Sayyid

Sayyid (Arabic: سيد‎) (plural sādah Arabic: سادة‎) literally means Mister. As an honorific title given to 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. 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. The word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī 'my lord') is used in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.^[1] Some Sayyids take the title Sheikh. 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.

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 1 Transliteration 2 Other titles 3 Indication of descent 4 In the Arab world 4.1 Sayyids in Yemen 4.2 Sayyids in Iraq 4.3 Sayyids in Saudi Arabia 4.4 Sayyids in Libya 5 Sayyids in South Asia 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Transliteration

Language	Transliteration	Areas spoken
Arabic	Sayyid, Sayyidi, Sayyed, Sayid, Saiyyid, Saiyid, Sidi	Arab world
Azerbaijani	Seyid, Seyyid	Azerbaijan, Iran
Baluchi	Sayyid, Syed, Sayeed, Sayyed, Sayid	Baluchistan region
Indonesia	Sayyid, Syed, Sayid	Indonesia
Kurdish	Seyid, Syed, Seyyid, Seyit	Kurdish region
Malay	Syed	Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
Pashto	Sayed, Syed, Said	Afghanistan & Northwest portion of Pakistan
Bengali	Syed	Bangladesh and Eastern India
Persian	Said, Sayyed, Sayed, Saeyd, Seyyed, Seyed, Saiyed, Saeid, Siyyid	Iran & Afghanistan
Punjabi	Sayed, Syed	Pakistan, India
Seraiki, Sindhi	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
Other	Siyyid

Users of the Latin alpahabet may use the transliteration "sayyid" if of Arab origin whilst immigrants of South Asian origin may use "Syed".

[edit] Other titles

Language	Title	Areas spoken
Arabic	Sharif, Habib, Sheikh	Arab world
Urdu, Saraiki, Punjabi, Pashto, 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[citation needed]	Kerala, India
Gujarati	Sayedna, Syedna, Sayednah	Northwest India
Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto	Shah, Shah Ji, Pir, Pir Sahib	Pakistan, India
Persian	Shah, Mir, Mirza	Iran
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.

[edit] Indication of descent

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 or Awan اعوان
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 حاشمی
Husayn ibn Ali	al-Hussaini	al-Hussaini1	Husseini حسینى	Hussaini or Husaini حسینی or Shah شاہ
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	Moosawi or Kazemi موسوى / کاظمى	Kazmi کاظمی
Ali ar-Rida	ar-Radawi	al-Ridawi or al-Radawi	Razawi or Rezawi رضوى	Rizvi 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.

• 1. The user may transliterate the word letter for letter, e.g. "الزيدي" becomes "a-l-z-ai-d-i".

• 2. The user may transcribe the pronunciation of the word, e.g. "الزيدي" becomes "a-zz-ai-d-i". This is because in Arabic grammar, some consonants (n, r, s, sh, t and z) cancel the l (ل) from the word "the" al (ال) (see Sun and moon letters). When the user sees the prefixes an, ar, as, ash, at, az, etc... this means the word is the transcription of the pronunciation.

• An i, wi (Arabic), or vi (Persian) ending could perhaps be translated by the English suffixes ite or ian. The suffix transforms a personal name, or a place name, into the name of a group of people connected by lineage or place of birth. Hence Ahmad al-Hashimi could be translated as Ahmad of the lineage of Hassan and Ahmad al-Harrani as Ahmad from the city of Harran. For further explanation, see Arabic names.

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.

[edit] In the Arab world

[edit] Sayyids in Yemen

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.

[edit] Sayyids in Iraq

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.

[edit] Sayyids in Saudi Arabia

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.

[edit] Sayyids in Libya

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.

[edit] Sayyids in South Asia

More than 14 million South Asians claim descent from the prophet,^[2] in South Asia, approximately 3% of the Muslim population of South Asia.^{[citation needed]} 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 break up 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, Saadat-e-Bara, Gardezi Sadaat, Sayyids of Hallaur,Sayyid of Kintoor & Fatehpur ,Barabanki ,Sayyid of Gujarat, & Sadaat of Shergarh

[edit] See also

• Azmatkhan
• Sayyid of Uttar Pradesh
• Sayyid of Gujarat
• Hallaur
• Gardēzī Sadaat
• Sadaat Amroha
• Saadat-e-Bara
• Ba'Alawi
• Bawazir
• Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
• Sayyid Qutb
• Kohein (similar Jewish title)
• Mashwanis

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ba'Alawi Sadah of Hadhramaut
• GILANI Sayyads of Masanian Sharif
• Ba`alawi.com Ba'alawi.com | The definitive resource for Islam and the Alawi Ancestry
• Sayyid Trust
• Jamaiat Hanfia Qadria Mahmoodia
• The BaAlawi Genealogy
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Sayad". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.