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 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 monot ...

( ). 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 ) , 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 = Qur ...

or Hashimites, already in Muhammad's day an established clan within the Meccan tribe of the

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Q ...

), including all descendants of Muhammad's paternal uncles

Abu Talib Abu Taleb or Abu Talib may refer to: * Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (549-619), Arab leader and head of the Banu Hashim clan * Abu Talib al-Makki (died 996), Arab scholar, jurist and mystic * Abu Taleb Rostam (997–1029), Buyid amir of Ray, Ir ...

(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, a son of Abu Talib and a paternal cousin of Muhammad (the

Alids The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (incl ...

), especially but not exclusively through Ali's marriage with Muhammad's daughter

Fatima Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, t ...

(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 dyna ...

). 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 (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 t ...

). 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 vowel ...

sh–r–f, which expresses meanings related to honor, nobility, and prominence. It has no etymological connection with the English term ''

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

'', which comes from the Old English word ''scīrgerefa'', meaning "shire-reeve", the local

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

(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 Abī ...

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 tr ...

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 know ...

was restricted to persons of Hasanid descent). In still other contexts, they both referred to some form of 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

and the

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 South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, 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

or from one of Muhammad's companions), but also Muslims of Pasthun (

Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

) or Turko-Mongol (

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

) 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 A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...

Major sharif dynasties

(descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, 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 Ctesipho ...

750–945, and claimed the caliphate 750–1517) * Idrisids (Hasanids, ruled over

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

789–985). *

(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 met ...

and claimed the caliphate 909–1171) *

Sa'dids The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

(Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 1510–1659) * Alawids (Hasanids, rule over Morocco 1631–present) *

Hashimites 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 (19 ...

(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, N ...

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 Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

1921–present)

References

Sources cited