The shaykh, in Persian pīr, is the spiritual master of a Sufi order or circle, authorized through a chain of transmission. Sufi teaching insists on the need for a guide: whoever has no shaykh, a saying goes, has Satan for a shaykh. The disciple gives the master trust and obedience.
Shaykh
A Sufi master: the guide who initiates disciples and leads them on the path.
Also: pir, murshid