Wednesday, April 21, 2010

LINE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD



THE HOLY LINE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (SAAS): SAYYIDS

Sayyid is the title given in Islamic culture to people descended from Hassan (ra), grandson of our Prophet (saas) through his daughter Fatima (ra). Individuals descended from Husayn (ra), the Prophet’s (saas) other grandson, are known as sharifs.

The Arabic word “sayyid” corresponds to the English words “lord, chief, or leader.” In the Hadith, the term is used in the sense of “tribal chief or eminent members of a community.” Sayyids are also known as “habib,” “emir,” or “mir” in various Islamic lands. The great Islamic scholars Imam al-Bukhari and al-Tirmidhi say that this title was first used by the Prophet (saas) in reference to Hassan (ra). Rasul al-Akram says that when sitting on the pulpit one day, he pointed to Hassan (ra) in one of the rows and said: “This [grand]son of mine is a sayyid. It is to be hoped that through him Allah will establish peace between two Muslim sects.” (al-Bukhari, Sulh, 9; Fada’il al-Ashab, 22; Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 31) In another hadith, our Prophet (saas) said: “Hassan and Husayn are the two sayyids of the young people of Paradise.” (Tirmidhi, Manasik, 31)

Prophet Muhammad (saas) also imparted the glad tidings that the blessed Mahdi (as), who will appear in the End Times and who is awaited with great joy and expectation by all Muslims, will also be descended from him:

“We are the sayyids of the people of Paradise, the sons of Abd al-Muttalib. Me, Hamza, Ali, Jaffar, Hassan, Husayn, and the Mahdi.” (Ibn Majah, 34)

Muslims Have Always Treated the Sayyids with Great Love and Respect

Muslims have always extended the love and affection they feel for the Prophet (saas) to the sayyids. Due to their deep love for Prophet’s (saas) family, Muslims have always held the descendants of his grandchildren in the highest regard. Sayyids have enjoyed a privileged position in worldly treatment in almost all Islamic countries, and efforts have been made to bestow various advantages on them.

The most obvious proof of this is how, in the past, special bodies were concerned with their affairs and that the person at the head of these institutions (the naqib al-ashraf) was regarded as having one of the highest ranks.

How Did the Sayyids Spread to Different Lands?

In the age of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, Muslims traveled to many lands to spread the message of Islamic moral precepts. These missionary journeys intensified considerably during the time of Umar (ra) and Uthman (ra). There were many sayyids among those who set out to spread the Qur’an’s moral values to humanity. They generally settled in the regions to which they traveled and assimilated with the local inhabitants.

However, like other Muslim emigrants, the great majority of the sayyids who emigrated left Arabia because of the strict policies of the Umayyads, who assumed power after the age of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs.

Following the martyrdom of Hassan (ra) and Husayn (ra), their migration accelerated still further, to places within the Islamic state’s borders of the time: the Maghreb (Morocco), the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Khurasan, Tabaristan, and Yemen. Thanks to this migration, many dynasties were founded, such as the Idrisids in Morocco, the Sulaymanis in Yemen and the Zaydis, in Iran.

Many sayyids took up residence in the Mongol and Turkish states and assimilated with the local peoples. Sometimes they even took their places among the founders of other states, such as the Nogay dynasty, which established itself in the Caucasus.

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