Thread

People often ask and query what a 'Shaykh' or Scholar in Islam is

There is sometimes dispute over which individuals should be referred to as a Scholar

Whilst there will be various definitions, debate & dispute, I looked at a few resources and commentary on this:

The titles 'Shaykh' & 'Alim' are often synonymous

The plural of Shaykh is 'Shayookh' and for Alim it is 'Ulema'

The linguistic meaning of Shaykh is:

'The one who has become old and grey hair has started to appear"

Therefore, in someone contexts it is used as a form of respect towards someone of a certain age and not necessarily someone who is qualified

Alim means one who has knowledge (i.e 'ilm'

'Al-Alim' is also one of the names of Allah (swt) and means 'The Knowledgeable' or 'The All-Knowing'

The Quran (35:28) says of an Alim:

"It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah".

i.e. A Shaykh or an Alim is one who knows and understands the true fear of Allah

Going back to what a Scholar in Islam is, there are a number of requirements and conditions set out for someone to reach that status

To be a Shaykh, one of the primary requirements is to master Arabic on many levels

They must also have graduated from a recognised institute of higher Islamic learning

Some well known examples of this are the Islamic University of Madinah or Al-Azhar, but there are other institutes across the world

A Shaykh would also have learned directly from a recognised Shaykh or number of Shayookh

This is often referred to as 'learning at the feet of a Scholar'

The scholars you learn from would also need to give you an endorsement or recommendation, sometimes known as an 'Ijazah'

It takes a number of years, often 8, 10 or more, at these institutes and learning from Scholars to reach the required level

In terms of knowledge, a Shaykh is a person who has qualified in and has detailed and advanced knowledge of the Islamic sciences which include:

- The Quran (and tafsir)
- Hadith
- Aqeedah (Creed)
- Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)