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30-583: Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah KCSI KCIE (1885 – 29 January 1950) ( Arabic : الشيخ أحمد الجابر الصباح ) was the tenth ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait from 29 March 1921 until his death on 29 January 1950. He was the longest reigning ruler of Kuwait having reigned for a total 28 years and 305 days. Ahmad was the son of Jaber II Al-Sabah , who was the eighth ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait between 1915 and 1917. He succeeded his uncle Salem Al-Sabah ,

60-520: A dominant qutb (pole) or scholar within the Sufi orders in the region. Tijani left Mecca and returned to Cairo where he got al-Kurdi's blessing to preach the Khalwatiyya order. From Cairo he settled at Tlemcen for a couple of years. Tijani later settled at Boussemghoun , an oasis seventy five miles south of El Bayadh . It was at Samghun that Tijani received a vision from the prophet who told him to start

90-530: A new Sufi order. He left his previous affiliations with other Sufi orders and claimed divine instructions from prophet Mohammed, Thus, the year 1781 marks the beginning of the Tijaniyya order. Tijani's order soon gained attraction in the desert regions surrounding Abi Samghun. Shaykh Tijani lived in Abi Samghun for about fifteen years. In 1796 he went to Fez . In Fez, Tijani was well received by Mawlay Sulayman ,

120-560: A noble title. In Somali society, it is reserved as an honorific for senior Muslim leaders and clerics ( wadaad ), and is often abbreviated to "Sh". 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

150-659: A seven-man committee to aide the Palestinians and called for a public meeting. The intent was to raise awareness for the ongoing strike in Palestine and to gather funds for support. Al-Sabah was unable to stop this and discreetly left town on a hunting trip. During his last period of his reign he was the minister of finance from 1940 to 1950. Ahmad was married several times. Notable children include: Ahmad died in 1950 at Dasman Palace in Kuwait. Sheikh In some countries, it

180-592: A year at Tunis where he achieved some success. He left Tunis for Egypt where he met Mahmud al-Kurdi of the Khalwati order in Cairo. Tijani reached Mecca in late 1773 and performed hajj rites. In his quest to seek a Sufi way of life, he met Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah El Hindi, who rarely saw people except for his servant. He also met Abd-karim al-Sammman, founder of the Sammaniyya branch of Khalwati. Al-Samman told Tijani he will become

210-624: Is commonly used for women of ruling families in the Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula. Ahmad al-Tijani Abū al-ʻAbbās Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tijāniyy or Ahmed Tijani ( Arabic : أحمد التجاني , 1735–1815), was an Algerian Sharif who founded the Tijaniyyah tariqa (Sufi order). Tijani was born in 1735 in Aïn Madhi, the son of Muhammad al-Mukhtar. He traced his descent according to

240-506: Is given as a surname to those of great knowledge in religious affairs, by a prestigious religious leader from a chain of Sufi scholars. The word is mentioned in the Qur'an in three places: verse 72 of Hud , 78 of Yusuf , and 23 of al-Qasas . A royal family member of the United Arab Emirates and some other Arab countries, also has this title, since the ruler of each emirate is also

270-526: Is quoted as saying The bounties that flow from the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) are received by the natures of the prophets, and everything that flows and emerges from the natures of the Prophets is received by my own nature, and from me it is distributed to all creatures from the origin of the world until the blowing on the trumpet... No saint drinks or provides water to drink, except from our ocean, from

300-563: Is used instead. The title is also used to refer to 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 . In Mount Lebanon, the title had the same princely and royal connotation as in the Arabian peninsula until

330-561: The Bani Yas tribe, and by Kuwait 's Al Sabah dynasty and Bahrain 's 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 UAE , Bahrain , Qatar , and Kuwait . The title is not used by members of Al Saud of Saudi Arabia , where the title "Prince" ( Arabic : أمير , romanized :  ʾAmīr )

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360-608: The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca who influenced many of the prominent Islamic scholars of today. In the cosmopolitan hub of the South Asian sub-continent, it is not just an ethnic title but also often an occupational title 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. In

390-798: The Ottoman invasion in 1516, since it represented an indigenous autonomous " sui iuris " ruler or tribal chief. Examples of some ancient families that hold the title of "sui iuris" sheikh is the Al-Chemor family, ruling since 1211 CE in Koura and Zgharta until 1747 CE and the Boudib family (descendants of the Hashemite family) who were Ehdenian rulers of Jebbeh since 1471 CE until 1759 CE. The descendants of this sovereign family now live in Miziara , Mexico and Nigeria. Even

420-628: The Punjab region , Ismaili Pirs gave some converts, as well as Muslims who emigrated from Central Asia , especially after the barbaric Mongol conquests , the hereditary title of Ismaili Shaikhs . 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 ". From

450-633: The Qadiriyya order, and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tijani , who initiated the Tijaniyyah Sufi order. In the Arabian Peninsula , the title is used for chiefs of tribes . This also includes royalty in most of Eastern Arabia , where the royal families were traditionally considered tribal chiefs. For example, it is used by the UAE Al-Nahyan dynasty and Al Maktoum dynasty , who are considered the chiefs of

480-517: The Qadiriyya , the Nasiriyya, and the tariqa of Ahmad al-Habib b. Muhammed. In Fez, he met a seer who told him he would achieve spiritual revelation (fath). Thereafter, he left Fez to teach at al-Abiad , spending five years at the village. In 1772, he began a journey to Mecca for hajj and to seek a Sufi way of life. During his journey, he was initiated into the Khalwati order at Azwawi. He later taught for

510-648: The empire . 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

540-713: The riwaq in Cairo who recorded the 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; 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

570-413: The 10th-century Shaykhah Fakhr-un-Nisa Shuhdah and 18th-century scholar Al-Shaykha Fatima al-Fudayliyya . In 1957, Indonesian education activist Rahmah el Yunusiyah was awarded the title of syeikah by the faculty of Al-Azhar University , the first time the university had granted the title to a woman. A daughter, wife or mother of a sheikh is also called a shaykhah . Currently, the term shaykhah

600-713: The 1928 Battle of Al-Regeai . In 1936, the Palestinian authorities asked for financial aid from Ahmad Al Jaber, but he refused the demand due to treaty relations that did not permit any dealings with countries apart from Britain. Due to this prevailing condition, Kuwaiti royals and other leading figures were barred from financially assisting the Palestinians. Regardless of these orders, many defied them and in July 1936 200 Iraqi dinars were collected to be sent to Palestine. Later that year in October 1936, leading merchant families in Kuwait formed

630-700: 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 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

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660-556: The Berber custom, to his mother's tribe, Tijania . When he was sixteen, Tijani lost both parents as a result of a plague. By then he was already married. He learned Quran under the tutelage of Mohammed Ba'afiyya in Aïn Madhi and also studied Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi 's Islamic jusrispudence works that were written under Malikite rites. He also studied Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī 's Risala ila al-sufiyya. In 1757, Tijani left his village for Fez . While there, he joined three Sufi brotherhoods,

690-518: The Moroccan Sultan. Though Sulayman disliked other Sufi orders, he provided Tijani a house and appointed him as a member of his learned council. At first, Tijani chose the mosque of Mawlay Idris to pray but performed the rites of the Tijani order in his house. Tijani later built his own zawiya . In Fez, he sent his trusted aides to spread the word of his order. Trusted aides such as Abu Hafs' Abdul-Rahman

720-519: The ninth ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait, in February 1921. Ahmad was the lead cavalry commander , founder of the military of Kuwait and the Directorate of Public Security Force . Ahmad tasked his defense cavalry and infantry to Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah in the early 1920s and transferred the command of defense cavalry and infantry to Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah following

750-485: The origin of the world until the blowing on the trumpet... 'The spirit of the Prophet and my spirit are like this' – pointing with his two fingers, the index finger and the middle finger. 'His spirit supports the Messengers and the Prophets and my spirit supports the poles, the sages, the saints, from pre-existence to eternity (mina al-azal ila abad)... These two feet of mine are upon the neck of every saint of Allah, from

780-629: 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 Abu Ali Sina , Sheikh Mufid , Sheikh Morteza Ansari . In the past, Islamic scholars who were the Muhammad's descendants, were called Sayyid / Seyyed instead of sheikh. Historically, female scholars in Islam were referred to as shaykhah (Arabic: شيخة ) (alt. shaykhat ). Notable shaykha include

810-651: The service of the Emir at that time. 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 ), Andalusians and Berbers and were also responsible for mobilizing their kinsmen in the event of war. In the Muslim parts of the Horn of Africa , "shaikh" is often used as

840-519: The sheikh of their tribe. The word in Arabic stems from a triliteral root connected with aging: ش-ي-خ , shīn-yā'-khā' . The title carries the meaning leader, elder , or noble , especially in the Arabian Peninsula within the Tribes of Arabia , where Shaikh became a traditional title of a Bedouin tribal leader in recent centuries. Due to the cultural impact of Arab civilization, and especially through

870-621: The spread of Islam, the word has gained currency as a religious term or general honorific in many other parts of the world as well, notably in Muslim cultures in Africa and Asia . In Sufism ( tasawwuf ), the word shaikh is used to represent a spiritual guide who initiates a particular order ( tariqa ) which leads to Muhammad , although many saints have this title added before their names out of respect from their followers. A couple of prominent examples are Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani , who initiated

900-665: Was sent to Oran and Algiers and Abdul-Salam al-Waghiri to Constantine, Algeria . Further muqaddams were appointed among learned converts including Muhammad Fuwadir al-Abdallawi in the Jarid district of Tunisia and Muhammed al-Hafiz in Mauritania. Tijani assigned to himself the title of Qutb al-Aqtab (or the Pole of the Poles) and Khatm al-Walayya al-Muhammadiyya (or the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood). He

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