Persian · noun phrase, masculine · People & Roles
Sheikh-o-brahman
शैख़-ओ-बरहमन
said shaikh-o-bar-ha-man
also written: Shaikh-o-Brahman
Meaning
'The Sheikh and the Brahmin' together; a stock pairing of the two priesthoods that stands for institutional religion of every kind.
Literally: the Muslim elder and the Hindu priest
Usage & notes
Iqbal famously yokes sheikh and brahman to indict the formalism shared by both, the dry ritual that mistakes the shell of religion for its spirit. Against both he sets the lover whose direct devotion needs no temple or pulpit.
Related words
ARABIC
Shaikh
An elder, religious authority, or head of an order; in the ghazal often the orthodox, worldly cleric set against the lover.
SANSKRIT
Brahman
A Hindu priest of the highest caste who tends the temple and its rites.
PERSIAN
Barhaman
A Brahmin or Hindu priest; in Persianate poetry the idol-temple's keeper, a counterpart to the Muslim cleric.