QUESTION:
How should the word leige lord or master be said in Arabic, is it Sayyidina, Sayyiduna, Sayyidana, Sayyadana, Sayyaduna etc
ANSWER:
All praises belong to Allāh, Creator Most Sublime Who is Uncreated. Indeed Allāh and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. Everlasting peace and ceaseless blessings be upon our Master, Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ, upon his purified family, his esteemed companions, and whomsoever follows in his blessed footsteps until the last day.
The Arabic equivalent for the honorific noun “liege lord” or master existing in the nominative singular masculine case is spelt
ﺳَﻴِّﺪٌ sayyidun (in the indefinite state (a liege lord)).
ﺍﻟﺴَﻴِّﺪُ as-sayyidu (in the definite state (the liege lord)).
This is true when there is nothing having an effect upon the word. It is possible for a declension to exist as a result of an agent acting upon the noun (as often seen with the preposition ﻋﻠﻰ (upon)). In such a circumstance, the noun case ending will change to genitive which for this noun is represented by the diacritical point ِ known as a kasrah denoting the sound of ‘i’.
So we say;
ﻋﻠﻰ ﺳَﻴِّﺪٍ ‘alaa sayyidin (in the indefinite state (upon a liege lord)).
ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺴَﻴِّﺪِ ‘alaa as-sayyidi (in the definite state (upon the liege lord)).
Similarly it is possible for the honorific noun to exist in the accusative case ending (for numerous reasons) for this noun represented by the diacritical point َ known as a fatah denoting the sound of ‘a’. For example:
يا ﺳَﻴِّﺪَ الرّسل yaa sayyida l-rusli (in the definite state (O Master of the Prophets)).
The above is true even if the noun exists within a possessive compound, for example
ﺳَﻴِّﺪُﻧَﺎ (nominative)
ﻋﻠﻰ ﺳَﻴِّﺪِﻧَﺎ (genitive)
يا ﺳَﻴِّﺪَﻧَﺎ (accusative)
Answered by Ustadh Asid Shafait
Checked by Shaykh Naveed Jameel
Download the answer in PDF format here: [Q-ID0332] How do we say Master in Arabic, is or Sayyiduna or Sayyidina?
