The Arabic word Zahed means "Ascetic" (adjective and noun). The Name "Zahed" was poular as a title bestowed on disciples of Mystic Sufi Orders, upon their initiation. After Initiation the title took the place of the new Spiritual Masters' given names. A famous bearer of the title Zahed was Sheikh Zahed Gilani of Lahijan in Gilan province of northern Iran. "Zahed" and "Zahid" are transliterations for the same word: While "Zahed" is a typical Persian transliteration, being phonetically more akin, "Zahid" corresponds to the original Arabic pronounciatian. The Persian "Zahed" is pronounced with an "a" as in "art" and an "e" as in "effort". The Arabic "Zahid" is pronounced with an "a" as in "Arabic" and an "i" as in "is".