Āyat Allāh (‘sign of God’) is a honorific title which has been applied to leading jurists (faqīhs) and legal authorities of great standing (marjaʿ al-taqlīd, lit. ‘source of emulation’) and which came into general usage in the late 19th–early 20th century. In current times in Iran it has also been employed as an honorific title for other jurists. Generally Muslim jurists are addressed as Shaykh al-Islām, Mullā and Ākhūnd. Certain outstanding scholars have also been bestowed with particular honorific titles, such as al-…