Shaikh
Also called: Pir, Murshid · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"
Meaning
A shaikh was a sufi teaching master. Shaikh is the Arabic word; in Persian he is called pir or murshid. He ran a khanqah, the hospice that was the centre of a sufi community. He accepted disciples (murids), set rules for their spiritual life and named a successor (khalifa). After his death, his tomb often became a shrine (dargah).
Example
Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325) ran a khanqah at Ghiyaspur on the Yamuna, near Delhi. Soldiers, slaves, poets such as Amir Khusrau and even Hindu jogis came to see him. His disciples gave him the title sultan-ul-mashaikh, "king of the shaikhs".
Don't confuse with
- Ulama: scholars of Islamic law who advised rulers on the shari'a. A shaikh's authority came from his personal spiritual experience, not from legal learning.