Sayyid (also spelled "Seyd", "Syed", "Sayed", "Sayyed", "Saiyid", "Seyed" and "Seyyed") (, or , ; meaning
Mister) (plural
Sadah , ) is an
honorific title denoting males accepted as descendants of the
Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his grandsons,
Hasan ibn Ali and
Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad's daughter
Fatimah and his son-in-law
Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib). Conventionally, descent is
patrilineal. However, in 1632 when an Ottoman court challenged a man wearing a
sayyid's green turban he established that he was a sayyid on his mother's side, and this was accepted by the court.