Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the family of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

( ). 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 * Hashim ...

(the Banu Hashim 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).. #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). 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 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 Abī ...

). 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 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 tr ...

). 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 Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

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 descent (especially in the Hejaz, where the Sharifate of Mecca was restricted to persons of Hasanid descent). In still other contexts, they both referred to some form of Banu Hashim, Hashimite 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 and the Fatimids were at one time holder of the caliphate), 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, 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 sahaba, companions), but also Muslims of Pasthun (Pathans) or Turko-Mongol (Mughal people, 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 Sayyid (name), proper name.

Major sharif dynasties

* Abbasids (descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, ruled over a vast empire centered in Baghdad 750–945, and claimed the caliphate 750–1517) *Idrisids (Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 789–985). * Fatimids (Husaynids, ruled over a vast empire centered in Cairo and claimed the caliphate 909–1171) *Sa'dids (Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 1510–1659) *Alawids (Hasanids, rule over Morocco 1631–present) *Hashimites (Hasanids, ruled over the Kingdom of Hejaz 1916–1925, the Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920, the Kingdom of Iraq 1932–1958, and Jordan 1921–present)

References

Sources cited