to include all Muslims of foreign descent. Thus, in the caste system among South Asian Muslims, the term designates not only Muslims of Arab descent (s or purported descendants of Ali and Fatima, and s, which include all those who claim descent from the Quraysh or from one of Muhammad's companions), but also Muslims of Pasthun or Turko-Mongol (Mughal) descent. Over time, people who were not of Hashimite descent were sometimes also granted the title as a general mark of nobility. The result of this has been that the term has become a more common designation for those claiming descent from the prophet today. As such, (or one of its many alternative spellings, like or ) has also become a common proper name. Major sharif dynasties Abbasids (descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, ruled over a vast empire centered in Baghdad 750–945, and claimed the caliphate 750–1517) Idrisids (Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 789–985) Fatimids (Husaynids, ruled over a vast empire centered in Cairo and claimed the caliphate 909–1171) Sa'dids (Hasanids, ruled over Morocco 1510–1659) Alawids (Hasanids, rule over Morocco 1631–present) Hashimites (Hasanids, ruled over the Kingdom of Hejaz 1916–1925, the Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920, the Kingdom of Iraq 1932–1958, and Jordan 1921–present) See also Asharaf or Ashraf, Somali clan claiming descent from the prophet through Fatima List of Ashrāf tribes in Libya Sharif of Mecca Sharifate of Mecca Sharifian (disambiguation) Sharifism, term used for the rising prominence of the in early modern Morocco Sherif, a proper name derived from , including a list of people named that way Omar Sharif (1932–2015), Egyptian actor and probably the most famous person with this name References Sources cited Arabic words and phrases Maghreb Hashemite people Islamic honorifics Titles Titles in Pakistan