This word has multiple meanings depending on the context of its usage:
- A title and attribute of AllahThe proper name of God in Islam and in Arabic, referring to all of His perfect attributes at once. This name is a proper noun, and no other entity or being is allowed to have... More meaning ‘All-Knowing’ or ‘Omniscient.’. It shares the same Arabic root as the word ‘ilm (knowledge).
2. A person of knowledge. It is also a general term for Muslim scholars. Whatever the title a scholar uses – Sheikh, Moulana, etc. – they are recognized as being a scholar/ʿĀlim.