Sayyid
Sayyid () (plu. Saadah) is an
honorific title often given to males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad through his grandsons,
Hassan and
Husayn, the sons of his daughter
Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law
Ali ibn Abi Talib (who was Muhammad's younger cousin and had been raised in his household). Female descendants of the same lineage are given the name
Sayyida,
Alawiyah,
Syarifah or
Sharifah.
Some Muslims also use the term
sayyid for the descendants of
Abu Talib, uncle of Muhammad, by his other sons: Jafar, Aqeel and Talib.
The term should not be confused with the popular name "Sa'id" or "Saeed", which is an
Arabic and
Persian word meaning "happy". Another word sometimes confused with
sayyid is
sha'hid, the Arabic term for
martyr.
The word means literally "master"; the closest English equivalent would be
Sir or Lord. In the
Arab world itself, the word is still used as a substitute for
Mister, as in
Sayyid John Smith. The same concept is expressed by the word
sidi (from Arabic word 'Sayyidi') in the
western dialects of Arabic.
Alevis use seyyid (Turkish) as an honorific before the names of their saints.
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. In the Arab World Sharif is usually reserved for descendants of al-Hassan whilst sayyid is used for descendants of al-Husain.
| Language | Transliteration | Areas spoken |
|---|
| Arabic | Sayyid, Sayid | Arab world |
| Persian | Sayyed, Sayed, Seyyed, Seyed | Iran, Azerbaijan and Türkistan |
| Turkish | Seyed, Seyit, Seyyid, Seyyed | Turkey, Azerbaijan and Türkistan |
| Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Malay | Syed | South and South East Asia |
| Other | Saiyed, Siyyid, Syedna |
|
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 from Yemen may use the transliteration "sayyid" whilst immigrants of Pakistani or Indian origin may use "syed".
Amongst intellectuals and scholars of the Western world, there is an overwhelming adherence to the usage of the forms "sayyid" and "sayed" in their writings.
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. You may transliterate the word letter for letter, e.g. "الزيدي" becomes "a-l-z-ai-d-i".
*2. You may transliterate the pronunciation of the word, e.g. "الزيدي" becomes "a-z-z-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) . When you see 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, 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 Baneen. Those who limit the term
sayyid to descendants of Muhammad through
Fatima Zahra, will not consider Allawis/Alavis to be sayyids..
*
Tabataba'i*
Meet Sayyeds: Numerous Photos
