Sayyid
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Sayyid (Arabic: سيد also rendered as syed, seyyed, sayyed, saiyed, or sayed) is an honorific title often given to descendants of Muhammad through his grandsons, Hussain and Hassan, 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). 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."
The word means literally "master"; the closest English equivalent would be sir. In the Arab world itself, with the exception of Iraq, the word is still used as a substitute for Mister, as in sayyid John Smith. The same concept is expressed by the word sidi in the Western dialects of Arabic.
Alevis use Sayyid as an honorific before the names of their saints.
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.
There are two types of Sayyids, al-Hassani Sayyids (descendents of Imam al-Hassan (as)) and al-Hussaini Sayyids (descendents of Imam Hussain (as)). In the Arab world al-Hassani Sayyids are known as Sherif in some instances and writings. Interestingly there are more al-Hassani Sayyids than al-Hussaini Sayyids. this is because Zaid bin Imam Hassan (as) was very bountiful in his offsrping; his descedents spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Today the Ruler of Morocco is a Hassani Sayyid, he is a descendent of the Idrisids (descendents of Idris). Up until 1962 the ruler of Yemen was also an al-Hassani Sayyid
| Ancestor | Arabic title | Farsi title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ali ibn Abu Talib | Allawi | Alavi | |
| Hasan ibn Ali | al-Hashimi or al-Hassani | Hashemi, Hassani, or Tabatabai | |
| Husayn ibn Ali | al-Hussaini | Hussaini | |
| Ali ibn Husayn | al-Abidi | Abidi | |
| Zayd ibn Ali | al-Zaidi | Zaidi | |
| Muhammad al-Baqir | al-Baqri | Baqri | |
| Jafar al-Sadiq | Jafari | Jafari | |
| Musa al-Kazim | al-Musawi | Moosavi or Kazmi | |
| Muhammad al-Taqi | al-Taqawi | Taqvi | |
| Ali al-Rida | al-Radawi | Rizvi | |
| Ali al-Hadi | al-Naqawi | Naqvi |
