Some of them ruled it impermissible, while others allowed it. Those who forbade it reasoned that when certain people said to the Prophet ﷺ, “You are our sayyid and the son of our sayyid,” he responded, “The Sayyid is Allah,” thereby disapproving their statement. They concluded from this that the designation sayyid must not be applied to any created being, for it is a description that belongs to the Creator alone.

Others permitted its use, citing the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction to the Anṣār: “Stand up for your sayyid,” meaning Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, may Allah be pleased with him, when he approached riding an animal because he had been wounded. They held that this proves it is permissible to apply the title sayyid to certain people.

The view that appears correct, Allah willing, is that it is acceptable to call someone a sayyid when he is the leader or chief of a tribe or group. One may therefore say, “the sayyid of Banū so-and-so” or “the sayyid of such-and-such tribe,” meaning that he is their head and commander. This is not meant as flattery, exaggeration, or boastfulness, but merely as a descriptive term for identification. One might say, “So-and-so is the sayyid of Banū so-and-so,” or “So-and-so is the sayyid of such-and-such tribe,” and the like, provided that the person is not addressed with it directly, for doing so may lead him to arrogance or self-admiration. Instead, it should be said in his absence, reconciling the various prophetic reports. Allah knows best.

As for the practice common among certain deluded individuals of bestowing the title sayyid upon some of their misguided leaders and believing that such figures carry blessing and can grant something of