SHAJH al-ISLĀM. – One of the many Islamic honorific titles (alqāḍ) that appeared around the mid-4th century AH (10th century AD) and means, roughly, “Prince of Islam.” Initially applied as a simple honorary title to ‘ulamā’ and mystics of particular learning, it became increasingly specialized in the field of jurists and was attributed to those muftīs whose fatwās enjoyed particular authority. In the Ottoman Empire, S. al-I. was the title given to the muftī of Istanbul, who attained a politico-religious importance unknown in other Islamic states.
The importance of S. al-I. was consolidated especially during the reigns of Sultan Selim I (d. 1520) and Sultan Solimano I (d. 1566), when the muftī of Istanbul obtained administrative supremacy over all the ‘ulamā’ of the Empire. Some orientalists have attributed this hierarchical organization of religious jurists, with S. al-I. at its head—an organization that does not correspond to Islamic tradition, which knows no specialized “clergy”—to the influence of the Christian episcopal organization present in the Ottoman Empire under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch. In any case, it was the Sultan who had the power to appoint and dismiss S. al-I. In ceremonial protocol, he ranked immediately after the Grand Vizier and, in addition to the aforementioned title, bore other pompous honorifics such as “the most learned of the learned,” “ocean of sciences,” etc. He usually wore a white qaftān and a turban adorned with a gold band. Unlike other high Ottoman officials, who were usually former Christians who had converted, the muftīs—and consequently S. al-I.—belonged to old Muslim families. Before reaching the highest office, they followed regular courses of study in the madrasas (religious schools), ascending through all the ranks of the religious judiciary. Gradually, an entire organization of schools, academic degrees, and canonical courts was formed under the authority of S. al-I.
The main task of S. al-I. was to issue fatwās on matters of general public interest. Notable examples include the historic fatwās authorizing war against Egypt (1516) and against Venice (1570), the permissibility of drinking coffee (previously considered illicit by a fatwā of a previous S. al-I.), and the establishment of printing presses (1727). Although S. al-I. generally complied readily with the wishes of their sovereigns, the sultans, there were also courageous dissenting opinions, such as the fatwā of Abū ’l-Su‘ūd (d. 1574) against the forced conversion of all Christians and that of Es‘ad Effendi against the massacres of Ottoman princes. The institution of S. al-I., which in its final days served to support the most reactionary policies of the Ottoman sultans, was abolished in 1922 by the Turkish Republic. Modernist Muslims have shown clear opposition to the institution of S. al-I., considering it contrary to the principles of genuine Islam. Today, in various Islamic states, the functions of S. al-I. are partly exercised by the muftī of the capital or, as in Egypt, by the shaykhs of al-Azhar, though without the hierarchical organization typical of the Ottoman Empire. Pakistan (v.), for example, the head of the muftīs still commonly bears the title of S. al-I.