The first thing we are going to do, before knowing the meaning of the term sheikh, is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we have to explain that it is a word that derives from Arabic, specifically it emanates from “shaikh”, which can be translated as “old”.
In classical Arabic, the word was used to refer to the elder who gave orders or exercised authority . This term is the etymological root of sheikh , a concept in our language used with reference to the leader who exercises government in a Muslim region or who directs a people .
A sheikh, therefore, is a sovereign among Muslims or among members of other eastern peoples. The notion, however, has different scopes, generally always within the Arab world .
In its broadest sense, a sheikh is an individual respected for his knowledge or experience. This can be anything from a spiritual guide (such as an imam ) to the head of a Bedouin group . Even political leaders and businessmen are called sheikh.
Sheikh is also a title in Arab nations. Thanks to the oil industry, today many sheikhs are billionaires with enormous power, who make investments internationally.
Sheikh Nasser Ghanim Al-Khelaïfi Casas , for example, is the owner of the French football club Paris Saint-Germain ( PSG ), the president of Bein Sports and the Qatar Tennis Federation ( Qatar ) and the vice president of the Federation Asian Tennis . At the helm of the French team, he made several impressive signings, shelling out huge sums of money to sign stars such as the Brazilian Neymar , the French Kylian Mbappé , the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani and the Argentine Ángel Di María .
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan , meanwhile, is the owner of the English club Manchester City , co-owner of the American team New York City Football Club and a member of the family that governs the emirate of Abu Dhabi (or Abu Dhabi ).
In the same way, it is interesting to know that the sheikh who claims to be the richest in the world is none other than Prince Abwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia. And he has a fortune that, according to Forbes, is around $20 billion. Hence, he is known for his luxury whims, such as having more than 300 vehicles, including a Mercedes covered in diamonds, or having bathed his plane in gold.
In the field of literature we find works that have the term that concerns us now in their title. This would be the case, for example, of the novel “The Sheikh”, which is written by Scarlett Bulter. It was published in 2015 in Spanish and tells the story of a woman who has seen her life marked by being an orphan and not having a fixed home. This has made him find his great passion in archeology and thanks to that he will meet a sheikh who will make him fall in love. However, being by his side will lead her to have to abide by some laws of the desert for which, perhaps, she is not prepared.