Shaikh al-Islām

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Shaikh al-Islām or shaykh. Honorific title for Muslims who achieve eminence in various ways, but especially in kalām or fīqh. It became, under the Ottomans, a formal institution, associated with the muftī of Constantinople. Among Sūfīs, a shaikh is one who has attained spiritual mastery (Pers., pir) by submitting to the discipline and instruction of another shaikh.