- Shaikhs in South Asia
Shaikh (Arabic: شيخ ), meaning elder of a tribe, lord, revered old man, or Islamic scholar. In
South Asia , it signifiesArab ancestry. From the beginning ofMuslim rule in South Asia in 713 AD, technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and sufis flocked from the rest of the Arab & Muslim world, to the Islamic Sultanate inSouth Asia and settled permanently. The descendents of these Arabs usually go by the title of "Shaikh".In South Asia, after the advent of
Islam , many high casteHindus (Brahmin s,Kayastha s,Vaishya s andKhatri s) converted to Islam. They also adopted the title of "Shaikh" and became part of the Muslim elite of Islamic Sultanate. In the Punjab region, Brahmins, Khatris and Aroras were prominent in adopting this title. They are known asPunjabi Shaikh (Urdu: پنجابی شيخ ). Most of the Punjabi Shaikh families were converted from the Khatri and Arora castes bySufi missionaries. The prominentBuddhists clans of the Punjab also adopted this title after converting to Islam.Kashmiri Shaikh s residing in the Punjab are descendants ofKashmiri Pandit s, who converted to Islam. Punjabi Shaikhs are mostly urban and non agriculturist. Their main professions are business and public service.Examples of subdivisions of the Shaikh title include:
* Shaikh Quraishi, members of the Banu Quraish tribe. The Prophet
Muhammad belonged to this tribe.
* Shaikh Hashemi, members of theBanu Hashim clan of the Banu Quraish tribe. The ProphetMuhammad belonged to this clan.
* Shaikh Siddiqui, descendents of Hazrat Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa ofIslam .
* Shaikh Farooqi, descendents of Hazrat Umar Farooq, the second Khalifa ofIslam .
* Shaikh Usmani (Osmani), descendents of Hazrat Usman the third Khalifa ofIslam See also
*
Shaikh
*Punjabi Shaikh
*Kashmiri Shaikh
*Khawaja Shaikh
*Qanungoh Shaikh
*Siddiqui
*Shaikh Siddiqui
*Sindhi Shaikh
*Mian
*Chinioti Shaikh
*Qallu External links
* [http://www.shaikhsiddiqui.com/ Shaikh Siddiqui]
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