High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Sheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, ?eih, ?ejh, ?eyh and other variants, is a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that literally means "elder." It is commonly used to designate an elder of a tribe, a revered wise man, or an Islamic scholar. Although the title generally refers to a male, a very small number of female sheikhs have also existed in history. It also refers to a man over 40 or 50 years old generally. Whilst even a new Muslim can be called a sheikh if he is diligent in seeking the knowledge of Islam based upon the Quran and authentic Sunnah, he can be referred to as such by those he teaches.