the [[Douaihy]] of [[Zgharta]]. Other families who are nowadays addressed or known as "sheikhs" were not traditionally rulers of provinces, but instead they were high-ranking officials at the service of the Emir at that time.

===Maghreb===
In the [[Maghreb]], during the [[Almohad]] dynasty, the caliph was also counseled by a body of sheikhs. They represented all the different tribes under their rules, including [[Arabs]], ([[Bedouins]]), [[al-Andalus|Andalusians]] and [[Berbers]] and were also responsible for mobilizing their kinsmen in the event of war.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpjwF--kPL4C&q=almohad+organization&pg=PA29|title=Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century|first1=Djibril Tamsir|last1=Niane|first2=Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of|last2=Africa|date=1 January 1984|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=19 February 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=978-92-3-101710-0}}</ref>

===Horn of Africa===
{{main|Somali aristocratic and court titles|Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles}}
[[File:Sheikh Ali Ayanle Samatar.jpg|thumb|Sheikh Ali Ayanle Samatar, a prominent [[Somali people|Somali]] Islamic scholar.]]
In the Muslim parts of the [[Horn of Africa]], "shaikh" is often used as a noble title. In [[Somali people|Somali]] society, it is reserved as an honorific for senior Muslim leaders and clerics (''wadaad''), and is often abbreviated to "Sh".<ref name="Ifla">{{cite book|last=IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, IFLA International Office for UBC., IFLA International Programme for UBC., IFLA UBCIM Programme|title=International cataloguing: quarterly bulletin of the IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, Volume 11|year=1987|publisher=The Committee|pages=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IpBAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> Famous local sheikhs include [[Ishaaq bin Ahmed]], an early Muslim scholar and Islamic preacher, [[Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti]], an early Muslim leader in [[Somaliland]]; [[Abadir Umar Ar-Rida]], the patron saint of [[Harar]]; [[Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti]], Sheikh of the [[Riwaq (arcade)|riwaq]] in [[Cairo]] who recorded the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|Napoleonic invasion of Egypt]]; [[Abd Al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla'i]], scholar who played a crucial role in the spread of the [[Qadiriyyah]] movement in Somalia and East Africa; [[Shaykh Sufi|Sheikh Sufi]], 19th century scholar, poet, reformist and astrologist; [[Abdallah al-Qutbi]], polemicist, theologian and philosopher best known for his five-part ''Al-Majmu'at al-mubaraka'' ("The Blessed Collection"); and Muhammad Al-Sumaalee, teacher in the [[Masjid al-Haram]] in [[Mecca]] who influenced many of the prominent Islamic scholars of today.<ref name="Fwmas">{{cite web|title=Scholars Biographies - 15th Century - Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah as-Sumaalee|url=http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/assumaalee.htm|publisher=Fatwa-Online|access-date=26 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915024556/http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/assumaalee.htm|archive-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>

===South Asia===
{{main|Shaikhs in South Asia}}
[[File:Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani.jpg|thumb|[[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] [[Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani]], a prominent [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] scholar]]
In the [[Multiculturalism|cosmopolitan]] hub of the [[South Asian]] sub-continent, it is not just an ethnic title but also often an occupational title<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pakistan a country study p149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FaggQsmGFWkC&q=sheikh+occupational+title+in+pakistan&pg=PA149|year = 1975}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sociology of religion p90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_0O8LxsWb8C&q=shaikh+occupational+caste&pg=PA97|date=20 February 2004|isbn = 978-0-7619-9781-8|last1 = Robinson|first1 = Rowena| publisher=SAGE Publications }}</ref> attributed to Muslim trading families. After the advent of Islam in [[South Asia]], many Hindu-Buddhists clans from different castes converted to Islam and adopted the title.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Muslim backward classes: a sociological perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxdBDwAAQBAJ&q=shaikh+is+occupational+caste&pg=PP32|date=30 August 2013|isbn = 978-81-321-1807-7|last1 = Khanam|first1 = Azra| publisher=SAGE Publications }}</ref> In the [[Punjab region]], [[Ismaili]] [[Pir (Sufism)|Pirs]] gave some converts, as well as [[Muslims]] who [[emigrated]] from [[Central Asia]], especially after the [[Mongol]] conquests , the [[hereditary]] title of [[Isma'ilism|Ismaili Shaikh]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Central Asia in Retrospect and prospect p406|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NAS7u3sGO_AC&q=shaikhs+migrated+from+central+asia&pg=PA2151|date=January 2010|isbn = 978-93-80009-32-2|last1 = Kaw|first1 = Mushtaq A.| publisher=Readworthy Publications }}</ref>

===Southeast Asia===

In [[Indonesia]] and other parts of [[Southeast Asia]], sheikhs are respected by local Muslims. In [[Indonesia]], the term is usually spelled "syech", and this is usually attributed to elderly [[ulama]]. Higher knowledgeable people of Islamic studies in Indonesia are usually referred to as "[[ustad]]" or "[[kyai]]".{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

=== Iran ===
From the perspective of Iran, the word or title of sheikh possesses diverse meanings, among individuals who are aged and wise, it has been an honorific title used for elders and learned scholars, such as: Sheikh al-Rayees [[Avicenna|Abu Ali Sina]], Sheikh [[Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid|Mufid]], Sheikh [[Morteza Ansari]]. In the past, Islamic scholars who were the Muhammad's descendants, were called [[Sayyid]]/[[Sayyid|Seyyed]] instead of sheikh.<ref>[https://www.porseshkadeh.com/Question/24036/%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA Who/what is Sheikh?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407021206/https://www.porseshkadeh.com/Question/24036/%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA |date=2023-04-07 }} porseshkadeh.com Retrieved 28 Oct 2018</ref>