Sayyid (Arabic: سيد‎) (plural sādah Arabic: سادة‎) literally means Mister. In the Arab world itself, the word is the equivalent of Engl. "Mister", as in Sayyid John Smith. The same concept is expressed by the word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī 'my lord') in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.^[1]

The term Sayyid as an honorific title, is given to males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (primarily by Shi'ite Muslims) through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, who were the sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib. Daughters of male 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 maternal descent and are called Mirza.

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.

Alevi use seyyid (Turkish) 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), meaning lord.

As-Sayyid is also used as title or a form of address to denote a prince or superior in the Sultanate of Oman.

[edit] Transliteration

People chose different Romanised (Latinized) transliterations based on the language with which they are familiar, not necessarily on the place where they are living. For example there are Muslim immigrants from many different countries living in London, UK. Immigrants of Arab origin may use the transliteration "sayyid" whilst immigrants of South Asian origin may use "Syed", this tendency may be extended to all ethnic communities. The name, however, could also be an anglicized form of the common Arabic name Sa‘id, with -y- as in 'shy', 'fly', etc.

[edit] Other Titles for Saadah

Other Arabic honorific terms include sheikh and sharif. 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 ever since the post-Hashemite era began, the term 'Sayyid' has been used to denote descendants from both Hassan and Husayn. Arab Shiites use the term 'Sayyid' and 'Habib' to denote descendants from both Hassan and Husayn.

However, many Sayyids around the world are Fake Sayyids and claim descent of the Prophet. This is because they want to gain respect and authority. Many of these sayyids provide fake documents and fake lineages, or steal a person's lineage and claim that they are sayyids. The numbers are in millions. Many of the fake sayyids are located in Arab countries, Iran, Pakistan, India, and many countries around the world.

[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.

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 transliterate 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 transliteration 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] Sayyids in the Arab World

[edit] Sayyids in Yemen

There are Shiite and Sunni Sayyid families in Yemen, they include the Rassids, the Qasimids, the Mutawakkilites, the Al-Zaidi of Ma'rib, Sana'a and Sa'dah, Al-Saqqaf, Alwazir etc.

[edit] Sayyids in Iraq

There are many Sayyids in the Arab world and many of them formed their own tribes or stuck to their original tribe Banu Hashim. In Iraq, there are many Sayyids, especially in the southern region of Iraq. These Sayyids formed their own tribes such as Al-Yaseri, Al-Zaidi, Al-A'araji and many more. There are Sayyids in nearly every city in Iraq.

[edit] Iraqi Sayyids of Iranian origin

There are sayyids in Iraq of Iranian origin. Many geneologists claim that these sayyids who came from Iran to Iraq are fake not all, but most. 85%-90% 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 of them migrated from Iraq to Asian and many countries around the world. These sayyids have joined tribes in Iraq are still now protected by the tribe. Geneologists claim that the sayyids who have joined the tribes in Iraq are Real Sayyids.

[edit] Sayyids in Saudi Arabia

There are many Sayyids in Saudi Arabia, families such as Al-Hashimi, Al-Alawi, Al-Hussaini, Al--Hassani and many more. Sayyids are located in nearly every Arab country, it includes the real and the fake.

[edit] Sayyids in South Asia

Sayyid families in South Asia claim direct relationship with the Prophet of Islam through his daughter Fâtimah and son-in-law Ali. However, they claim their ancestors migrated from different parts of Iran and Central Asia Turkestan, during the invasion of Mongol Halaku and other periods of turmoil. They migrated through Herat in Afghanistan to different parts of modern Pakistan and India. These migrations occurred during the periods of Mahmud Ghaznavi, Delhi Sultanate and Mughals and continued till late into the 19th century. Most Sufi saints whose lineage is being traced to Prophet Muhammad also migrated during the early periods of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals. Some of the early migrant Sayyids moved deep to the peninsular part of India, in the region of Deccan plateau in the reign of Bahmani Sultanate/Bahmani kings and later Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda, Nizam Shahi of Ahmadnagar, and other kingdoms of Bijapur, Bidar and Berar. Most probably, authentic Saayids or people of Arab ancestory are found in mostly Kerala, Deccans and Gujarat. Most of the Sayyids in India are of dubious origin regarding their origin.

The history of Sayyids or Syeds in South Asia dates back to more than 1000 years. Several Syeds visited India as merchants along with the general Arab traders. These Sayyids came from Iraq and were all Shi'a Muslims. Many Sayyids then converted to Sunni Islam by force They also ruled over India (Delhi Sultanate) during the period 1414-1451. Except for this brief period of India's history, Syeds or Sayyids were mostly connected to business activities.

The notable Syeds of South Asia include Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery aka Data Ganj Bakhsh, Moinuddin Chishti, Khwaja Qutbuddin Baktiyar Kaki, Nizamuddin Auliya, Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Dehli, Khaja Mahboobullah, Deccan, Muhammad Hussaini Gisudaraz Bandanawaz, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Akbar Allahabadi, the Shahi Imams of Delhi,Syed Shahbuddin and Ashraf Jahangir Simnani^{[citation needed]}. Hazrat Abu Mahmood Syed Mahboob Ali Shah Kazmee Chishti Mahboobabadi,Hazrat Abu Masoud Pir Syed Mahmood Shah Mohaddis Hazarvi

[edit] Sayyids in India

The Joshua Project reported that 6,944,000 people self-describing as Sayyids in India.^[2] The largest states of the Syeds in India are the Uttar Pradesh (1,469,000), the Maharashtra (1,129,000), the Karnataka (783,000), the Andhra Pradesh (729,000), the Rajasthan (624,000), the Tamil Nadu (573,000), the Bihar (425,000), the West Bengal (379,000), the Madhya Pradesh (310,000), and the Gujarat (250,000). These are people who claim descent of the prophet, It will include real Sayyids and Fake Sayyids.

And the major languages spoken by the Sayyids of India are Urdu (4,919,000 Speakers), Bengali (292,000), Telugu (141,000), Marwari (125,000), Tamil (117,000), and Gujarati (109,000). This includes real Sayyids and fake Sayyids.

[edit] Sayyids in Pakistan

The Joshua Project reported that 6,471,000 people were self-describing as Sayyids in Pakistan. ^[3] The largest provinces on file are the Sindh (3,150,000), the Punjab (1,824,000), the NWFP (436,000), the Balochistan (172,000), the Azad Kashmir (158,000) and Islamabad (29,000). The Holy Shrine Of Mahboobabad Shareef Havelian District Abbottabad Pakistan sadat Tribe of Kazmi Leader/Chief of kazmi Sadat

The major languages spoken by the Sayyids of Pakistan are Punjabi, Western (1,748,000 Speakers), Sindhi (1,507,000), Urdu (1,317,000), Seraiki (366,000), and Pashto Northern (103,000). This includes real Sayyids and fake Sayyids.

[edit] Syeds of Kirani

Kirani (N 30.17 E 66.94) is an historical village lying five miles west of Quetta city, capital of Baluchistan province of Pakistan on the outskirts of the Chiltan range. The Syeds of Kirani owning to their great sanctity and influence among the local tribesmen.

[edit] Sayyids in Bangladesh

1,044,000 people str self-describing as Sayyids in Bangladesh.^[4] The languages spoken by the Sayyids of Bangladesh are Bengali (741,000 Speakers), Chittagonian (67,000), Sylheti (46,000), Urdu (5,100), Farsi, Eastern (Dari) (700), and Kok Borok: Noatia (80). This includes real Sayyids and fake Sayyids.

People will need to be careful when they claim descent of the prophet. Many people think they are sayyids because they grandparents told them so. The Joshua Project calculated the number of Sayyids in Asia but does not know who the fake and real Sayyids are, which will be very hard to tell.

[edit] See also

• Sadaat Amroha
• Saadat-e-Bara

[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.
• [1]]
• The BaAlawi Genealogy
•  "Sayad". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.