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Akhund (Persian:آخوند) is aPersian title or surname forIslamic scholars,[1][2][3] common inIran,Afghanistan,Tajikistan,Pakistan,Bangladesh, andAzerbaijan. Other names for similar Muslim Scholar includeSheikh andMullah.[4]
TheStandard Chinese word forImam (Chinese:阿訇;pinyin:āhōng), used in particular by theHui people, also derives from this term.[2] Other similar Chinese terms (Chinese:阿衡;pinyin:āhéng andChinese:阿洪;pinyin:āhóng) also exist.[5]
Akhunds are religious and spiritual leaders.[6][7] They lead the prayers in themosques, deliver religious sermons, perform religious ceremonies such as marriage rituals, birth rituals etc. Many of them were magistrates or justices of Sharia courts who also exercised extrajudicial functions, such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. They also often teach in Islamic schools known in Iran ashawzas and in other countries asmadrasas.
Akhunds will usually have completed higher studies on Islamic subjects such asSharia,Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence),Quran etc. They commonly dress in religious attire.
InIran, they are also calledmullah, molavi,sheikh,haj-agha, or ruhani. The word ruhani means "spiritual, holy". Ruhani is considered a more polite term for Muslim clerics, used by Iranian national television and radio and by devout Muslim families. Akhund is increasingly outmoded in Iran, usually with only the older clerics having the title as part of their name. It has not been used widely as a title since theQajar dynasty.
InAfghanistan, and among thePashtuns of the Afghan-Pakistan border region, the term is still current in its original sense as an honorific.
TheAzerbaijani surname Akhundov (as in e.g.Mirza Fatali Akhundov) is formed from the word akhund.
Akhand is used as a surname amongBengalis.
Zeeshan Akhwand Khattak also uses this title with their personal name. Zeeshan Akhwand is a journalist and social worker from Karak, Pakistan.
Media related toCategory:Akhoond at Wikimedia Commons
