The Shaikh are a Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 community found in the state of Gujarat in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. They are part of the larger Shaikh

Shaikhs in South Asia

Sheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh, Şeyh 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...

 community of South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

. Included within the Shaikh community are the Shaikhda

Shaikhda

The Shaikhda or Shaikhra are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India.-History and origin:The Shaikhda are a community who are the devotees of the Sufi preacher Bala Mohammad Shah. Historically the community was one which followed a syncretic belief system, which incorporated...

 of Bharuch district

Bharuch district

Bharuch in India, is a district in the southern part of the Gujarat peninsula on the west coast of state of Gujarat with a size and population comparable to that of Greater Boston...

 and the Sodagar of Patan

Patan, Gujarat

Patan was a capital of Gujarat in medieval times. It is the administrative seat of Patan District in the Indian state of Gujarat and administered by municipality. The city contains many Hindu and Jain temples as well as few mosques, dargahs and rojas...

.

History and origin

The word Shaikh in Arabic means a tribal elder or headman.

The term Shaikh can cover a community of no definite origin, since the name has been used by any individuals of wide background. Mostly influential people or poor farmers converted by Sufi saints used to adopt Shaikh title. But some Shaikh communities like those in Patan are definitely Arab and can speak Arabic.

They played a key role in the early Islamic history of Gujarat, serving as courtiers and administrators for the Sultans of Gujarat

Gujarat Sultanate

The Gujarat Sultanate was an independent kingdom established in the early 15th century in Gujarat. The founder of the ruling Muzaffarid dynasty, Zafar Khan was appointed as governor of Gujarat by Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad bin Tughluq IV in 1391, the ruler of the principal state in north India at the...

 and later Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 rulers. After the breakup of the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

, they became rulers of a number of states in the Kathiawar

Kathiawar

Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...

 region, with Mangrol

Mangrol

Mangrol is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat.-Geography:Mangrol is located at . It has an average elevation of 18 metres .-Demographics:...

 being the most important.

The community is found mainly in Ahmadabad

Ahmadabad District

Ahmadabad is a district in Paktia Province, Afghanistan. It is located to the east of Gardez, the provincial capital of Paktia.-Security and Politics:...

, Godhra

Godhra

Godhra is a town and originally the name came from "Gou" which means "Cow" and "Dhara" which has two meanings: one in Sanskrit which means "Hold or Land" and the other in Hindi which means Flow. So, identically it means The Land of the Cow, a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of...

, Baroda, Rajkot, Junagadh

Junagadh

Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...

, Bhavnagar

Bhavnagar

-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...

 and the Kutch District

Kutch District

Kutch district is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,652 km², it is the largest district of India....

. They are essentially an urban community, except the Shaikh of Kutch. The Kutchi

Kutchi people

The Kutchi people traditionally reside in the Kutch region of the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat and in the Sindh province of Pakistan...

 Shaikh have three groups of equal status, the Shaikh Dada, Shaikh Sayed and Shaikh Fakeer. The first two are found in Kanyabee village and the last group in Shaikh Sumrasar village of the Bhuj

Bhuj

Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.-History:It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th...

 taluka.

Present circumstances

The Shaikh of Gujarat are largely an urban community, with the exception being the Shaikh of Kutch, who are largely farmers. In Kutch, the Shaikh undertake rain fed agriculture, and grow mainly wheat, sorghum and groundnuts. A few rear goat, sheep and cattle. Those in the urban area engage in a number of occupation, and have traditions similar to other Gujarati Muslim

Gujarati Muslim

The term Gujarati Muslims is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the State of Gujarat in west India, who speaks the Gujarati Language as a mother-tongue and follows certain customs different from the rest of Indian Muslims...

s community. The majority of the Shaikh are Sunni, the only exception being the Shaikh families of the town of Khambhat

Khambhat

Khambhat , formerly known as Cambay, is a city and a municipality in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was formerly an important trading center, although its harbour has gradually silted up, and the maritime trade has moved elsewhere...

, who are Shia. Like other Gujarati Muslim

Gujarati Muslim

The term Gujarati Muslims is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the State of Gujarat in west India, who speaks the Gujarati Language as a mother-tongue and follows certain customs different from the rest of Indian Muslims...

s, they too have a state wide caste association, the Shaikh Samyukh Mowath Jamat. The Shaikh of Gujarat speak Gujarati

Gujarati language

Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 with large number of Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 loanwords, while those of Kutch speak Kutchi

Kutchi language

Kachhi Kachhi Kachhi (also spelt Cutchi, Kutchhi or Kachchhi, is an Indo-Aryan Language spoken in the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat as well as in Sindh.- Closely related languages :...

. .

The Sodagar

The Sodagar or Arab Shaikh are a small sub-group with in the larger Shaikh community. They originate from the Hadhramaut

Hadhramaut

Hadhramaut, Hadhramout, Hadramawt or Ḥaḍramūt is the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate encompassing a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman...

 region of Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, and settled in the city of Patan

Patan, Gujarat

Patan was a capital of Gujarat in medieval times. It is the administrative seat of Patan District in the Indian state of Gujarat and administered by municipality. The city contains many Hindu and Jain temples as well as few mosques, dargahs and rojas...

, during the period of Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 rule, and intermarried with the Sunni Bohra

Sunni Bohra

Sunni Bohras or Sunni Vohras, are a Sunni Muslim community found in the province of Sindh in Pakistan and the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing a large number of cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that community. However, they are different in the fact...

 community. The community were involved the buying and selling of silk, and exporting it to the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. They still maintain links with the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, being fluent in Arabic. But the Sodagar mohalla in Patan has declined, with many of their houses becoming crumbling ruins. They have their own caste association, the Jamat Shams Sofdagaran, which is involved in the up keep of their jamat khana, in the town of Patan. They are strictly endogamous, and do not marry with other Shaikh groups. There are still cases of intermarriage with Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 communities in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.