View source for Alids

{{Short description|Descendants of Ali, cousin of Muhammad}}
{{About|those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib|the Levantine syncretistic sect|Alawites|the Turkish mystic sect|Alevis|the Moroccan royal family|'Alawi dynasty|the former ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan|Muhammad Ali dynasty}}
{{Infobox tribe
| name = Alids
| local name = العلويين
| type = [[Hashemite]] [[Tribes of Arabia|Arab Tribe]]
| image = File:Arabic caligraphic seal in Hagia Sophia.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = A medallion bearing the name of Ali inscribed with [[Islamic calligraphy]] in [[Hagia Sophia]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]].
| ethnicity = [[Arabs|Arabic]] descent
| nisba = al-Alawi
| location = [[Islamic world]]
| descended = [[Ali]]
| branches = * [[Hasanids]]
* [[Husaynids]]
* [[Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya|Hanafi]] Alids
* [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] Alids
| religion = [[Islam]]
| language = originally [[Arabic]], nowadays languages spread all over the [[Islamic world]]
| parent_tribe = [[Banu Hashim]]
| population = 
| demonym = [[Alawis]]
| surnames = [[Al-Hashimi]], Al-Alawi
}}
{{Ali}}

'''Alids''' ({{Langx|ar|العلويين|al-ʿAlawiyyīn}}) are those who claim descent from [[Ali]], the fourth [[Rashidun caliph]] ({{Reign|656|661}}), the first [[imamate in Shia doctrine|imam]] in [[Shia Islam]]. Ali was also the [[cousin]] and [[Affinity (law)|son-in-law]] of the [[prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. 

The main branches are the [[Hasanids]] and [[Husaynids]], named after [[Hasan ibn Ali|Hasan]] and [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]], the eldest sons of Ali from his marriage to [[Fatima]], the daughter of Muhammad. As the progeny of Muhammad, they are revered by all [[Muslims]]. The Alids have led various movements in [[Islam]], and a line of twelve Alids are the imams in [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]], the largest Shia branch.

== Children of Ali ==
{{See also|Ahl al-Bayt}}
In addition to seventeen daughters, various sources report that Ali had eleven or fourteen, or eighteen sons.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}} His first marriage was to [[Fatima]], daughter of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]], who bore Ali three sons, namely, [[Hasan ibn Ali|Hasan]], [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]], and [[Muhsin ibn Ali|Muhsin]], though the last one is not mentioned in some sources.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}} Muhsin either died in infancy,{{sfn|Buehler|2014|p=186}} or was miscarried after Fatima was injured during a [[Attack on Fatima's house|raid]] on her house to arrest Ali, who had withheld his pledge of allegiance from the first [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun caliph]] [[Abu Bakr]] ({{Reign|632|634}}).{{sfn|Khetia|2013|p=78}} 

The first report appears in Sunni sources and the latter in Shia sources. Hasan and Husayn are recognized as the second and the third [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imams]] in [[Shia Islam]], their descendants being known as the [[Hasanids]] and the [[Husaynids]], respectively.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} They are revered by all [[Muslims]] as the progeny of Muhammad and honored by nobility titles such as [[Sharif]] and [[Sayyid]].{{sfn|Nasr|Afsaruddin|2023}} 

Ali and Fatima had two daughters, [[Zaynab bint Ali|Zaynab]] and [[Umm Kulthum bint Ali|Umm Kulthum]].{{Sfn|Huart|2012}} After the [[Burial of Fatima|death of Fatima]] in 632 [[Common Era|CE]], Ali remarried and had more children. Among them, the lineage of Ali continued through [[Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya|Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiya]], [[Abbas ibn Ali]], and [[Umar ibn Ali|Umar al-Atraf]], their descendants were honored by the title [[Alawids|Alawi]] ({{Lit|of Ali}}). Respectively, they were born to [[Khawla al-Hanafiyya]], [[Umm al-Banin]], and Umm Habib bint Rabi'a (al-Sahba).{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}

== Alids in history ==
=== Umayyads era ({{Reign|661|750}}) ===
Mu'awiya seized the rule after the [[assassination of Ali]] in 661 and founded the [[Umayyad Caliphate]],{{Sfn|Madelung|2003}} during which the Alids and their supporters were heavily persecuted.{{Sfn|Huart|2012}} After Ali, his followers ({{Transliteration|ar|[[Shia|shi'a]]}}) recognized as their [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|imam]] his eldest son Hasan. After his death in 670, they turned to his brother Husayn, but he and his small caravan were massacred by the Umayyads in the [[Battle of Karbala]] in 680.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} Soon followed the Shia uprising of [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi|al-Mukhtar]] in 685 on behalf of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiya.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} Many more Shia revolts followed afterward, led not only by the Alids but also by other kinsmen of Muhammad.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=64}}

The main movements in this period were the now-extinct [[Kaysanites]] and the Imamites. Named after a commander of al-Mukhtar,{{Sfn|McHugo|2018|p=104}} the Kaysanites energetically opposed the Umayyads and were led by various relatives of Muhammad. Their majority followed [[Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya|Abu Hashim]], the son of Ibn al-Hanafiya. When Abu Hashim died around 716, this group followed [[Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah|Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd-Allah]], the great-grandson of Muhammad's uncle [[Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib]].{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=39}} 

The Kaysanite movement thus aligned itself with the Abbasids, that is, the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=69}} On the other hand, the Imamites were led by the quiescent descendants of Husayn through his only surviving son, [[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin|Ali Zayn al-Abidin]] ({{Died in|713}}), their fourth imam. His son [[Zayd ibn Ali]] was an exception for he led a failed uprising against the Umayyads around 740.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} The followers of Zayd went on to form the [[Zaydism|Zaydites]], for whom any learned Hasanid or Husaynid who rose against tyranny was qualified as imam.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=49}}

=== Abbasids era ({{Reign|750|1258}}) ===
To overthrow the Umayyads, the Abbasids had rallied the support of the Shia in the name of the [[Ahl al-Bayt]], that is, the family of Muhammad. But many Shias were disillusioned when the Abbasid [[As-Saffah|al-Saffah]] ({{Reign|750|754}}) declared himself caliph, as they had hoped for an Alid leader instead.{{Sfn|Donner|1999|pp=24{{ndash}}25}} The Abbasids soon turned against their former allies and persecuted the Alids and their Shia supporters.{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=71}} 

In response, Shia doctrinally limited its leadership to the Alids, many of whom revolted against the Abbasids, including the Hasanid brothers [[Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya|Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah]] ({{Died in|762}}) and Ibrahim.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}} Some Alids instead took refuge in remote areas and founded regional dynasties in the southern shores of the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian sea]], [[Yemen]], and western [[Maghreb]].{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}{{Sfn|Donner|1999|p=26}} 

For instance, the revolt of the Hasanid [[Al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid|Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid]] was suppressed in 786 but his brother [[Idris I of Morocco|Idris]] ({{Died in|791}}) escaped and founded the [[Idrisid dynasty|first Alid dynasty]] in [[Morocco]].{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=71}} Similarly, a number of Zaydite rules appeared in northern [[Iran|Persia]] and in Yemen, the latter of which has survived to the present day.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=50}}{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}

Some quiescent imams of the Imamites were also probably killed by the Abbasids.{{Sfn|Pierce|2016|p=44}} For example, their seventh imam, [[Musa al-Kazim]] ({{Died in|799}}), spent years in the Abbasid prisons and died there, possibly poisoned by order of Caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{Reign|786|809}}), who also had "hundreds of Alids" killed.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|pp=39{{ndash}}40}} Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] ({{Reign|813|833}}) later attempted a reconciliation by appointing in 816 as his heir [[Ali al-Rida]], the eighth imam of the Imamites. Other Abbasids revolted in opposition in [[Lower Mesopotamia|Iraq]], which forced al-Ma'mun to reverse his policies and Ali al-Rida died around that time, likely poisoned.{{Sfn|Madelung|1985}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|pp=41{{ndash}}42}} 

[[Ali al-Hadi]] ({{Died in|868}}) and [[Hasan al-Askari]] ({{Died in|874}}), the tenth and eleventh imams of the Imamites, were held in the capital [[Samarra]] under strict surveillance.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=162}} Most Imamite sources report that both were poisoned by the Abbasids.{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=44}} Their followers believe that the birth of their twelfth imam, [[Muhammad al-Mahdi]], was hidden for fear of Abbasid persecution and that he remains in occultation by divine will since 874, until his reappearance at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil.{{Sfn|Amir-Moezzi|1998}}{{Sfn|McHugo|2018|p=108}} They became known as the [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelvers]].{{Sfn|McHugo|2018|p=107}}

Meanwhile, the only historic split among the Imamites happened after the death in 765 of their sixth imam, the quiescent [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]],{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}}{{Sfn|McHugo|2018|p=107}} who played a key role in formulating Imamite doctrines.{{Sfn|McHugo|2018|p=105}} Some claimed that his designated successor was his son [[Isma'il ibn Ja'far|Isma'il]], who had actually predeceased al-Sadiq. These followers permanently separated and later formed the [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ilites]].{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} Some of them denied the death of Isma'il but their majority accepted the imamate of his son [[Muhammad ibn Isma'il]].{{Sfn|Haider|2014|p=124}}

Muhammad ibn Isma'il's death around 795 was denied by the majority of his followers, who awaited his return as the Mahdi, while a minority traced the imamate in his descendants.{{Sfn|Haider|2014|p=124}} The Isma'ilites actively opposed the Abbasids,{{Sfn|Daftary|2013|p=5}} and their efforts culminated in the establishment of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] ({{Reign|909|1171}}) in [[North Africa]],{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} although some have questioned the Isma'ilite ancestry of the Fatimid caliphs.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}

The abortive [[Zanj Rebellion|Zanj rebellion]] against the Abbasids was ignited in Iraq and [[Bahrain]] in the mid-ninth century by Ali ibn Muhammad Sahib al-Zanj, who claimed descent from Abbas ibn Ali. The poetry by descendants of Abbas ibn Ali is collected in {{Transliteration|ar|al-Awraq}}, compiled by the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] scholar [[Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli|al-Suli]] ({{Died in|946{{ndash}}947}}). One of his descendants was Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Alawi, who reached fame as a poet and scholar during the reigns of Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun.{{Sfn|Bahramian|Bulookbashi|2015}}

=== Alid dynasties ===
Several dynasties have claimed descent from Ali, often through his son Hasan. The Hasanid dynasties include the [[Idrisid dynasty|Idrisites]] and Sharifs of Maghreb in North Africa, and [[Hammudid dynasty|Hammudids]] in [[Andalusia]], located in modern-day [[Spain]].{{Sfn|Daftary|2008}} The Fatimid Caliphate claimed a Husaynid descent.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}

== Genealogical tables ==
{{See also|Family tree of Muhammad}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart| |Ki|~|~|y|~|~|~|Ft|Ki=[[Kilab ibn Murrah]]|Ft=[[Fatimah bint Sa'd]] <br> [[Azd|Banu Azd]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |Qu|~|~|y|~|~|~|Hb|Qu=[[Qusayy ibn Kilab]]|Hb=[[Hubba bint Hulail]] <br> [[Banu Khuza'ah]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | |,|-|-|-|'}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |Am|~|~|y|~|~|~|At|Am=[[Abd Manaf ibn Qusai]]|At=[[Atikah bint Murrah]] <br> [[Hawazin|Banu Hawazin]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | | |Sal|~|y|~|Ha|~|y|~|Qa|Sal=[[Salma bint Amr]] <br> [[Banu Najjar]]|Ha=[[Hashim ibn al-Mughira]]|Qa=Qaylah bint Amr <br> [[Banu Khuza'ah]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| |Fa|~|y| Sh| | | | As|Fa=[[Fatimah bint Amr]]<br>[[Banu Makhzum]]|Sh=[[Abd al-Muttalib|Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim]]|As=[[Asad ibn Hashim]]}}
{{tree chart| | |,|-|-|(| | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | |!| |Abt|~|~|y|~|~|Fm|Abt=[[Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib]]|Fm=[[Fatimah bint Asad]]}}
{{tree chart| | |!| | | |,|-|-|+|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|.}}
{{tree chart| |Abd| |Ta| |!| |Aq| |!| |Fk|!|Abd=[[Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib]]|Ta=[[Talib ibn Abi Talib]]|Aq=[[Aqil ibn Abi Talib]]|Fk=[[Fakhitah bint Abi Talib]]}}
{{tree chart| | |!| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| | | | |!|}}
{{tree chart| |Mu| | | | |Ja| | | | |!| | | |Ju|Mu=[[Muhammad|Muhammad ibn Abdullah]]||boxstyle_Mu=border-width:4px; border-color:green|Ja=[[Ja'far ibn Abi Talib]]|Ju=[[Jumanah bint Abi Talib]]}}
{{tree chart| | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| |Fm|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|Ali|Fm=[[Fatimah|Fatimah al-Zahra bint Muhammad]]|Ali='''[[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]]'''}}
{{tree chart/end}}
[[File:Genealogical table of the Alids.png|thumb|A genealogical table of the Alids, with the Twelver imams denoted in black font and Isma'ili imams in purple font.{{Sfn|Lewis|2012}}|1082x1082px|none]]

== See also ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*[[Ibn Inabah]]
*[[Umdat al-Talib fi Ansabi Ale Abi Talib]]
}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== References ==

{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=1998 |title=Eschatology iii. Imami Shiʿism |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eschatology-iii |author-link=Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi |volume=VIII/6 |pages=575–581 |author-first=Mohammad Ali |author-last=Amir-Moezzi}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2015 |title=Al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAlī |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0009 |editor1-last=Madelung |editor1-first=Wilferd |author2-last=Bulookbashi |author2-first=Ali A. |author1-last=Bahramian |author1-first=Ali |doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0009 |translator-first=Farzin |translator-last=Negahban |editor2-first=Farhad |editor2-last=Daftary|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |last = Blichfeldt |first = Jan-Olaf |title = Early Mahdism: Politics and Religion in the Formative Period of Islam |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hATYAAAAMAAJ |year = 1985 |publisher = E.J. Brill |isbn = 9789004076433}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2014 |title=Fatima (d. 632) |encyclopedia=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopaedia of the Prophet of God |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadinhistor0000unse_h4s1/mode/2up |editor1-last=Fitzpatrick |editor1-first=Coeli |volume=1 |pages=182–187 |isbn=9781610691772 |editor2-last=Walker |editor2-first=Adam Hani |author-last=Buehler |author-first=Arthur F. |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Daftary |author-first=Farhad |title='Alids |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=Three |editor1-first=Kate |author-link=Farhad Daftary |editor1-last=Fleet |editor2-first=Gudrun |editor2-last=Krämer |editor3-first=Denis |editor3-last=Matringe |editor4-first=John |editor4-last=Nawas |editor5-first=Devin J. |editor5-last=Stewart |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26329 |year=2008 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26329 |isbn=9789004171374 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book|title=A History of Shi'i Islam|author-first=Farhad|author-last=Daftary|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2013|isbn=9781780768410|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/shii-heritage-series-farhad-daftary-a-history-of-shii-islam-i.-b.-tauris-2013_202104/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|title=Oxford History of Islam|editor-first=John L.|editor-last=Esposito|editor-link=John Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=0195107993|chapter=Muhammad and the Caliphate|author-first=Fred M.|author-last=Donner|author-link=Fred Donner|pages=1{{ndash}}62|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00john/page/n17/mode/2up|chapter-url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|author-first=Najam|author-last=Haider|title=Shī'ī Islam: An Introduction|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=9781107625785}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|author-last=Huart|author-first= Cl.|title= ʿAlids|encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia of Islam|edition= First|editor1-first=M.Th.|editor1-last= Houtsma|editor2-first= T.W.|editor2-last= Arnold|editor3-first= R.|editor3-last= Basset|editor4-first= R.|editor4-last= Hartmann|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_0645|year=2012|doi= 10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_0645|isbn= 9789004082656|url-access=subscription}}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Khetia |first=Vinay |title=Fatima as a Motif of Contention and Suffering in Islamic Sources |date=2013 |publisher=Concordia University |url=https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/976817/ |page=}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title='Alids |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0543 |author-link=Bernard Lewis |editor1-last=Bearman |editor1-first=P. |edition=Second |isbn=9789004161214 |author-last=Lewis |author-first=B. |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0543 |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author-first=Wilferd |author-last=Madelung |title=ʿALĪ AL-REŻĀ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=I/8 |pages=877{{ndash}}880 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-al-reza |year=1985 |author-link=Wilferd Madelung}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2003 |title=Ḥasan B. ʿAli B. Abī Ṭāleb |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hasan-b-ali |last=Madelung |first=Wilferd |author-link= |volume=XV/3 |pages=327{{ndash}}328}}
* {{cite book |title=A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is |author1-first=John |author1-last=McHugo |year=2018 |isbn=97816261-65878 |publisher=Georgetown University Press}}
* {{cite book |author-first=Moojan |author-last=Momen |author-link=Moojan Momen |title=An Introduction to Shi'i Islam |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1985 |isbn=9780300035315}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Nasr |author1-first=Seyyed Hossein |author2-last=Afsaruddin |author2-first=Asma |title=ʿAlī |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |year=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Muslim-caliph |author1-link=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |author2-link=Asma Afsaruddin}}
* {{cite book |author-last=Pierce |author-first=Matthew |title=Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shi'ism |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2016 |isbn=9780674737075 |author-link=Matthew Pierce}}
{{refend}}

{{Alids}}
{{Religious family trees}}
{{Muhajir communities}}

[[Category:Family of Muhammad]]
[[Category:Alids| ]]
[[Category:Ali]]
[[Category:Muslim family trees]]
[[Category:Islamic honorifics]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hashemite people]]
[[Category:Fatima]]
[[Category:Medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Descendants of individuals]]
[[Category:Banu Hashim]]