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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Shaikh |
TheShaikh are a Muslim community found in the state ofUttar Pradesh in India.
Shaikh is a word orhonorific term in theArabic language that literally means "elder." It is commonly used to designate an elder of atribe, a revered wise man, or anIslamic scholar. Some members ofBrahmins,Rajputs andKhatri communities also converted to Islam. SomeMuslim Khatris,Brahmins andRajputs useshaikh and khan as their surnames, and consider themselves belonging to theShaikh community.[1][full citation needed]
A community of early Shaikh are theQidwai, whose ancestor was claimed to be Qazi Qidwa, a son of the Sultans ofRum, in what is now modern Turkey. The Qazi is said to have been sent to theAwadh region to spread Islam, where he is said to have won over fifty local villages to Islam. These fifty villages were later awarded to him, and the region became known as Qidwara. The converts of these fifty villages were called Qidwai.[2] According to another tradition, Kazi Kidwa is said to have defeated a local ruler in the Awadh region by the name of Raja Jagdeopur. This Raja was said to have belonged to the aboriginal Tribal community. The original settlement of the tribe was Juggaur inLucknow district, from where they spread toBarabanki District. These early colonists were often required to make converts, and these converts often adopted the clan name of those at whose hand they accepted Islam, and this led to a substantial growth in the Shaikh community.[citation needed]
The Qidwais were recruited in the household cavalry ofShuja-ud-Daula, which was mainly composed of the Sheikhzadgan.[3][4][page needed]
Historically, the Siddiqui, Hashmi and Farooqui shaikhs of Awadh and Rohilkhand (Budaun and Bareilly) were substantial landowners, oftenzamindars, taluqedar and jagirdar. In the urban townships, Shaikh families served as priests, teachers and administrators, with theBritish colonial authorities giving the community a preference in recruitment as soldiers and civil officers.[5][full citation needed]
Notable people from the Shaikh community: