Sharifism

Sharifism is a term used to describe the system in pre-colonial Morocco in which the shurafā' —descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, in the case of Morocco^[1])—held a privileged religious and political position in society.^[2] Those who claimed this lineage were regarded as a kind of nobility and were privileged, in the words of Sahar Bazzaz, "as political agents, as interlocutors between various sectors of society, and as would be dynasts of Morocco."^[2] They were additionally believed to possess baraka, or blessing power.^[2] Claiming this lineage also served to justify authority; the Idrisi dynasty (788-974), the Saadi dynasty (1510-1659), and the 'Alawi dynasty (1631–present) all claimed lineage from Ahl al-Bayt.^[3]