“Sayyid,” meaning master and leader of people, is a title customarily used, out of respect, for the family of Hashim. They are those whose lineage is traced through their fathers to Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the ancestor of the Prophet . Alms from people are not lawful for them. They include the family of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the family of Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, the family of Aqil ibn Abi Talib, the family of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and the family of Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib—although today, the term is more often used for the family of Ali ibn Abi Talib, including the family of Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the family of Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the family of Umar ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, and especially the family of Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib and the family of Husain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib—in accordance with the statement of Allah: ﴿ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ﴾[1]; “Attribute them to their fathers; that is more proper in the sight of Allah.”

Nevertheless, those whose lineage is traced to Hashim through their mothers can also be considered Hashemites. This is because Allah has not attributed human creation solely to the father, but rather to both father and mother, saying: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى﴾[2]; “O people! We created you from a man and a woman.” Additionally, in verse 85 of Surah al-An‘am, He has regarded Isa as a descendant of Ibrahim , even though he was a descendant of Ibrahim only through his mother. This is the proof that the Ahl al-Bayt have always used to assert their status as descendants of the Prophet . For example, it has been reported from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq , who said during a speech: «وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ نَسَبَ اللَّهُ عِيسَى بْنَ مَرْيَمَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ مِنْ قِبَلِ النِّسَاءِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: ﴿وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ﴾ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى﴾»[3]; “‘By Allah, in the Quran, Allah has attributed Isa ibn Maryam to Ibrahim through women.’ He then recited: ‘And among his descendants, Dawud and Sulayman’—up to the statement of Allah: ‘and Yahya and Isa,’” and from Masa ibn Ja‘far , who said during a narration: «ثُمَّ قَالَ [لِي هَارُونُ]: كَيْفَ قُلْتُمْ: إِنَّا ذُرِّيَّةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يُعَقِّبْ وَإِنَّمَا الْعَقِبُ لِلذَّكَرِ لَا لِلْأُنْثَى وَأَنْتُمْ وُلْدُ الْبِنْتِ وَلَا يَكُونُ لَهَا عَقِبٌ؟! فَقُلْتُ: أَسْأَلُكَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤمِنِينَ بِحَقِّ الْقَرَابَةِ وَالْقَبْرِ وَمَنْ فِيهِ إِلَّا مَا أَعْفَانِي عَنْ هَذِهِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ، فَقَالَ: لَا أَوْ تُخْبِرُنِي بِحُجَّتِكُمْ فِيهِ يَا وُلْدَ عَلِيٍّ وَأَنْتَ يَا مُوسَى يَعْسُوبُهُمْ وَإِمَامُ زَمَانِهِمْ كَذَا أُنْهِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَسْتُ أُعْفِيكَ فِي كُلِّ مَا أَسْأَلُكَ عَنْهُ حَتَّى تَأْتِيَنِي فِيهِ بِحُجَّةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَنْتُمْ تَدَّعُونَ مَعْشَرَ وُلْدِ عَلِيٍّ أَنَّهُ لَا يَسْقُطُ عَنْكُمْ مِنْهُ بِشَيْءٍ أَلِفٌ وَلَا وَاوٌ إِلَّا وَتَأْوِيلُهُ عِنْدَكُمْ وَاحْتَجَجْتُمْ بِقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ﴾[4] وَقَدِ اسْتَغْنَيْتُمْ عَنْ رَأْيِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَقِيَاسِهِمْ فَقُلْتُ: تَأْذَنُ لِي فِي الْجَوَابِ؟ قَالَ: هَاتِ، قُلْتُ: أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴿وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَى وَهَارُونَ ۚ وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ ۝ وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى وَإِلْيَاسَ﴾ مَنْ أَبُو عِيسَى يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ لِعِيسَى أَبٌ، فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّمَا أَلْحَقْنَاهُ بِذَرَارِي الْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ مِنْ طَرِيقِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهَا السَّلَامُ وَكَذَلِكَ أُلْحِقْنَا بِذَرَارِي النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ قِبَلِ أُمِّنَا فَاطِمَةَ عَلَيْهَا السَّلَامُ»[5]; “Then [Harun al-Rashid] said to me: ‘How do you say, “We are the descendants of the Prophet ,” when the Prophet left no offspring of his own, and lineage is traced through the son, not the daughter, and you are descendants of the daughter, and lineage does not come through her?!’ So I said: ‘O Amir al-Mu’minin! For the sake of kinship, the grave, and the one who lies within it, excuse me from this question.’ He said: ‘No, unless you bring me proof on this matter, O descendants of Ali. And you, O Musa! You are their leader and the Imam of their time. This is how I have been told, and I will not excuse you from anything I ask until you bring me proof from the Book of Allah Almighty. And you, descendants of Ali, claim that not a single letter of it escapes your sight without you knowing its interpretation, and you cite the statement of Allah as evidence, where He has said: “We have not omitted anything in the Book.” And you consider yourselves free from the need for the opinions and analogies of scholars.’ So I said: ‘Do you permit me to respond?’ He said: ‘Speak.’ I said: ‘I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the rejected. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. “And among his descendants were Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Yusuf, Musa, and Harun. And this is how We reward the doers of good. And Zakariyya, Yahya, Isa, and Ilyas.” Who was the father of Isa, O Amir al-Mu’minin?’ He said: ‘Isa had no father!’ So I said: ‘We link him to the descendants of the Prophets only through Maryam , and likewise, we are linked to the descendants of the Prophet through our mother, Fatimah .’” Rather, it has been a well-known proof among Muslims. For example, it has been narrated from Abu Jarud, who said: «قَالَ [لِي] أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: يَا أَبَا الْجَارُودِ! مَا يَقُولُونَ لَكُمْ فِي الْحَسَنِ وَالْحُسَيْنِ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ؟ قُلْتُ: يُنْكِرُونَ عَلَيْنَا أَنَّهُمَا ابْنَا رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: فَأَيَّ شَيْءٍ احْتَجَجْتُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ قُلْتُ: احْتَجَجْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: ﴿وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَى وَهَارُونَ ۚ وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ ۝ وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى﴾ فَجَعَلَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ نُوحٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ...»[6]; “Abu Ja‘far (al-Baqir) said to me: ‘O Aba Jarud! What do they say to you about Hasan and Husain ?’ I said: ‘They deny that they are the sons of the Messenger of Allah .’ He said: ‘With what do you argue against them?’ I said: ‘We argue against them with the statement of Allah, Exalted and Majestic, concerning Isa ibn Maryam , where He has said: “And among his descendants were Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Yusuf, Musa, and Harun. And this is how We reward the doers of good. And Zakariyya, Yahya, and Isa.” So He has counted Isa ibn Maryam among the descendants of Nuh ...’” and from Asim ibn Bahdalah and Abd al-Malik ibn Umair, who both said: «إِجْتَمَعُوا عِنْدَ الْحَجَّاجِ، فَذُكِرَ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، فَقَالَ الْحَجَّاجُ: لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعِنْدَهُ يَحْيَى بْنُ يَعْمُرَ فَقَالَ لَهُ: كَذَبْتَ أَيُّهَا الْأَمِيرُ! فَقَالَ: لَتَأْتِيَنِّي عَلَى مَا قُلْتَ بَيِّنَةٌ وَمِصْدَاقٌ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَوْ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ قَتْلًا، فَقَالَ: ﴿وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَاوُودَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَى﴾ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى وَإِلْيَاسَ﴾ فَأَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَّ عِيسَى مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ بِأُمِّهِ وَالْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأُمِّهِ، قَالَ: صَدَقْتَ فَمَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَى تَكْذِيبِي فِي مَجْلِسِي؟! قَالَ: مَا أَخَذَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْأَنْبِيَاءِ لَيُبَيِّنَنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَهُ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا﴾[7] قَالَ: فَنَفَاهُ إِلَى خُرَاسَانَ»[8]; “They gathered around Hajjaj. Then Husain ibn Ali was mentioned. Hajjaj said: ‘He was not among the descendants of the Prophet .’ Yahya ibn Ya‘mur was with him, so he said to him: ‘You lied, O Amir!’ Hajjaj said: ‘You must bring clear proof and attestation from the Book of Allah, Exalted and Majestic, for what you said, or I will kill you.’ So Yahya said: ‘“And among his descendants were Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Yusuf, Musa”—up to the statement of Allah, Exalted and Majestic: “And Zakariyya, Yahya, Isa, and Ilyas.” So Allah, Exalted and Majestic, has declared that Isa was among the descendants of Adam through his mother, and Husain ibn Ali was likewise among the descendants of Muhammad through his mother.’ Hajjaj said: ‘You have spoken the truth, but what made you deny me in my own gathering?’ He said: ‘The covenant that Allah took from the Prophets—that they should explain it to people and not conceal it. Allah, Exalted and Majestic, has said: “Then they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a small price.”’ After that, Hajjaj exiled him to Khorasan.”

Of course, some have objected to this argument, stating it as follows: Further on, Allah has also mentioned Lut among the descendants of Ibrahim , saying: ﴿وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَالْيَسَعَ وَيُونُسَ وَلُوطًا ۚ وَكُلًّا فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ﴾[9]; “And Isma‘il, al-Yasa‘, Yunus, and Lut; and all of them We favored over the people of the world”—whereas Lut was certainly not among the descendants of Ibrahim , and therefore, mentioning him and Isa among the descendants of Ibrahim is a case of figurative usage.

However, there is no doubt that the principle is to adhere to the literal meaning unless necessity requires abandoning it. In this case, there is no such necessity; because the antecedent of the pronoun in ﴿وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ﴾; “and among his descendants” may not be Ibrahim , but rather Nuh , given that it says: ﴿وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ۚ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا ۚ وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ ...﴾[10]; “And to him We gave Ishaq and Ya‘qub. We guided all of them, and we guided Nuh before. And among his descendants…” Here, the nearer antecedent of “his” is Nuh , and a pronoun always refers to the nearer antecedent unless such a reference is impossible or contrary to context. In any case, it is clear that this does not change the conclusion of the argument; because Isa had no father, and his lineage to Nuh was only through his mother. Therefore, those whose lineage is traced to Hashim through their mothers are likewise considered Hashemites and, as a matter of obligatory precaution, must refrain from consuming alms from people.