Encyclopedia of Islam

sawm

  See 

fasting

.

K  608  

sawm

---

say

  See 

hajj

; 

umra

.

sayyid

 

(

seyyed)

One of the most important titles of honor given 

to a man in a Muslim society is that of sayyid, for 

a woman it is sayyida. In Arabic it has been used 

since pre-Islamic times to signify that someone has 

high status and dignity, a “lord” or “master” (alter-

nately, “lady” or “mistress”) and is nearly syn-

onymous with the term sharif. Ancient a

rab

 tribal 

chieftains were known as sayyids, but its most 

widespread use in Islam has been with reference 

to the 

ahl

 

al

-

bayt

, those regarded as members of 

Muhammad’s family and their direct descendants. 

According to the hadith, Muhammad (d. 632) 

referred to members of his family by this title. Over 

time it was used particularly for descendants of 

h

Usayn

 

ibn

 a

li

 (d. 680), while sharif was used pri-

marily for descendants of Husayn’s brother Hasan. 

People claiming descent from the ahl al-bayt have 

migrated throughout Muslim lands, where their 

families have multiplied. In Shii societies sayyids 

qualify to receive a special tax payment from the 

faithful known as the khums. Respected Sufi mas-

ters were also known as sayyids, or, in popular 

usage sidi (“my lord”). The tombs of sayyids, men 

and women, have become pilgrimage shrines in 

many countries. In recent times that term has 

come to be used more loosely as a title of respect 

in Middle Eastern societies. The Andalusian noble-

man and warrior, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (d. 1099), 

was known as El Cid, based on the Arabic al-sid.

Romances were written about him in Latin and 

Spanish, and an epic film starring Charlton Heston 

as the title character premiered in 1961.

See also 

honor

 

and

 

shame

; 

saint

; s

hiism

; 

ziyara

.