Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (شريفة), plural ashrāf (أشراف), shurafāʾ (شرفاء), 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 (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, 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 Fatimah (the Fatimids). In the sense of descendants of Fatima and Ali (the most common one), the term effectively refers to all descendants of Muhammad.
-
In the narrowest sense, it refers only to someone who descends from Fatima and Ali's eldest son (and Muhammad's grandson) Hasan (the Hasanids). In this limited context, it is contrasted with the term ('lord', 'master', plural , (سادة), which then refers only to the descendants of Hasan's younger brother Husayn (the Husaynids).
The precise usage of the term has varied both historically and geographically.
Etymology
The word derives from the
Arabic root 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 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 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), but also Muslims of Pashtuns or Turko-Mongol (Mughal people) 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 today the term has become a more common designation for those claiming descent from Muhammad.
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)
-
Alawi dynasty (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)
See also
-
Asharaf or Ashraf, Somali clan claiming descent from Muhammad through Fatima
-
List of Ashrāf tribes in Libya
-
Sharif of Mecca
-
Sharifate of Mecca
-
Sharifian (disambiguation)
-
Sharifism, term used for the rising prominence of the in early modern Morocco
-
Sherif, 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
Citations
Sources cited
