Sayyid

Not to be confused with Sa‘id.

"Seyd" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Seyd, Iran.

For use as a given name, see Sayyid (name).

Sayyid (pronounced [ˈsæjjɪd], or [ˈsæjjed], Template:Lang-ar; meaning Mister) (plural Sadah Template:Lang-ar, Sādah) is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who is the decendant of Ishmael and Abraham- 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 for males or Mirziya for females,or they will claim the title Amir or Mir for males. 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. This is the reason the word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī, 'my liege') is used in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic. Some Sayyids take the title Sheikh.

In the modern era, 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.

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.

Sayyid are of Semitic origin. Sayyids are traditionally Shia Muslims, in the past and the present. They originated from the Arabian Peninsula but most migrated north to modern-day Iraq, Azerbaijan, Iran, Central Asia and the Indo-Pak continent. Today they are located anywhere in the world, many have migrated, to Europe, Australia and North America.

Other titles

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, Syed, Shah Ji, Pir, Pir Sahib	Pakistan, India
Dari	Shah, Mir, Mirza	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.

Indication of descent

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.

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
Hasan ibn Ali	al-Hashimi or al-Hassani الحسني او الهاشمي	al-Hashimi or al-Hassani الحسني او الهاشمي	Hashemi, Hassani, or Tabatabai حسنى	Hassani or Hasani حسنی or Hashemi or Hashmi هاشمي
Husayn ibn Ali	al-Hussaini الحُسيني	al-Hussaini1 الحُسيني	Husseini حسینى	Hussaini or Husaini حسینی
Ali ibn Husayn	al-Abidi العابدي	al-Abidi العابدي	Abedi عابدى	Abidi or Abdi عابدی
Zayd ibn Ali	az-Zaidi الزيدي	al-Zaidi الزيدي	Zaidi زیدی	Zaidi زیدی
Muhammad al-Baqir	al-Baqiri الباقري	al-Baqiri الباقري	Baqeri باقرى	Baqri باقری
Jafar as-Sadiq	al-Ja'fari الجعفري	al-Ja'fari الجعفري	Jafari جعفرى	Jafri, Jafry or Jaffery جعفری
Musa al-Kadhim	al-Mousawi الموسوي او الكاظمي	al-Mousawi or al-Kadhimi الموسوي او الكاظمي	Moosavi or Kazemi موسوى / کاظمى	Kazmi کاظمی
Ali ar-Rida	ar-Radawi الرضوي	al-Ridawi or al-Radawi الرضوي	Razavi or Rezavi رضوى	Rizvi or Rizavi رضوی
Muhammad at-Taqi	at-Taqawi التقوي	al-Taqawi التقوي	Taqawi تقوى	Taqvi تقوی
Ali al-Hadi	an-Naqawi التقوي	al-Naqawi التقوي	Naqawi نقوى	Naqvi نقوی

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-Hassani could be translated as Ahmad, the descendant of Hassan and Ahmad al-Manami as Ahmad from the city of Manami. 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.

In the Arab world

Sayyids in Iraq

The Sayyid population in Iraq is almost entirely Shia Muslim. Some of the Sayyid families in Iraq are Al-Yasiri, Al-Zaidi, Al-A'araji, Al-Hassani, Al-Hussaini, Tabatabaei, Al-Alawi, Al-Ghawalib (Al-Ghalibi), Al-Musawi, Al-Awadi (not to be confused with the Al-Awadhi Huwala family), Al-Sabzewari, and Al-Hayali.

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. Today, most of them live in the Hejaz and Eastern provinces.

Sayyids in South Asia

An oil painting of Khair-un-Nissa, a Sayyida noblewoman from the princely state of Hyderabad by George Chinnery.

Millions of people in South Asia claim Hashemite descent. 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.

Sayyid migrated many centuries ago 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. 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. Many Sayyid were also settled in the countryside, and one such example were the Saadat-e-Bara, who ancestors came from Central Asia, and were granted estates near Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. This community played an important role in the politics of the Mughal Empire. Another branch of this famous clan are the Sayyid of the town of Bilgram in Awadh. Most of these Sayyid families came from Central Asia and Iran, but some also originate from Yemen, Oman, Iraq and Bahrain.

Perhaps the most important figure in the history of the Sayyid in India was Sayyid Basrullah Shustari, who moved from Mashad in Iran in 1549 and joined the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar later appointed Shustari as his chief justice, and Shustari used his position to strengthen the position of the various Sayyid families. They were preferred in administrative posts, and formed a privileged elite. When the Mughal Empire disintegrated, the Sayyid played an important role in turbulent politics of the time. The new British colonial authorities that replaced the Mughals after the Battle of Buxar also made a pragmatic decision to work the with various Sayyid jagirdars. Several Sayyid taluqdars in Awadh were substantial landowners under the British colonial regime, and many other Sayyid still played their part in the administration of the state.

Important Sayyid communities in South Asia include:

• Sadaat Amroha
• Sadaat Tiswa
• Saadat-e-Bara
• Gardezi Sadaat
• Nishapuri Sada'at of Barabanki
• Rizvi Sayyids of Zaidpur, Barabanki
• Sayyids of Hallaur
• Sayyid of Gujarat
• Sayyid of Uttar Pradesh

Genetic studies of Sayyids of Sub-continent

Classical multidimensional scaling based on RST genetic distances showing the genetic affinities of the Syeds with their non IHL neighbours from India and Pakistan (both in bold characters) and with various other Arab populations

A study of "Y chromosomes of self-identified Syeds from the Indian subcontinent" by Elise M. S. Belle, Saima Shah, Tudor Parfitt & Mark G. Thomas showed that "Syeds from the Indian subcontinent have a greater affinity to Arab populations than to their geographic neighbours ..."

Sayyid currently in Indian continent

At present there are around 2.5 million Sayyid in India and Pakistan. In India, Sayyid are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, with Faizabad, Raibareli, Hallaur, Wasa Dargah, Lucknow, Barabanki, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Amroha, Meerut and Aligarh home to large Sayyid communities. They are also found in Gujarat with Ahmadabad, Mangrol, Junagadh, and Keshool. In Gujarat, the Sayyid have ten sub-divisions, the main ones being the Shirazi, Mattari, Bukhari, Naqvi, Tirmizi, Zaidi, Rifai, Bhaktari, Qadiris, Chishti, Mahdavi, Kitoi, Mashadi, Idrusi, and Bahraini. Of these, the Bukhari Sayyids are perhaps the most well known. Their forebear, Syed Burhanuddin Qutb-Alam was the advisor of Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first Muslim Sultan of Gujarat. Even more well known was his son Shah Alam, who flourished during the reigns of Qutibudin Shah and Mahmud Begada. It played an important in the medieval and early modern history of Gujarat, and now divided into several branches. Other prominent Sayyid include the Mahdavi family. They are now found mainly in Palampur and Dabhoi, and claim descent form Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri, the founder of the sect and his son in law Syed Khundmir. They generally speak Urdu, and most also understand the various dialects of Hindi.

The Sayyid are divided along sectarian lines, especially in the Awadh region. They are further divided into discreat endigamous clans, bases on territorial groupings. The most important ones are the Saadat-e-Jais Saadat-e-Bara, Sadaat Amroha, Sadaat-e-Barabanki, Sayyids of Hallaur, Sadaat-e-Bilgram and Sadaat-e-Barn. Other groupings include the Alavi, Abidi, Baqari, Barcha, Bukhari, Jafari, Jalali, Kazmi, Naqvi, Rizvi, Tirmizi and Zaidi, each claiming descent from a particular Shia Imam. 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.

Traditional Sayyid families rarely marry outside their community, with an emphasis of marrying into najab-ul-tarfain (of Sayyid descent from both the mother’s and father’s side) families. This insistence on endogamy has begun to decline among the more urbanized families in modern time, with an increase of inter marriage with other racial groups such as the Shaikh and Mughals. Historically the Sayyid were substantial landowners, often absentees, and this was especially the case with the Awadh taluqdars. In the urban townships, Sayyid families served as priests, teachers and administrators, with the British colonial authorities given the community a preference in recruitment. Though they are less than 3% of Muslim population, they control a majority of economic resources.The community also has a very high literacy rate.The independence and partition of India in 1947 was traumatic for the community, with many families becoming divided, with some members moved to Pakistan. This was followed by the abolishment of the zamindari system, where land was redistributed to those who till the land. Many Sayyid who remained on the land are now medium and small scale farmers. While in the urban areas, there has been a shift towards modern occupations.

Sayyids in South East Asia

Most of them live in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.

Notable Sayyids

• Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani- currently the pre-eminent marja of Shia Muslims around the world and arguably the most influential political figure in Iraq today
• Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah - foremost marja of Lebanese Shi'a Muslims
• Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini- marja, philosopher and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
• Grand Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim - sole Shi'a marja in the early 1960s.
• Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei - Shi'a marja.
• Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr - Shi'a marja.
• Agha Hasan Abidi (1922–1995), Pakistani banker and founder of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI)
• Qazi Nurullah Shustari
• Ali Khamenei- 2nd Supreme leader of Iran
• Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi former union minister of India
• Ibrahim al-Jaafari - former Prime Minister of Iraq
• Nayyar Hussain Bukhari Chairman of Senate of Pakistan
• Faisal Raza Abidi
• Haidar Abbas Rizvi
• Mohammad Khatami - reformist Iranian politician and former President of Iran
• Syed Ali Haider Nazam Tabatabai - He translated Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard from poem to poem in Urdu. He was head of Translation Department of Usmania University, could speak write and understand English, German, French, Persian and Arabic.
• Razi Abedi
• Naveed Zaidi
• Kalbe Razi Naqvi
• Husain Mohammad Jafri
• Samad Rizvi
• Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah of Iranian Azerbaijani origin
• Ali Jawad Zaidi, Indian poet, scholar and author
• Ali Naqi Zaidi (Safi Lakhnavi), Urdu poet
• Jaffer Zaidi, founder of music band Kaavish
• Mustafa Zaidi, Urdu poet of Pakistan
• Ijlal Haider Zaidi, retired member of the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP)
• Nayyar Ali Zaidi, Pakistani architect
• Maqbool Hussain Zaidi, founder of Imambargah Colonel Maqbool Hussain
• Bashir Hussain Zaidi, member of the first Lok Sabha and Vice Chancellor of AMU
• Naveed Zaidi, British Pakistani scientist who developed the world's first workable plastic magnet at room temperature
• Ali Ausat Zaidi, was a renowned Urdu Soazkhawan
• Tatheer Hussain Zaidi, runs a Madrassa named Jaamia Islamia Baqiatullah located in Lahore, Pakistan
• Arif Hussain Hussaini, Pakistani politician
• Hussein el-Husseini, Lebanese statesman
• Mehdi Hosseini, Persian composer
• Irfan Abidi (1950–1998), was a noted Pakistani scholar, religious leader, public speaker and poet
• Faisal Raza Abidi, Pakistani politician and senator
• Asad Abidi, is a Pakistani American electrical engineer, who was the first dean of Lahore University of Management Sciences's School of Science and Engineering and studied at the University of California, Berkeley
• Azhar Abidi (born 1968), is a Pakistani Australian author and translator
• Syed Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi, is a Pakistani politician
• Syed Ali Qutab Shah Rizvi, was a member of the Pakistani Sindh Provincial Assembly
• Khawar Rizvi, was a prominent poet of Urdu and Persian
• Khurshid Rizvi, Pakistani scholar, poet, linguist and historian of Arabic languages and literature
• Majida Rizvi, is the first woman judge of a High Court in Pakistan
• Muhammad Rizvi, is a Twelver Shī‘ah scholar, a speaker, as well as an author
• Behzad Rizvi, is an Iranian professor and researcher of electrical and electronic engineeri
• Ayatullah Syed Ahmed Rizvi Kashmiri: A Shia Mujtahid who lived in Kashmir. Died on 9 July 1964.
• Ziauddin Rizvi, was a Shi'a cleric born at Aumphary, Gilgit, to a religious family
• Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, was a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry
• Ali Jafari, Iranian computer scientist
• Masoud Jafari Jozani (born 1948), Iranian film director, screenwriter and film producer
• Davoud Danesh-Jafari (born 1954), Minister of Economy and Finance Affairs of Iran
• Mohammad Ali Jafari (born 1957), commander of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution in Iran
• Ali Sardar Jafri (1913–2000), Urdu writer, poet, critic and film lyricist from India
• Ehsan Jafri (1929–2002), Indian Muslim Parliamentarian
• Saeed Jaffrey (born 1929), Indian-born British actor
• Madhur Jaffrey (born 1933), Indian actress and food writer
• Javed Jaffrey (born 1963), Indian actor
• Zamir Jafri (1916–1999), Pakistani poet
• Aqeel Jafri (born 1957), Pakistani writer, poet and architect
• Raza Jaffrey (born 1975), British actor and singer
• Saeed Jaffrey is an Indian-born British actor, who has done numerous British movies
• Sakina Jaffrey (born 1962), Indian-American actress

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 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.