Sayyid (pronounced [ˈsæjjɪd], or [ˈsæjjed], Arabic: سيد; meaning Mister) (plural Sadah Arabic: سادة, Sādah) is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.[1]
Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida, Alawiyah, Syarifah, or Sharifah. Children of a Sayyida mother but a non-Sayyid father cannot be attributed the title of Sayyid, however they may claim the title Mirza by maternal descent. Sayyids are by definition a branch of the tribe of Banu Hashim, a clan from the tribe of Quraish that traces its lineage to Adnan and thence to the Prophet Ismael.
In the Arab world, it is the equivalent of the English word "liege-lord" or "master" when referring to a descendant of Muhammad, as in Sayyid John Smith. [2] This is the reason the word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī, 'my liege') is used in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.[3] Some Sayyids take the title Sheikh.
The Alevi use seyyid (the Turkish form) as an honorific before the names of their saints. El Cid, the name given to a famous Spanish knight of the 11th century C.E., is derived from Al-Sayyid (as-sayyid). As-Sayyid is also used as title or a form of address to denote a prince or superior in the Sultanate of Oman.
Contents |
| Language | Transliteration | Areas spoken |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic | Sayyid, Sayyidi, Sayyed, Sayid, Saiyyid, Saiyid, Sidi | Arab world |
| Azerbaijani | Seyid, Seyyid | Azerbaijan, Iran |
| Baluchi | Sayyid, Syed, Sayyed, Sayid | Pakistan, Baluchistan region |
| Indonesia | Sayyid, Syed, Sayid | Indonesia |
| Kurdish | Seyid, Syed, Seyyid, Seyit | Kurdish region |
| Malay | Syed, Sheikh | Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore |
| Pashto | Sayed, Syed, Said | Afghanistan and Pakistan |
| Persian | Said, Sayyed, Sayed, Saeyd, Seyyed, Seyed, Saiyed, Saeid, Siyyid | Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan |
| Seraiki, Sindhi, Punjabi | Sayed, Syed | Pakistan |
| Somali | Sayyid | Somalia, Djibouti |
| Turkish | Seyed, Seyit, Seyyid, Seyyed | Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asia |
| Bosnian | Seid, Sait, Sead | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Urdu, Marathi, Hindi, Assamese, Konkani, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati | Syed, Saiyad, Saiyed, Sayyid, Saiyed, Saiyid, Sayyed, Sayid | South Asia |
| Spanish | Cid | Al-Andalus |
| Language | Title | Areas spoken |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic | Sharif, Habib, Sheikh | Arab world |
| Urdu, Saraiki, Punjabi, Hindko | Shah, Saab, Badshah | Pakistan |
| Sindhi | Shah, Sain, Saab, Makhdoom, Mir | Sindh, Pakistan. |
| Indonesian | Habib, Sayid | Indonesia |
| Minangkabau | Sidi | West Sumatra, Indonesia |
| Palembang | Ayib | South Sumatra, Indonesia |
| Malay | Sharifah, Syarifah | Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei |
| Malayalam | Thangal | Kerala, India |
| Gujarati | Sayedna, Syedna, Sayednah | Northwest India |
| Urdu, Punjabi, | Shah, Shah Ji, Pir, Pir Sahib | Pakistan, India |
| Persian | Shah, Mir, Mirza | Iran and Afghanistan |
| Bengali, Malay | Shah, Agha, Saab, Mir | South and South East Asia |
The line of Hassani sayyids who ruled Mecca, Medina, Iraq and now rule in Jordan, the Hashemites, bore the title 'Sharif' (plu. Ashraf). 'Sharif' is reserved for descendants of Hassan while 'Sayyid' is used for descendants of Husayn. However since the post-Hashemite era began, the term 'Sayyid' has been used to denote descendants from both Hassan and Husayn. Arab Shi'ites use the term 'Sayyid' and 'Habib' to denote descendants from both Hassan and Husayn.
Sayyids are Arabs, and Sayyids in Asia are of Arab origin. The Sayyids are a branch of the tribe of Banu Hashim, a clan from the tribe of Quraish, which traces its lineage to Adnan, whose lineage traces back to the Prophet Ismael the son of the Prophet Ibrahim or Abraham.
Some Muslims also use the term Sayyid for the descendants of Abu Talib, uncle of Muhammad, by his other sons: Jafar, [Abbas], Aqeel and Talib. Sayyids often include the following titles in their names to indicate the figure from whom they trace their descent. If they are descended from more than one notable ancestor or Shi'a Imam, they will use the title of the ancestor from whom they are most directly descended.
| Ancestor | Arabic Title | Arabic Last Name | Persian Last Name | Urdu Last Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali ibn Abu Talib | Alawi2 | Allawi2 or Alawi3 | Alavi2 علوى | Alavi2 علوی |
| Hasan ibn Ali | al-Hashimi or al-Hassani | al-Hashimi or al-Hassani | Hashemi, Hassani, or Tabatabai حسنى | Hassani or Hasani حسنی or Hashemi or Hashmi هاشمي |
| Husayn ibn Ali | al-Hussaini | al-Hussaini1 | Husseini حسینى | Hussaini or Husaini حسینی |
| Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al Abidin | al-Abidi | al-Abidi | Abedi عابدى | Abidi or Abdi عابدی |
| Zayd ibn Ali ash-Shahid | az-Zaidi | al-Zaidi | Zaidi زیدی | Zaidi زیدی |
| Muhammad al-Baqir | al-Baqiri | al-Baqiri | Baqeri باقرى | Baqri باقری |
| Jafar as-Sadiq | al-Ja'fari | al-Ja'fari | Jafari جعفرى | Jafri, Jafry or Jaffery جعفری |
| Musa al-Kadhim | al-Mousawi | al-Mousawi or al-Kadhimi | Moosavi or Kazemi موسوى / کاظمى | Kazmi کاظمی |
| Ali ar-Rida | ar-Radawi | al-Ridawi or al-Radawi | Razavi or Rezavi رضوى | Rizvi or Rizavi رضوی |
| Muhammad at-Taqi | at-Taqawi | al-Taqawi | Taqawi تقوى | Taqvi تقوی |
| Ali al-Hadi | an-Naqawi | al-Naqawi | Naqawi نقوى | Naqvi نقوی or Bukhari بخاری |
NOTE: (For non-Arabic speakers) When transliterating Arabic words into English there are two approaches.
Some Muslims also use the term Sayyid for the descendants of Abu Talib, uncle of Muhammad, by his other sons: Jafar, Abbas, Aqeel and Talib.
1Also, El-Husseini, Al-Husseini, Husseini, and Hussaini.
2Those who use the term sayyid for all descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib regard Allawis or Alavis as Sayyids. However Allawis are not descendants of Muhammad, as they are descended from the children of Ali and the women he married after the death of Fatima Zahra, such as Umm al Baneen/Fatima bint Hizam. Those who limit the term Sayyid to descendants of Muhammad through Fatima Zahra, will not consider Allawis/Alavis to be Sayyids.
3This transliteration is usually reserved for the Alawi sect.
There are Shia and Sunni Sayyid families in Yemen, they include the Rassids, the Qasimids, the Mutawakkilites, the Hamideddins, Al-Zaidi of Ma'rib, Sana'a and Sa'dah, the Ba'Alawi sadah and Al-Saqqaf in Hadramauwt, Al-Wazir of Sana'a and others.
There are sayyids in Iraq . 90%-95% of the Sayyids in Iraq are Shia Muslims. Many Sayyids in Iraq joined many Arab tribes centuries ago, especially in Southern Iraq. Because they used to be tortured and murdered, many Sayyids migrated from Iraq to South Asia. Also Sayyids have joined tribes in Iraq and are still now protected by the tribe. Genealogists claim that the Sayyids who have joined the tribes in Iraq are Real Sayyids. Many Sayyids in Iraq formed their own tribes and families such as Al-Yasiri, Al-Zaidi, Al-A'araji, Al-Hassani, Al-Hussaini, Al-Rifa'i, Al-Alawi, Al-Ghawalib (Al-Ghalibi), Al-Mosavi, Al-Awadi & others. There are also Sunni Sayyids in Kurdistan.
There are many Sayyids in Saudi Arabia, families such as Bafaqih, Al-Hashemi (Also said as Bin Hashem), Al-Alawi, Al-Hussaini, Al-Hassani, Al-Mussallam (also said as Bin Mussallam), Al-Nasser and others.
All Sayyids in Libya are Sunni Muslims. Many families in Libya are included within the Ashraf tribe, i.e. Sayyids tribe. Azzouz and Al-Hashemi are some of the families which descended from the ashraf tribes.
More than 14 million South Asians claim descent from the prophet,[4] in South Asia, approximately 3% of the Muslim population of South Asia. Their ancestors migrated from different parts of the Arab world, Iran, Central Asia and Turkestan, during the invasion of Mongols and other periods of turmoil during the periods of Mahmud Ghaznavi, Delhi Sultanate and Mughals and until the late 19th century. Some early migrant Sayyids moved deep to the region of Deccan plateau in the time of the Bahmani Sultanate and later Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda, Nizam Shahi of Ahmadnagar and other kingdoms of Bijapur, Bidar and Berar.
Several visited India as merchants or escaped from Abbasid, Umayyad and Ottoman empires. They also ruled over India during the Delhi Sultanate during the short-lived period of 1414-1451. Their name figures in Indian history at the breakup of the Mughal empire, when the Sayyid Brothers created and dethroned Emperors at their will (1714–1720). The first Mohammedans appointed to the Council of India and the first appointed to the Privy Council were both Sayyids. Important Sayyid communities in India include the Sadaat Amroha, Nishapuri Sada'at of Barabanki, Saadat-e-Bara, Gardezi Sadaat, Sayyids of Hallaur, Sayyid of Gujarat, and Sadaat of Shergarh
An estimate of number of Sayyids in South Asia is as follows:[5]
| Country | Population | Primary Language |
|---|---|---|
| India | 6,696,000 | Urdu |
| Pakistan | 6,613,000 | Western Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu |
| Bangladesh | 1,058,000 | Bengali |
| Nepal | 77,000 | Various Hindi/Urdu Dialects (Maithili,Bhojpuri,Awadhi) |
| Sri Lanka | 10 | Urdu |
| Totals: 5 Countries | 14,444,000 | - |