Shaykh al-Islām

With the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924, the official Ottoman office of Shaykh al-Islām, already in decline, was eliminated. Modern times have seen the role of chief mufti carried out by grand muftis appointed or elected in a variety of ways.

Classical usage

Like other honorific titles starting with the word sheikh, the term shaykh al-islam was in the classical era reserved for ulama and mystics. It first appeared in Khurasan in the 4th century AH (10th century AD). In major cities of Khurasan it seems to have had more specific connotations, since only one person held the title at any given time and place. An urban Shaykh al-Islam was the senior scholar who headed a city's religious and educational establishment, supervising lecturers and arbitrating legal disputes. Rural Shaykhs al-Islam acted as lords, owning land, handling administration, and wielding some legal authority as magistrates. Holders of the title in Khurasan were among the most influential ulama, but there is no evidence that they delivered fatwas.

Under the Ilkhans, the Delhi Sultanate, and the Timurids, the title was conferred, often by the ruler, to high-ranking ulama who performed various functions but were not generally muftis.

In the Kashmiri Sultanate, it was implemented during the reign of Sultan Sikandar. He established the office of the Shaikhu'l-Islam under the influence of Sayyid Muhammad Hamadan, who had come to Kashmir in 1393 AD.

In Syria and Egypt, it was given to influential jurists and had an honorific rather than an official role. By 700 AH/1300 AD in the central and western lands of Islam, the term became associated with the giving of fatwas.

Ibn Taymiyya was given the title by his supporters but his adversaries contested this use. For example, the Hanafi scholar 'Ala' al-Din al-Bukhari issued a fatwa stating that anyone who called Ibn Taymiyya "Shaykh al-islam" had committed disbelief (kufr). However, Shafiite scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani defended the title of Shaykh al Islam for Ibn Taymiyyah, saying in his own words, "His status as imam, sheikh, Taqiyuddin Ibn Taimiyah, is brighter than the sun. And his title with Shaykhul Islam, we still often hear from holy orals until now, and will continue to survive tomorrow.", which was recorded by his student al Sakhawi. The Hanbalite madhhab scholar and follower of Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (himself also given Shaykh al Islam title by his contemporary) defended the usage of the title for him. Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim are both known for contradicting the views of the majority of scholars of all four schools of thought (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali) of their time in Damascus and of later periods.

There is disagreement on whether the title was honorific or represented a local mufti in Seljuq and early Ottoman Anatolia.