The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2208 page)

Honorific title for Muslims who achieve eminence in various ways, but especially in
kal
m
or
f
qh
. It became, under the
Ottomans
, a formal institution, associated with the
muft
of Constantinople. Among
S
f
s
, a shaikh is one who has attained spiritual mastery (Pers.,
pir
) by submitting to the discipline and instruction of another shaikh.

 
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Shaikh
.

Followers of
Shaykh
A
mad A
s
’
(1753–1826), a
Sh
‘a
Muslim who lived in Persia. They reject what they regard as the excesses of Sufism, especially the view that the essence of God becomes manifest in all that he creates (because essence cannot be divided into parts), but equally they are more rationalistic than many Shi‘ites would allow. Thus they reject the resurrection of
this
body, saying that it goes to dust, but affirm a subtle body which subsists and is resurrected; and they interpret such miracles as the
mi‘r
j
(ascension) metaphorically.