Shaykh al-Islām

Shaykh al-Islam () ( is a title of respect for outstanding scholars of Islam.Gerhard Böwering; Patricia Crone; Mahan Mirza, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013), p. 509 The title may also be used for the chief expert in Islamic law of a city or kingdom. 

The title "shaykh al-Islam" was reserved for very few scholars. Usually those with the greatest merits. Al-Sakhawi defines it as follows:

 Scholars 
There were not many scholars known as shaykh al-Islam. The title was used for the following scholars:
 Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (396-481 A.H.)
 Ibn Surayj (249–306 A.H.)
 Al-Daraqutni (306–385 A.H.)
 Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (336–430 A.H.)
 Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini (344–406 A.H.)
 Al-Bayhaqi (384–458 A.H.)
 Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (393–476 A.H.)
 Al-Juwayni (419–478 A.H.)
 Ibn al-Jawzi (509/510–597 A.H.)
 Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (544–606 A.H.)
 Al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam (577–660 A.H.)
 Ibn Daqiq al-'Id (625–702 A.H.)
 Al-Nawawi (631–676 A.H.)
 Ibn Taymiyyah (661–728 A.H.) 
 Taqi al-Din al-Subki (683–756 A.H.)
 Taj al-Din al-Subki (727–771 A.H.)
 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 A.H.)
 Zakariyya al-Ansari (823–926 A.H.)
 Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (909–974 A.H.)
 Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (724–805 A.H.)
 Shihab al-Din al-Ghazzi (000–822 A.H.)
 Shihab al-Din al-Ramli (000–957 A.H.)
 Muhammad al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur (1296–1392 A.H.)
 Abdel-Halim Mahmoud (1328–1397 A.H.)

 Additional reading 
 Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala' ('Biographies of Noble Personalities').

 References 

 Other websites 
 Shaykh Al-Islam

Category:Muslim scholars
Category:Arabic words and phrases