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Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ( ). It may be used in three senses: #In the broadest sense, it refers to any descendant of Muhammad's great-grandfather
Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: * Hashim Amir Ali * Hashim (poet) * Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi * Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf *Hashi ...
(the
Banu Hashim ) , type = Qurayshi Arab clan , image = , alt = , caption = , nisba = al-Hashimi , location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa , descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , parent_tribe = Qura ...
or Hashimites, already in Muhammad's day an established clan within the Meccan tribe of the Quraysh), including all descendants of Muhammad's paternal uncles Abu Talib (the Talibids) and al-Abbas (the
Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
).. #More often, it refers to a descendant of
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, a son of Abu Talib and a paternal cousin of Muhammad (the Alids), especially but not exclusively through Ali's marriage with Muhammad's daughter Fatima (the
Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...
). In this sense, the most common one, the term effectively refers to all descendants of the prophet. #In its narrowest sense, it refers only to someone who descends from Ali and Fatima's eldest son (and Muhammad's grandson) Hasan (the Hasanids). In this limited context, it is contrasted with the term ('lord', 'master', plural , (), which then refers only to the descendants of Hasan's younger brother
Husayn Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...
(the Husaynids). The precise usage of the term has varied both historically and geographically. Today, descent from Muhammad through his daughter Fatima (either Hasanid or Husaynid) is more commonly designated by the term .


Etymology

The word derives from the
Arabic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowe ...
sh–r–f, which expresses meanings related to honor, nobility, and prominence. It has no etymological connection with the English term '' sheriff'', which comes from the Old English word ''scīrgerefa'', meaning "shire-reeve", the local reeve (enforcement agent) of the king in the shire (county)..


Usage


History

Precise usage of the term has varied both historically and geographically. Often, the terms and were used interchangeably, while in other contexts they referred to
Hasanid The Ḥasanids ( ar, بنو حسن, Banū Ḥasan or , ) are the descendants of Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, brother of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī and grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. They are a branch of the Alids (the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Ab ...
vs.
Husaynid The Husaynids ( ar, بنو حسين, Banū Ḥusayn) are a branch of the Alids who are descendants of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Along with the Hasanids, they form the two main branches of the . Genealogical ...
descent (especially in the Hejaz, where the
Sharifate of Mecca The Sharifate of Mecca () or Emirate of Mecca was a state, non-sovereign for much of its existence, ruled by the Sharifs of Mecca. A sharif is a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, Muhammad's grandson. In Western sources, the prince of Mecca was kno ...
was restricted to persons of Hasanid descent). In still other contexts, they both referred to some form of
Hashimite The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921� ...
descent, but were linked to a different and specific social status. In most places the term has functioned as a mark of nobility (both the
Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
and the
Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...
were at one time holder of the
caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
), except in South Asia, where the meaning of the term has expanded to include all Muslims of foreign descent. Thus, in the
caste system among South Asian Muslims Muslim communities in South Asia apply a system of religious stratification. It developed as a result of ethnic segregation between the foreign conquerors/ Upper caste Hindus who converted to Islam ('' Ashraf'') (also known as ''tabqa-i ashrafiyya' ...
, the term designates not only Muslims of Arab descent (s or purported descendants of Ali and Fatima, and s, which include all those who claim descent from the Quraysh or from one of Muhammad's companions), but also Muslims of Pasthun ( Pathans) or Turko-Mongol ( Mughals) descent. Over time, people who were not of Hashimite descent were sometimes also granted the title as a general mark of nobility. The result of this has been that the term has become a more common designation for those claiming descent from the prophet today. As such, (or one of its many alternative spellings, like or ) has also become a common proper name.


Major sharif dynasties

*
Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
(descendants of Muhammad's uncle
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( ar, ٱلْعَبَّاسُبْنُ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib;   CE) was a paternal uncle and Sahabi (companion) of Muhammad, just three years older than his ...
, ruled over a vast empire centered in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
750–945, and claimed the caliphate 750–1517) *
Idrisids The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ar, الأدارسة ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid an ...
(Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 789–985). *
Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...
(Husaynids, ruled over a vast empire centered in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and claimed the caliphate 909–1171) * Sa'dids (Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 1510–1659) *
Alawids The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning ...
(Hasanids, rule over Morocco 1631–present) * Hashimites (Hasanids, ruled over the Kingdom of Hejaz 1916–1925, the
Arab Kingdom of Syria The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
in 1920, the
Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...
1932–1958, and Jordan 1921–present)


See also

*
Asharaf The Asharaf, also spelled Ashraf (from the ar, أشراف, ashrāf, ), is a Somali clan. Their name is the plural of , an originally Arabic term designating those who claim descent from the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Belonging to t ...
or Ashraf, Somali clan claiming descent from the prophet through Fatima * List of Ashrāf tribes in Libya * Sharif of Mecca *
Sharifate of Mecca The Sharifate of Mecca () or Emirate of Mecca was a state, non-sovereign for much of its existence, ruled by the Sharifs of Mecca. A sharif is a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, Muhammad's grandson. In Western sources, the prince of Mecca was kno ...
* Sharifian (disambiguation) *
Sharifism Sharifism is a term used to describe the system in pre-colonial Morocco in which the ''shurafā —descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, in the case of Morocco)—held a privileged religious and political positi ...
, term used for the rising prominence of the in early modern Morocco *
Sherif Sherif, also spelled Sharif (and, in countries where Francophone Romanisation is the norm, Cherif or Charif), is a proper name derived from the Arabic word (, 'noble', 'highborn', 'honorable'), originally a title designating a person descended fr ...
, a proper name derived from , including a list of people named that way ** Omar Sharif (1932–2015), Egyptian actor and probably the most famous person with this name


References


Sources cited

* * * {{Authority control * Arabic words and phrases Maghreb Hashemite people Islamic honorifics Titles Titles in Pakistan